State of Politics

Politics is generally a word many people like to avoid. Why is that? Is it the fact that politics is an unspoken taboo to many, or is it because people don’t understand it as well as they should? It’s more than likely the latter. I have personally interviewed 50 high school students, 50 college students, and 50 adults (age 25-40) with two questions: a) do you know the difference between Republican and a Democrat? b) do you know who your state representatives are?

Of the 50 high school students I interviewed here are the results:

• 19 of them knew the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Even worse 15 knew who their own state representatives were.

Of the 50 college students I interviewed here are the results:

• 24 knew the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. 24 also knew who their state representatives were.

Of the 50 adults I interviewed here are the results:

• 30 knew the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. 37 knew who their state representatives were.

These numbers tell a scary story. From the numbers above, one can surmise that the younger generation doesn’t know much about politics or the state of political flux that we are in. Is it any indication of our education system as to the reason why younger citizens don’t even know something of a basic fact of knowing the difference between a Republican and a Democrat? The blame doesn’t stop there. One also has to consider our own parents as a source of knowledge, the TV that we watch, or the laziness society gets into, but the one person we have to blame is our self.

If high school students (ages 13-18) aren’t getting a clear picture of politics be it a Republican or Democrat, then we can count that as a loss for us. We have failed in educating our children, our public, or even ourselves. A recent poll by the AP told a scary story. Of 500 citizens, only 320 of them knew that a third party could run in the presidential elections. This is a pretty sad state of affairs if slightly over half of that group knew that basic piece of information.

How do we change this in our society? That question has been posed for a long time, but to no avail. How about these suggestions: 1) Get teachers who care about the subject (not coaches) into the classrooms and teach them, subjectively, about politics. 2) Cut back on MTV News, if there is such a thing. 3) This one is for parents: educate your own children about the subject of politics instead of letting that opportunity slip away. If you’re a parent and you don’t understand the subject, then research the subject yourself as a responsible adult and relay that information to your children. 4) Politics involve everyone from the homeless people to the fetus inside a mother’s womb. Read the newspaper more often, not just the entertainment page or sports page. Also read about a particular candidate’s views. 5) Study history. You will often find history goes hand-in-hand with politics. 6) Start small by knowing who your state representative is, and the party they belong to. The bigger picture starts off at a smaller level.

These things aren’t too hard to ask for, are they? We, as a society, have gotten away from these things. We’re too busy with our new video game systems, or watching the latest TV show. We’ve become mindless and care less about what’s happening around us and more about our own indulgences.

Truly we do live in the best country in the world. We are truly blessed to live in a country where we aren’t under the rule of a tyrant, or rules and curfews aren’t set out for us. Our founding fathers had differences in their opinions, but at least they knew what was going on around them. Let’s not dishonor that. It’s our right to understand…it’s our duty to understand.