Lily Citrin
On kids talking politics…
After checking her phone, a senior girl seethes as she witnesses a twitter-picture of an Obama ‘12 magnet that someone had jokingly stuck on her car. What a sick joke. And when her friend was asked what she would do if someone was to cover the entirety of her pristine white car with Obama bumper stickers she replied, “I would sue!”
These two girls aren’t the only teenagers getting heated about the election. Immediately after the first presidential debate, Facebook and Twitter were covered with political statuses like, “Mittens, if you want the federal gov’t out of our health care decisions, then stay the F out of our VAGINAS. #debate2012” or “Looks like Obama sweatin’ a little bit #gethimout #Romney2012.”
And although almost the entire high school will be too young to cast a ballot, conversations about the two candidates can be heard throughout the hallways and seen all over the internet. It is fair to say that most kids, including myself, don’t know the first thing about how the economy really works and rarely take the time to even read a newspaper. So where does this fiery political passion stem from?
If you think about it, it is actually hilarious how we talk about politics as if we have a clue when in reality we don’t know much at all. For example, if you glance about the lounge, there’s always some boy ranting about the myriad of lazy Americans relying on the government, whilst eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (no crusts), that his mom made with extra love. As one of my friends says, we’re like little parrots just repeating what our parents say. Why else would kids be debating tax policy? What fourteen to eighteen year old has ever paid a mortgage?
However, this is not to say that high schoolers talking about politics is bad. In fact it is just the opposite. Hearing political banter, even if it is slightly misguided, is better than the usual “Omg did you hear about that party on Saturday?” And despite our often flawed understanding of the issues or our repetition of parental rhetoric, the fact that we are even discussing these matters means that we’re not totally apathetic. It would be ridiculous to blame teenagers for agreeing with their families because it is where most of us learn to develop an opinion about politics. After all, while we may study government and history in class, it’s taboo (and sometimes inappropriate) to talk about what you believe in or which candidate you favor.
But, let us not forget that there are a minority of teenagers who do know something of what they are talking about when it comes to politics. This minority includes the newspaper readers and Model-UNers. Although, this select bunch easily come off as experts because it’s easy to seem smart when nobody else knows what they’re talking about.
For the rest of us, who are not seen clutching copies of the International Herald Tribune, or partake in weekly political debates, we should try to learn as much as we can to make these inevitable conversations more bearable and interesting. Or we can always just get the facts from watching Weekend Update on SNL.
