With the ongoing election, it has become clear this nation needs a drastic change in our government, and no one else understands that better then the young voters.

The younger generation of voters outnumbers the older generation by a large percentage. They have the power to decide the direction of the nation’s politics in the new millennium.

If only the youth realized what they are capable of in the election process.

It’s amazing how much power the youth voters hold, yet due to lack of interest, only a few will bother participating – hence allowing any sheep or leftovers from the Cold War to have a greater influence on national politics.

Because of a lack of youth participation, rather then starting the new millennium with new clean technology and goals for a better world, we have a useless government that has given us a useless war in Iraq.

There is no reason why an activist should get down on his knees and beg some stoned teenager to vote. It is a civic responsibility, and failure to do so should be considered treason.

Failing to vote in any election is the worst kind of terrorism possible. It is how extremist neo-conservative think tanks like Project for the New American Century can transform our democracy into a laughable dictatorship.

Welcome to the laughable dictatorship. We are living in a nation where the government tries to enforce its vision while lacking the power to blind the public to the truth.

If the majority of youth actually participated in the last election, the disasters of the last eight years could have been prevented. Or the two-party system could have collapsed entirely, allowing a third party to gain influence.

Any person who fails to vote on election day because of a ridiculous reason (like something being on MTV, or a big party) does not deserve to be a citizen of this nation. Hence, there is now an answer to the illegal immigration debate: strip the citizenship of slackers who refuse to vote and give it to a hard-working immigrant who is grateful to be in America.

The only solution to this voting gap is a national compulsory voting policy – adopting laws that require all eligible citizens to vote or else be punished for failing their civic duty.

Such a law will convince the laziest of youth to participate in the electoral process or be fined. Many nations have such laws to ensure that everyone is represented and citizens uphold their civic responsibility.

Some may view compulsory voting as blackmail, but civic duty is a great responsibility in our democracy. Failing to participate may have far greater consequences. It’s better to punish the few useless and lazy people than to allow our democracy to crumble into a dictatorship.

On November 4, it’s the responsibility of young voters in this country to do their duty. Or they can sit back, shut up and watch the world burn.