We have been at war for nearly three years. Since Mar. 19, 2003, more than 2,224 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq and more than 16,155 have been wounded. What baffles me about the current war is that so few people our age seem to have any interest in it. Sure a few of us know someone serving in Iraq – usually through a distant connection – but in general, we are pretty removed from the whole thing.

This apathy is surprising because historically the people our age, the “young people,” have been branded the radicals, the protesters, the politically active, informed and motivated. Other than the occasional sound byte about Osama or Saddam, we don’t seem to pay too much attention to what’s going on – it hardly seems like war.

In the 2000 election, only 36 percent of people ages 18 to 24 voted – thankfully the number has risen post-war to a still unimpressive 47 percent in 2004. With most of us uninformed and not voting, I wonder what it’s going to take to get us to care. It seems we have forgotten the power that the American youth have the potential to exert.

During the Vietnam War, the youth of this country were so upset that they could be drafted at 18 but denied the right to vote, that their activism caused a sea of change in social thinking that led to the ratification of the 26th Amendment in 1971, which lowered the voting age to 18. Whether they were for or against the war, most were against the draft, and their motivation and passion in turn created social change. This change cemented the legacy of the politically active American youth, but somehow, through the years and generations, our apathy has replaced it.

Is the absence of a draft the reason why the war doesn’t feel closer to us? Thankfully, we do not have a draft, but it makes me wonder: If our young, male friends and neighbors were being forced into service, would we feel more strongly about this war? Would we be more politically active and well informed? Part of me thinks that we certainly would, but at the same time, only 25 percent of those who served in Vietnam were draftees. However, with the draft came the possibility that any young man could have been a part of the 25 percent. Do we need to feel threatened in order to care?

Maybe age is also a factor. In Vietnam, the average age of the 58,226 casualties was 20. The average age of casualties in Iraq is 27 – mostly because 12 percent of the troops are reserves, who tend to be older than the average soldier. Would we feel more if most of the 2,224 were closer to our age?

I am not advocating that you should support or not support the current war, but I am asking why so few of us seem to have a firm opinion either way. Have we become so blinded by 9/11 that we no longer think to question our government’s actions? Don’t get me wrong; I support the troops and am in favor of bringing them home as soon as possible. But it baffles me that during the Vietnam War, our parents were taking to the streets and changing the Constitution, while we can’t be bothered to vote or read a newspaper.