Fashion, entertainment and sports. Bring these topics up in front of a group of average teenagers and immediately a flurry of discussion will ensue. However, bring up any political debate or major executive decision and you will most likely be looking at confused faces. Teenagers today are not concerning themselves with what is actually important, instead focusing on the material and pleasurable.
I will admit that I too am one of these people. In the morning, instead of reading the front page to see what the government is doing with the future of our country, I immediately skip to the sports section. When I turn on the TV, I choose ESPN or some cooking show instead of the news. And I know that I am not alone when I say this. There have been many award shows in the past months, and talking with fellow students, I know they made sure to watch them.
However, I also asked some students if they had paid attention to the situation in Egypt--or in Libya with Muammar Gadhafi. Considering that these countries have a gigantic influence on our oil importation, the lack of feedback I received was worrisome. These are topics that will actually have a major impact on our lives, and we aren't even caring about them.
Why is this the case? Well, I have a few theories.
First, I believe that as teenagers, we don’t really have a concrete grasp on what influences our future. We are still learning the ropes, and still under the watchful eye of our parents, who care so much about protecting us from the dangers of the outside world. This turns us blind to that which is truly important to our future.
Second, we just don’t find any of the important information interesting. I mean, would you rather watch a political debate on health care and tax reform or the end of the college basketball season (or whatever show you love to watch)? It just doesn’t catch our attention. I love a good picture or visual aid to go along with what I am reading or watching. But what is going to catch my eye in an article about how a filibuster was used in the Senate the other day? I bet a good percentage of us don’t even know what a filibuster is.
Although we are constantly under the protection of our parents, we are still to blame for our ignorance. It's mostly just due to a lack of motivation or interest - even though this information that will effect us later in life. That is the main reason we need to start paying attention to current events: our future. What is going on in the world and our country in the present will directly impact how we live our lives in the years to come.
Our generation can become more informed about these important events. It just takes small steps. When we go home and sit in front of the computer to go on Facebook, as a good portion of us do almost every day, we should take a few minutes to catch up on current events. Reading the front page of the paper each morning or sometime during the day would be just fine too. If we as a generation do not get our act together and start learning what is really important, as soon as we start living on our own we will be left behind. A lot of the decisions that are being made today will have a huge impact on our lives, and we need to be prepared.
Illustration by A. Mack