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Demonstrators during a protest against the pro-Brexit outcome of the U.K.'s June 23 referendum on the European Union.
JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP/Getty Images
Demonstrators during a protest against the pro-Brexit outcome of the U.K.’s June 23 referendum on the European Union.
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In recent history, the United States has been the textbook example of how to ruin a country, the impetus for fables on the repercussions of dumpster fires. But last Thursday, it was the United Kingdom that the rest of the world was side-eyeing as a majority voted in favor of leaving the European Union, and how this situation foreshadows Millennial involvement in the U.S. election is eerily discomforting.

Largely driven by a surge in public fear of immigration, the referendum was a shocking close call, with 51.9 percent in favor of the so-called “Brexit” (British exit, for those just catching up). By Friday, British currency plummeted to a 31-year low against the U.S. dollar, Prime Minister David Cameron—despite his campaign against leaving the 28-member EU—announced his resignation, and countless young Brits, many of whom made up the remaining 48.1 percent, took to social media in outrage, demanding their futures back.

Voter turnout reached near-record levels at 72.2 percent, and while voter ages were not recorded, according to The Guardian, the British news outlet determined through analyzing certain geographic areas that “the older the median age in an area, the more likely it was to have had a high turnout.” In areas where the median age was 35 and under, voters were overwhelmingly supportive of remaining part of the EU, and a pre-vote YouGov poll showed that 64 percent of those under 25 were also “remain” supporters.

So what does this mean for Generation Y in the U.K.? The fast answer: a vast majority of people who won’t be on this planet as long just chose a future that a younger generation doesn’t want, and it happened because the older folks showed up.

Here’s the start of the longer answer:

Immobilization: Xenophobia, keeping immigrants out, means keeping Brits in, shattering the freedom to live, work, travel and study in 27 other countries. Limiting mobility could hinder youths’ impact on addressing global issues and making connections with other cultures and further promotes anti-intellectualism that leads to royally screwing millions of individuals who contribute to a functioning economy.

Speaking of, goodbye, economy: Already, the U.K. is seeing paralyzing effects of Brexit on the financial market, with investors fleeing risky assets. There are nearly 2.2 million EU migrants working in the U.K., making up about 6.6 percent of the workforce, according to an Oxford Migration Observatory study. Eighty percent of them would fail visa tests currently in place for non-EU overseas workers. For EU workers in the U.K., the leave could make it harder to access health care and pensions. Families could be split up, jobs could slow, property values could drop. Migrants who have lived in the U.K. for years and have otherwise lost their social security and job benefits in their home countries could end up without rights at home or in the U.K.

Higher tuition: Right now, British and EU students pay the same rates. If tuition fees rise for EU students, universities could see lower enrollment making college more expensive for U.K. citizens and jeopardizing staff salaries. It could also impede academic research by limiting the culture. Isolation is the new progressive.

It’s almost comical. An entire country’s future was determined by a difference of less than four percentage points, drastically changing life for 100 percent of the people who live there. Moreover, it’s terrifying, not unlike what we’re witnessing in the U.S. This year’s election is markedly theatrical, a comedy of errors, until you remember this isn’t Shakespeare—the candidates are real, the chaos is real, and we all have to live in this world. If it isn’t obvious, young Americans are gravely at risk for similarly allowing someone else to determine their future.

However, Millennials are the largest living and most diverse generation, and those of voting age, about 69.2 million, almost equal the Baby Boomers’ (ages 52-70) 69.7 million, according to Pew research from May. While the younger generation is consistently accused of being lazy and apathetic, it’s nothing historically new.

A Washington Post article from March analyzed generational voting patterns and political engagement and found that Millennials’ interest and activity in politics is on par with youth in past generations. Millennials are sometimes more involved than past generations in volunteering, contacting politicians and protesting, and are politically active in new ways, such as boycotting products for political reasons and speaking up online. So not all Millennials are lazy, but just reluctant to vote, like their parents’ generation at the same age.

Pew research from March said half of young adult Millennials consider themselves political independents, identifying as neither Republican nor Democrat. Politically and socially, they tend to lean more liberal, and overall, the Millennial generation is the only one in which conservatives don’t greatly outnumber liberals.

Voter turnout in the recent primary was 28.5 percent. While turnout was almost even among parties (14.4 percent of Democrats and 14.8 percent of Republicans), the GOP had the highest primary turnout it’s seen in decades. (Pew research found that the first 29 GOP primaries averaged a 16.6 percent turnout and fell drastically to 8.4 percent after Donald Trump became the presumptive nominee.) Democrats, however, were down 5 percentage points from the record-turnout 2008 election.

British Millennials are bitter about the older generation’s impact on their future. Yorkshire Post columnist Grant Woodward wrote: “Brexit will come to be seen as the Baby Boomers’ ultimate betrayal of younger generations and those that will follow. A knee-jerk response to a series of red herrings, a protest vote with the potential for long-term catastrophe that they won’t be around to endure.” That’s part of it, but young voters are just as responsible. The frustrating reality here is Brexit was not inevitable.

American youths’ future does not have to be so bleak, but the numbers are clear—conservatives in the U.S. election are more politically enthusiastic this year. So if the conservative agenda isn’t aligned with yours, you better vote. And the opportunity for change doesn’t just come every four years. It starts locally. Choose your mayor, choose your Congress. Overall, exercise your right to choose your future. Don’t leave it up to someone else.