Welcome to the Westminster Forum where 435 years we have engaged of the public and reflection dialogue from the ethical perspective. All forms are free and open to the public and information on Upcoming Events can be found online at westminster form. Org and you may follow us on twitter or like us on facebook. My name is tim anderson, senior minister at westminster president Presbyterian Church and moderator of the form. It is my pleasure to introduce todays speaker, doctor jennifer lawless is a professor at professor of government and American University in washington dc and the director of the women in politics and since you. Herself this way i am a 40year old self evolved political junkie. Election day is my super bowl. That sunday morning talk shows are my favorite reality tv and my computer Search History shows political wire. Com. Is my most visited website. This self evolved a political junkie graduated from Union College in schenectady, new york , with a ba in Political Science and earned her ma and phd in Political Science from stanford university. With defending from the National Science foundation she has conducted Extensive Research on the letourneau politics focusing on political ambitious, representation and gender in the electoral process. She is a nationally recognized expert on women in politics and coauthor of the book, it still takes a candidate, why women dont run for office. Her latest book with code author richard fox is the focus of todays presentation. Running from office why Young Americans are turned off to politics. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming to the town hall forum, doctor jennifer lawless. [applause]. Pinky. Thank you p read cockroaches, colonoscopy, usedcar salesman, traffic jam, root canals and it donald trump. [laughter] will do all of these things have in common cracks they are more popular than the United States congress. It is true, in headtohead matchups and National Random sample of americans said they find that charming things ive mentioned far more appealing than their representatives in washington dc. The house and said it might take solace in knowing that they waited a bit higher than playground bullies, north korea and meth labs, but to be honest the margins were quite close. Its not just cute little polls that i missed to the case. The Political Climate has culminated in the most negative attitude toward congress we have ever seen. The address of modern polling does not even know what to do at these numbers. About one in five voters trust the government to do what is right, congressional approval hovers at around 10 and senator john mccain even jokes that congress is down to case duffers and blood relatives of approving of the job they do. For decades pollsters have also found that although people have never been in love with congress that least support their own incumbents and by 2014, that ironclad reality was turned on its head also. Last year 6 of voters said that they supported replacing the entire congress including their own incumbent. Roughly half of people said that if we were to replace the entire congress with random people walking on the streets, they would probably do a better job of. Its hard to find any evidence of people that think washington is doing what is correct right now. What are the consequences of political system held in such low regard . What are the implications for democracy with politicians viewed so ineffective and our political system so dysfunctional . How does this both for the future of democracy . What is it mean for future generations . In a nutshell, i am going to argue that washington stretchable performance over the past few decades has taken a toll on Young Americans who have come to know politics through the spectacle. They see politics and politicians as pointless and unpleasant. They see leaders and corrupt as selfish and they have no interest in entering the political arena ever. Before i lay out this argument, provide evidence for it and at least speculate as to how we might be able to change this, i feel like i have to come clean about something. I am a political junkie, but its even worse than that. As a 2year old i was according to my parents quite obsessed with jimmy carter. I loved his name and was completely enamored by his responsibilities and i very much worried for his legacy. So far as any toddler could and by the time carter left the white house, devastated as i was, my political interest remained intact and i sat mesmerized in front of the television in 1980, when the iran hostage crisis came to a close and the freed americans disinfected Andrews Air Force base and at age nine i enthusiastically pulled the lever in the 1984 president ial election when my mother let me go into the voting booth with her. At aged 12, a very difficult Summer Vacation and had to decide whether to hang out with my friends are washed the irancontra hearings. I should admit that i probably spent more time that summer with oliver north and John Poindexter and anyone else to good by the time i was a junior in high school, i knew my way around a Senate JudiciaryCommittee Like no ones business and can still recite some of the questions targeted at anita hill. In january of 1996, when my College Roommate came home upset about a break up with a boyfriend, i told her i would be more than happy to discuss it when bill clinton finished delivering the state of union address. Growing up in a very politicized household where it was always impressed upon me that it was vital to stay current of events in government, it was no surprise that i became a Political Science major and no surprise i got a phd in Political Science and frankly, it was no surprise i would