WASHINGTON — A sense of purpose, of outrage, moved young Americans such as Jeff Schlanderer to protest against the government a generation ago. They were old enough to fight for their country in Vietnam but too young to vote for the president who sent them there.
``Young people united because we knew were going to be part of this,'' recalls Schlanderer, 48, a newspaper collection manager from Kentwood, Mich., who enlisted in the Air Force and served as a security officer.
The youth protests of the Vietnam War era helped change the Constitution to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. But now, 25 years later, the promise that a new generation would bring its energy and optimism to influence national affairs is fading.
The reasons may be rooted in larger social changes, including cynicism toward politicians, the influence of television and an uncertain economy.
Voting among 18- to 24-year-olds has never returned to the peak of 1972, and surveys and public opinion polls suggest that young people's interest in politics is at a historic ebb.
Four years ago, 36.8 percent of eligible young voters cast ballots for president, the highest mark in 16 years but still below the record 41.9 percent in 1972. Despite the higher numbers, most experts say 1992 was an anomaly.
``Until it comes to the point when we see that it affects us, we just don't pay enough attention,'' said Rinzer Williams, 18, a political science student at Valparaiso University in Indiana. ``A lot of people simply don't understand the issues. They're left ignorant for way too long.''
A University of California at Los Angeles survey of more than 300,000 college freshmen last year found that only 28 percent thought keeping up with political affairs is an important quality - down from 57 percent in 1966.
In an Inquirer Washington Bureau poll last month, 53 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they were registered to vote, by far the lowest among all age groups. Only slightly more than half of those registered - or 54 percent - described themselves as paying even some attention to the presidential election.
By comparison, 4 out of 5 of those over 50 had registered to vote. And 4 out of 5 of the over-50-year-olds registered said they were paying some or quite a lot of attention to the presidential campaign.
Don Stewart, 25, a computer systems engineer in Indianapolis, said people may have lost confidence in their ability to change the system.
