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With the mid-term elections right around the corner, Republicans, Independents, Democrats, and others are doing all they can to get out the vote.

As a young adult committed to love and justice, I, like so many of you, am actively involved in raising awareness of critical issues impacting us all.

From immigration reform, to ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to environmental justice, this is arguably a major turning point in American history.

This is a major turning point because the mid-term elections will determine whether we continue on with the goals that we had two years ago when we elected the first African American community organizer into the White House.

This is a major turning point because many people are angry about the slow rate of change in America’s economy and our elected officials’ inability to pass much needed legislation, like the Youth PROMISE Act or the repealing of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” 

This is a major turning point because people are starting to lose faith in our democracy.

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You see, I consciously use the term democracy because despite a history that’s filled with exploitation, injustice, and hatred, I still believe in the power of people to overturn unjust laws and hold systems accountable to the interests of us all.

Through all of our flaws as a country, there is still a reason why my grandparents left Mexico to brutally toil in the fields of California.

Through all of our flaws as a country, there is still a reason why people sacrificed their lives in the fields, factories, and in different movements for peace and justice for us to have the right to vote and ability to live as dignified human beings.

Through all of our flaws as a country, there’s still a reason why many of us are still organizing to make sure that America is no longer simply an ideal, but a reality for people worldwide.

You see, I still have faith in democracy because I have witnessed firsthand the power of young people coming together to build institutions and to get Presidents elected to the White House.

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I still believe in our democracy because I continue to see young people changing their grandparents, parents, and friends’ views on education, sexuality, and the environment.

And I still believe in democracy because young people are more accepting of people of multiple identities, most notably seen in the environmental and racial justice coalitions nationwide.

So despite the rumors of an impending conservative revolution in Washington and around the country, I say not now, and not ever again. 

A vocal minority cannot erase history from textbooks like their attempting to do in Arizona by eliminating African American and Mexican American history from public schools.

A vocal minority cannot continue to deny our most basic human rights, from marrying whom we choose to deciding who’s “qualified” to attain a quality education.

And a vocal minority cannot outnumber the sheer magnitude of young people who make up the largest generation in the history of America – the Millennial Generation – who’s 100 million strong and voting in record numbers.

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Unfortunately public perception is not based on these facts but on fear and the cult of pe