actually run for office. I might not have envisioned taking on a popular incumbent at a time when i was a professor and had not yet received tenure, but there was no question it was something i would ultimately do. I was proud to do it. Ive always thought government was on infective way to solve problem and the people who run for office have good intentions, that a political career is noble and there could be little and satisfying than heating a call to Public Service. It is from that orientation that both richard box and i wrote this book and i think that is also why we are both so disheartened by our results. In running from office by Young Americans we present the results of a National Survey we conducted on the several thousand 13 to 25 yearolds and asked them about their attitudes toward politics and Current Events, career aspirations and political ambitions. Would we find . We found 89 of them, 89 had already unequivocally written off the idea of ever running for office. Frankly, as difficult as it is poor me to admit this, its hard to blame them. The current political system, which is really the only when they have ever known has turned them off. Consider their First Political memory. For some of the older people we surveyed, that was a president lying to them, wagging his finger and saying he did not such old relations with that woman. For others, it was a president lying to them and this time about weapons of mass distraction. They experienced a Government Shutdown and know only gridlock in inefficiency and dysfunction in washington. They see the same sad song played over and over and over again in the 24 hour news cycle and they would be crazy to want to run for office. Had we arrive at this conclusion props more importantly, what we do about it . That is what i would like to spend the next few minutes talking about. Lets me begin with a very sad state of affairs and i should let you know that im an incredible testament pessimist and the glass is always entirely halfempty and you should take my remarks from the vein in which i give them. In october 2012, right in the heat of the president ial election, we conducted a National Survey of 4200 high school and College Students, so young people around the country. We asked them about their political attitude and aspirations. The following summer we did hourlong phone interviews with a random sample of 115 of them and what i will demonstrate is that no matter how we asked a question in a matter how we analyzed the data, the story is the same. Today jen people are virtually no interest in running for office. We began by asking, have you ever thought someday when youre older you might be interested in right for office, 89 said, now. 11 said it was something that had occurred to them from time to time and we said okay, even if that has never occurred to you think about it now. Would you consider riper as in the future, 93 said no. We then thought, okay, this is a problem, but its because these are abstract questions. We presented young people with a couple of scenarios, first we said to them if the following job pay the same amount of money, which would you most likely the and they could choose among business owner, teacher, mayor of their town or a salesperson. Mayor of their town came in at a distant third, almost tied with we then presented them with another set of options, again assuming these jobs are paid the same amount of money, what would you most like to be. A lawyer, a business executive, a high school principal, which frankly i think is the worst job in the world, remember congress. Member of congress can and dead last in it was not even close. Then we asked them about 20 different jobs from lawyer to teacher to journalists to doctor to nurse to electrician, presented them with a list of 20 jobs that included three political positions that we said check out any you might ever be interested in thinking about doing, this is a lobar. Check off as many as they wanted and out of these 20 mayor, member of congress and president of the United States placed 17th, 18th and 19th on the list its hard to imagine a more consistent evidence of the fact that this generation from high school and College Students today, can take a little that is more unappealing than entering the electoral arena. Identifying this lack of interest in running for office is one thing. Understand its roots is another. Essentially our argument is that the daily lives of young people dont involve politics. Its not because they are tuned out. Its worse than that. This is not just some naive lack of exposure to whats going on in the world. Its that theyre consciously making an effort not to be engaged because they are so turned off. When they encounter politics they tried to minimize their exposure and shy away from it. This happens in three different ways or maybe better to say or three different reasons. Let me give you a brief summary of each. The first has to do with family and the way to experience politics in household. Let me give you some key facts. Remember this survey was taken in the fall of 2012 in the middle of the president ial election. 75 of young people said that the parents never talk about politics at home. 80 said theyve never had a political discussion with the appearance of a meal. 50 said theyve never had a political discussion with their parents ever. 5 said they had a pair to whoever suggested that they run for office. 