"Heading to the Polls"
"What Matters Most to You?"
by: Lisa Devillez
As a teenager turns eighteen, there are several new options that become available. However, more important than being able to buy fireworks, or lotto tickets, or even being able to be drafted for war, there is a responsibility to vote. This new responsibility is being taken lightly.
Our generation has shown the lowest interest in political issues in decades. The sad part is that those issues will be affecting us for generations to come. The government has set up groups to help teens get excited, get off the fence, and make a difference in the world of politics. Groups such as rock the vote help teens register to vote and bring attention to the big issues. Just what are those issues that we care about?
A recent poll of Ms. Dixon and Ms. Goodridge's second period classes showed that the most important thing on Signature students mind is the war in Iraq. According to the national polls, that concern matches what the nation is feeling. Many adults want the well fare to be given more to elderly people instead of young adults. Health insurance is a big issue. Many people can't afford the health care they need because they don't have or can't afford health insurance. There has been talk about switching to a national plan.
Whatever you feel the need to vote on, the one thing that all the politicians agree on is that today's young people need to step up in the world of politics. Some would say that if the government really cared about our vote, they'd talk about the things that mattered most to us. To those, the government sates that they can't read our minds. How are they supposed to work on things we care about if we won't tell them what they are?