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Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their daughter Chelsea highlighted the importance of citizen participation at a roundtable in Chicago Saturday as part of a weekend forum that their Clinton Global Initiative had taken place at the University of Chicago.
A recent poll shows that only 35% of Americans aged 18 to 29, compared to 81% of older Americans and 55% of Americans, will vote absolutely in the next mid-term elections.
At Saturday's event, touted as a conversation between Clinton and Helene Gayle of the Chicago Community Trust, the former first family encouraged the hundreds of young people present, mostly students, to remain optimistic and to engage in the democratic process even in the face of discouraging opposition.
"If you live in a democracy, the first and most important thing to do is to participate fully," Bill Clinton said. "If you do not vote because you think it does not make any difference, you're helping to make it no different – except that it's the case – you increase the chances that all you Not like about the day of today arriving tomorrow with more force. "
The current political moment of concern to former First Lady Hillary Clinton has many things, she said. Even though she chose not to mention President Donald Trump on Saturday, the Democratic candidate for the 2016 presidential election has formulated harsh criticism about what she called "the infringement" to national unity, political corruption, "predatory capitalism", repression and withdrawal of the vote, and constant attack against the facts, "with other" classic tactics of the. authoritarianism ".
"Never forget that people who are often at the root of the will to undermine trust in institutions are people who will profit from this mistrust," she added. "And if you look at the assault that is being waged against democracy, you see some key elements that we have learned from historical examples of the same kind of attempt to consolidate power, undermine institutions."
The event was part of the CGI University program of the Clinton Global Initiative, created in 2007 to develop and engage young leaders on university campuses around the world. Every year, the initiative organizes an event where students, school leaders and others come together to develop solutions to global problems. Over the last decade, students have taken more than 6,250 engagements and received nearly $ 3 million in funding through the CGI University initiative.
"Students have comparatively less experience in the world. Why do you trust us to be the change you want to see in the future? Asked a student at the Clinton Saturday as part of a pre-established Q & A session of the event.
"It's a great question, and it shows the wisdom of the person putting it," Bill Clinton said. "You are not jaded or you would not be here, you have knowledge, you have energy and you have the will to make a difference.
"Too many people when they get older are broken by their disappointments," he added. "Never let that happen to you – do not do that."
"I'm very optimistic and I do not think students and this generation are less idealistic," Hillary Clinton said. "I think they're more idealistic, more tolerant, more diverse, more willing to empathize and respect each other." And these are all very important traits. "
Twitter @essayolumhense
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