2 said that they had two pairs who suggested they run for office. No moderate how we look at these questions its clear that young people are not getting a message in their homes, run for Office Something they should consider. Several of the made points about why they did not feel these conversations took place. A College Freshman said in my family we dont talk about political stuff. Washington and politicians are miserable, terrible and a million miles away. Why should we bother . A high school junior, my parents never want to talk about government. They still dont get when it does come up to quickly say the system is too broken to Pay Attention to. Its not worth our time. Or elizabeth a college senior, we do talk about it, big debates. They start out being based on important issues but we didnt just wind up condemning the whole government for being so dysfunctional and ridiculous. So when fact we asked these young people what would your parents think if you told them that you wanted to run for office . Their answers were all politically correct. They also said my parents would want me to do what makes mapping. The awful up with a sends along the lines of but i cant imagine he would think that would make me happy, or they would be shocked, or i think it would be sad. They know i can be so much more than that. These families dynamics matter because family is the most important socializing agent in young peoples lives. So young people whose parents have encouraged them to run for office are five times more likely to have considered it began people who talk with their parents about politics even just on occasion are four times more likely than those who never have to consider running for office. High school and College Students whose parents told them they should run are six times more likely to have thought serious about that prospect. The problem though is that these families are few and far between. Why wouldnt they be . A National Random of adults, the honesty and ethics of who work in 22 different professions. About 80 of people thought that nurses have high or very high honesty and ethics. 70 said they had taken pharmacists, teachers, doctors and military officers. Politicians fared a little bit worse. Fewer than 25 of americans rated local officeholders such as mayors or city counselors as high ethics and passion that nablus cut in half for state legislators. Members of congress were viewed as honest and ethical at less than 2 of those surveyed. The only people performed worse than members of congress were lobbyists. So parents with busy lives, many of them are struggling to get by, likely see little point in discussing with the families the latest daily in washington, d. C. Or the most recent negative campaign ad that is on the television screen. Although political disengagement by both adults and young people is not new, these recent polls and surveys suggest that now it is far worse than previous generation. And our analysis makes clear the tenor of politics is part of the reason and as a consequence are also farreaching. The second reason, at school with her friends and through the media young people also shy away from politics. Let me start with those facts begin. In high school, among High School Students 65 reported never had a conversation with her classmates about anything political. We asked about 12 areas of discussion and people might have with their friends, school, crushes, dating, sports, food, entertainment, just 17 said they ever talk about politics. It came in last. Website you should look similar pattern. Social networking, music, shopping, sports, entertainment all garnished far more attention from young people than any kind of political or Current Events website. And this disengagement again is not by mistake. When young people look around and to look at washington, d. C. , d. C. And the reported to us intention and ugliness. So thoughtful debates over important issues, calm conversations about issues that matter are alien propositions to the. Window with difference they say they dont want to argue. They dont want to debate or deliberate so politics is off the table. They can articulate his thoughts better than i can soak in the region a couple of quotes. This is rebecca. Most of my friends ar are big te text restricted token about things outside the texting world. I dont even know what that means. But thats what younger people do. We just dont care about politics. We focus on other things, the things that matter, places where we can make a difference. Actually a College Sophomore, if i bring up anything more specific with my friends and a simple fact like hey, obama won the election, my friends alike, i dont follow. That makes yo we want to tell tm this is our country and they should care but then theyll think im being antagonistic and without a fight so i dont. Julian summers this line of thinking thats what he said no, we never bring a politics. Politics kills the mood. Its hard to argue with this perception. We live in a time when all National News almost all National News about politics is negative and combative. Its almost as though theres no place for thought for journalism or positive news coverage. And when Media Outlets are not highlighting washingtons inability to get the job done they are featuring political coverage often amounts to partisans on both sides of the aisle predictably bashing one another. Fox news treats its audience is too hyperbolic presentations of stories about Barack Obamas failures and his liberal counterpart msnbc gleefully tears and endless array of stories lambasting the republican controlled house back. And then the next and we see the exact same thing. Its not on television the present politics in effect a great late messages. Jon stewart describes congress of this would come on us in congress is bad at its job the underside that this congress is equivalent to the scope with its head in a jar of a skippy peanut butter. When republicans held their 33rd vote to repeal the A