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The youth of today are the voters of tomorrow, as well as the
local officials, congressmen, senators, and president. When adult
leaders are making decisions that are going to affect teens, the
teens themselves should be asked for their input.
This could be done in a variety of ways. For instance, it would
be a good idea if the local, state and federal governments held
public forums, or sent out surveys asking young people about controversial
laws that concern us. Our opinions should be counted in polls,
just as adults' are. I'd also like to see elected officials spending
more time at schools, meeting with students in government or social
studies classes.
While we teens care about whom is running our country, we don't
always feel that our opinion is wanted or useful. We want to be
informed and involved in the decision-making process. We are creative
and oftentimes come up with ideas that no one has even considered
before, yet political parties have hardly tapped the enormous
pool of resources that youth represent.
If it is true that youth are the future, then shouldn't we be
a part of the lawmaking process? After all we are all citizens
of the United States of America and we all have to live with the
laws of the land.
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Chelsea Parrish, 14, recently wrote about kids' cell phone use,
online safety, and reactions to loved ones with Alzheimer's disease
for 8-18 Media, a youth journalism/leadership program in Marquette,
Mich. Chelsea has completed her sophomore year at Marquette Senior
High School and she is now covering Michigan's 2006 senatorial
race.
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Yet
far too many other adults still say that teenagers are too young
to understand politics. When I've tried to talk to adults about
this subject, more than once I've been told not to think about
it because I'm too young to understand. Teens should be able to
talk about politics with adults without being told that we're
too young or inexperienced. We aren't going to be able to learn
more about politics if the subject is taboo to us.
American schools and financial aid should be only for legal citizens of the United States. There should be no exceptions to this.
