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Dylan Douglas says he's always been a "political person" — he remembers his parents, actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, taking him out of school in 2009 to watch Barack Obama's historic inauguration — and now he's aiming to give other Gen Zers a jolt.
"Our generation is the most politically active, but the least civically involved," said the 24-year-old Brown University graduate, who at just 19 served as Will Cunningham's deputy campaign manager for the New Jersey Democrat's House bid.
Douglas just launched a show, "Young American," on SiriusXM's Progress channel. The weekly program, airing Saturdays at 11 a.m., aims to take a look at politics from the perspective of Gen Z.
"The last 20 years have been fundamentally defined for this country. Maybe I'm biased, because it's the only 20 years I know, right?" Douglas quipped.
"You go back to 2000 and the election of [George W. Bush] and Al Gore — the first time where our faith in democracy was really tested," said Douglas. "I think of 9/11 and living the aftermath of that, the forever wars, the great recession, the rise of Tea Party and Trumpism, and now, of course, this moment, the second chance at a first female president, not to mention the election of Barack Obama."
The focus of "Young American," Douglas said, will be on "issues that are passionate to my generation, Generation Z, but issues that, quite honestly... aren't just Gen Z issues. They're the issues. They're gun control, climate change, housing — which no one ever talks about," Douglas said.
While still a history major in college, Douglas co-founded a progressive political action committee called Make Room, with "the idea of making room for young, progressive, generational candidates that would be great leaders but don't necessarily know how to run campaigns." He now focuses his efforts on affordable housing as a town council member in Irvington, N.Y.
But Douglas, a self-described "proud Democrat," said he has no intention of a political run himself.
"My parents are both actors," Douglas said. "With actors, you may not like them — 'Oh, Taylor Swift, I'm not a fan of her, or Kim Kardashian, I'm not a fan of her,' — but you don't hate them."
"Politicians, by being in politics at any level, 50 percent of the country hates you. And to be hated is something I would never want to be. Beyond that, even though it's funny, I am so political and involved in politics, I'm quite frankly sick and tired of politicians," Douglas said.
"I think they garner too much attention in the press — it's sort of like a cult of personality," he continued.
"The way I see it, if it's on a on a smaller level, like the town council or on a local level, or from the private sector or non-profits, there's so much good work that we as private citizens can do to make the change for this country that we want, without having to put ourselves out there get all that hate, and more importantly, without the cushy desk and the title."
Douglas's first SiriusXM shows have featured everything from interviews he did on the ground in Ukraine, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, to a talk with Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.), the longest-serving Democrat in Congress.
"I wanted to talk about what it was like 20, 30,40, 50, 60, years ago — how politics has changed. Were we that divided back then? And if not, how's it become so divisive?" Douglas said of his conversation with Markey.
"A lot of Gen Z — which separates us from a lot of other generations — is that there's a lot of issues that we face, existential crises, all of which could make us very angry, very upset, very pessimistic and radical," he said, noting the COVID-19 pandemic, school shootings and the rise of social media as contributing to a generational sense of loneliness.
"Some of us are, but I think more so, we have hope and optimism and excitement to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work. Not just to vote, but civically engage, organize, campaign, to move the ball and to move these issues forward and fix things," he said.
"This world right now is a fixer-upper. And I think we're ready to do the work."
English (US) ·