The atmosphere of politics today is more inviting than ever to the voice of the youth, and everyone from reporters to politicians stress their participation in current issues. The only thing is, what perspectives are they looking to hear? Look around your school and at your classmates. What morals are they preaching? Don’t pay attention to the values themselves; rather, look at how identical they are to each other. Politics today have become subject to the basic rule of society: follow everyone else or you are an outcast. 

What does that mean for politics? Everyone loves liberal opinions because they seem nicer and are typically shown with more emotion. Have you ever considered how conservative values can actually be quite emotional? As ironic as it is, liberals actually tear down their opponents to the same degree that conservatives do, it just may not be as clear. This is due to the condition that everyone vocally supports liberals a lot more than conservatives. The only times that conservatives make it in the news is when one of the radicals makes a headline. Why can’t the media or schools ever call out the good that the conservatives do? Yet when a liberal does something for the community, it’s extra spectacular. I’m not here to say one side is better than the other because in reality, both sides have a lot of faults and improvement needed. Nevertheless, students can’t keep going to school and hanging out with people just to see conservatives always getting the short end of the stick. This is division. This is exclusion. I’m not saying that their voice doesn’t get to be heard, I’m saying their voice doesn’t get to be heard enough. 

Morals today have changed. People expect respect today rather than earning it. People have replaced facts with biased commentaries. And the world accepts it because society will not allow any other way. People are using laziness and resources like technology as a valid excuse as to why they’re not getting the job done. What happened to traditional American values? This country doesn’t feel as open as it used to; there has been an installment of fear and society says that if you don’t like us, then you’re against us. How do you feel about being in such a politically polarized country, and where do you stand?

After people come to terms with this issue, the next step is figuring out how to alter the current political climate. Education is the best place to start as this is where all moral systems and values stem from. Whether it is from your family or school, you are heavily influenced by these sectors. Families and parents need to normalize communication. It is okay to discuss politics with your children; it is not okay to be passive aggressive and only hint at certain opinions. Same goes for classrooms. Currently, teachers say they don’t share their political views with their students, but you can notice certain things that they say when they teach their planned syllabus. Instead, teachers could possibly educate students on current news and monitor or put input into controlled debates. Speaking about politics should not be taboo at school. It may be a little chaotic at first, but sometimes situations have to get worse before they get better.

Overall, I respect that my generation constantly voices their political opinion, but I wish there could be more varying perspectives. I consider myself a libertarian so I lean a little more conservative but I like to keep an open mind. Perhaps some young conservatives and independents are purposefully staying out of politics. It is more likely though that they are afraid of getting shot down every time. Either way, society needs to hear a little more of them even if it is the last thing they want.