I’m sure that you know my answer to the above question. Old, white men have caused great harm to our nation, and its reputation around the world. They constantly fail to perform the jobs for which they were elected. Instead of addressing the needs and wishes of the majority, they serve themselves and special interests.

The truth is that they must either follow the lead of the majority today or get out of the way. By the majority I mean younger Americans and women. Millenials are now the largest demographic in America, replacing baby boomers.

Leading America today is the next generation of voting Americans. It began with the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who refused to stay home and mourn the 17 students and teachers who were killed by a lone gunman in Parkland, Florida. They decided to hold rallies and demand that our government do the right thing. They claim that they will not rest until military weapons labeled ‘assault rifles’ are banned and with them the high-output magazines which fuel these killing machines.

Many of these young men and women will be able to vote in November, and nearly all of them in 2020. They are the future; the old, white men in the House and the Senate are the past.

Across the nation millennials in our colleges and universities are joining their younger brothers and sisters; demanding that our government take action and adhere to their demands.

For decades mothers, daughters, and sisters have urged our government to pass new and stricter gun laws to protect their families and friends. Their power was limited by records showing that women, especially single women, were reluctant to vote. This is no longer the situation.

Today not only are more women registered to vote than men, more women have filed to run for public office. For the first time in history more women were registered in our colleges and universities than men in 2016.

The fact is that candidates in the November election do not need the votes of baby boomers. Winning the votes of younger Americans and women, along with a percentage of middle-aged voters, will guarantee victory.

Here is another fact; the average age of all Americans is 37.9 years. The average age in congress is 58 in the House and 62 in the Senate. There are eight members of the Senate who are over 80 years of age, and 11 in the House. Republican representative from Texas, Ralph Hall is the oldest at 91.

During his campaign, Donald Trump said that he would introduce term limits for congress. He has been silent about it now that he is defiling the White House.

Simply by the age of our elected officials it is easy to understand why our government is out of touch with the people. Two things stand out to me. There is no honor in holding office for more than 40 years. This has been proven by Orrin Hatch who is nothing but a senile old man failing the people of Utah today. Secondly, our government cannot be effective until it represents the demographics accurately. Women outnumber men in America, and the seats held in Washington should represent that fact. In addition, term limits would allow younger Americans to win seats in our government.

A survey shows that few Americans are aware that to run for a seat in the House, the only requirements are that a candidate must be an American citizen and 25 years of age. For the Senate, an applicant must be at least 30 years of age. Presidential candidates must be natural born citizens; 35 years of age; and have lived in the United States for 14 consecutive years.

Our nation desperately needs younger Americans and more women in our government. Time for change, and high school students across the nation are leading us.

Op-ed by James Turnage

My five novels are available on the free Amazon Kindle app; CLICK HERE