Chris Sandler, age 17

As a high school senior, it is virtually impossible to avoid politics. Signs on the side of the road, commercials on TV, and people discussing constantly it make it difficult to ignore. For many students, that’s precisely what we’re trying to do—ignore it. It’s not that we think politics is a meaningless topic, or that we think the midterm elections are pointless, but rather we think they have little value to us individually. We struggle to find how it will affect our lives, and so the interest level is low.

Both of my parents are Democrats. And sure, this has influenced the way I view elections and campaigns. But in reality, politics still wouldn’t matter to me if they were Republicans. This, however, does matter in Washington, and it surely matters to people all over the country, but as a seventeen year old who is not yet old enough to vote, the value is not as significant.

As a Penn State fan, I’m aware that Ohio State and Michigan play every year. I’m aware that in a small way it could affect our season, but in the end, I really don’t care who wins. This can be the same with politics. One candidate may be advertising something I feel is a good idea, but if he loses, I won’t be devastated because it was only one idea. The overall impact is what matters most, and for a teenager, that impact may not be very forceful.

There are, however, many circumstances in which politics can affect a teenager. School being one of them. Governors make decisions regarding schools all the time. As a student, I’ve noticed certain decisions, and even taken a side on the ones I felt were relevant. But I’ve never thought to myself that my life outside of school would be changed by one decision.

When it comes to politics, teenagers can be a difficult figure to analyze. There are a number that care and pay attention because it could affect them through school or some other way. There are also a number that don’t care enough to check to see of the insulting accusations in a TV ad are actually true of that candidate. An election may change the test a student takes in school, but it won’t change a show they watch on MTV.

Max Wolfson, age 16
Politics in general should be important to any teenager. Kids need to understand that if they do not learn about what is going on in the political world, then as a result they will fail to know how their government is run, what makes a good leader, or what issues are important to society. Midterm elections are called such because they occur two years after a presidential election. These elections provide U.S. citizens the opportunity to voice their opinions on how the incumbent President is doing halfway through his term.  Therefore, midterm elections are somewhat of a big deal, especially in Florida this year.

Marco Rubio (Republican), Charlie Christ (Independent) and Kendrick Meek (Democrat) are the three candidates who are running for a U.S. Senate seat during our state’s 2010 midterm elections. Christ, who spent his career as a Republican and is our current governor, is now running as an independent which to me is pretty obnoxious. Once the Tea Party started getting traction in Florida, Christ knew he could not win against Rubio by running as a Republican. So he then became an Independent, and thought he would have a better chance at winning the election than a true Democrat like Meek who was not well known throughout Florida.  However, Meek beat a millionaire candidate in the primary election and has established himself as a legitimate candidate.                          

Because my parents are life-long Democrats, and my dad has worked on Democratic campaigns, they have had an indirect influence on me to support Democrats instead of Republicans.  They do not tell me who to support, but I do hear their comments. To me, Christ just wants to be in the Senate for the mere prestige of being called a U.S. Senator, instead of truly wanting to represent the people of Florida. Meek I feel wants to better the lives of Florida citizens, and support President Obama’s health care plan, which to me is one of the most important things anyone in the government can do. Rubio is a leader within the Florida Republican Party, he’s a bright guy and a Hispanic American--but he moves to often to the beat of conservative views.

The race for Florida governor is between Democrat Alex Sink, and Republican Rick Scott. Personally I am in favor of Alex Sink. She is a business woman with moderate policies, and a record of integrity. She also would be the first female Governor of Florida.  While Rick Scott is a successful businessman, he has refused to answer questions about his involvement with his former company’s supposed illegal issues and he has spent millions of dollars of his own money running misleading and negative ads against Sink.

A lot of my friends are Republicans and try to sway me about how President Obama and Democrats do not know what they are doing. They just say how all he has done is created a big government healthcare program, but more needs to happen.  They seem to easily forget that in 2008, the economy was on the brink of collapse--a condition created years before President Obama came into office. But, the economy did not collapse. The Democrats deserve until the next Presidential election to try to better the Florida and the country.

Chris is a senior and Max is junior at H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. Both are staff writers for the Pep O’ Plant, the high school’s newspaper that serves 2, 200 students.