When considering all forms of government, there is one thing that boils down to that connects the different types of authority and government across the world: the age that holds power. Especially in American politics, many members of our Congress are often older than the people they govern. And while many people do not see this as a problem, I would argue that this poses a cause for concern.
Not one generation has been raised in the same world. I have not grown up in the world my mother has grown up in. And, in the same breath, my mother has not grown up in the world my grandmother grew up in. As time progresses, needs, desires, and concerns change along with time.
When factoring in age in our government, this introduces the concern that many people who hold power are out of touch with our current society. Growing up at a different time, in a different world, many of the people in congress do not possess the knowledge of what currently plagues our nation, instead influenced by the world of yesterday that no longer exists.
Let’s look at the state of New York. Newly elected mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, has made active changes and improvements across the city because he understands the world we currently live in. Despite what people may argue, his age does not limit him. Instead, his youth allows him to resonate and understand the needs and changes that need to be addressed within our current society. Instead, influenced by the world today, Mamdani is focused on helping to fix the needs of the present, and not the needs that once concerned our past.
And that is something that does not come with older age.