“Why would anyone put lipstick on a pig?” my friend asked me the other day, her manner completely serious. Not all households are, or must be, politically charged, but we as young people are failing as citizens if we choose to remain unaware and uninterested in the events that are shaping our futures. Another of my friends is always telling me how much she hates politics. Unfortunately, politics is not so understanding as to limit its effects on the politically aware. Hate it or love it, the world that we inherit will be a tomorrow created by the politics of today.

By ignoring current affairs, we willingly make ourselves disastrously unprepared for our role as adults. How can one function well in the economy without being aware of it? How can one make sound and fair social or moral decisions without understanding the issues? How can one hate something justly without knowing anything about it?

It is necessary for people of voting age to become informed and develop their political views, then give those opinions a voice. Vote! By becoming an informed and active member of our democratic process, you are only helping yourself by choosing a leader that will further your interests and values. By participating in the voting process, you are continuing a tradition that has given America its strength and prosperity for over two centuries.

Even people like myself who do not yet have the opportunity to vote for the leader of this country need to care about political events. The day will come when there will be no one to make decisions for us. Politics is often an ugly, dirty business. This will not change when those who disapprove react by ignoring the democratic process. After all, one who chooses to “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil” is nothing more than a blind, deaf, and dumb monkey.