After going on for what feels like an eternity, the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign has finally entered its final lap. Everything just feels longer and more tedious in the Zoomiverse, where so many of us are living, working, and studying these days. That applies especially to politics—and in particular for those Americans voting in a presidential election for the very first time.
College-age Americans have vague recollections of global affairs before the Trump era: the killing of Osama bin Laden, older relatives arguing about the Iraq War. For the most part, however, the 2016 election was when they awoke to politics—and the 2020 election is when they can finally do something about it. It is time to take stock of this generation coming of age during the Raging ’20s, what they know about politics, and how they imagine the United States’ role in the world.
