Teens weigh in on issues

Ballots here, please.

With the arrival of the 2008 presidential election, many teens are taking one of the first steps of adulthood by preparing to vote.

While this privilege is bestowed at the age of 18, many teens note that their peers might not be educated enough on the issues to care about voting.

For Juan Paredes, a senior at Penn Foster Home Schooling Program, following the election process has become a part of everyday life. His worries about the economy, the advancement of medicine and technology and the subject most often brought up, the war in Iraq and foreign policy.

"We need somebody with credibility and foresight to handle national crises overseas," Paredes says.

The war on terror concerns some teens because they are eligible to enroll in the military.

Some feel the war should be one of the first issues to be addressed as soon as a president is elected.

Briana Cryts, a senior at Rancho High School, believes that "the war in Iraq must be taken care of," whether the future president decides to end the war or handle it differently. "It will be us teens that pick up the pieces that put our country back together after such a huge occurrence such as the war."

Paredes says more teens should be concerned about the war and foreign policy. "It is naive to think that in the 21st century what happens overseas doesn't concern us," he says.

Both teens have family members and friends who are involved in the conflict.

The presence of troops in Iraq concerns Jon Cunningham, a senior at Cimmaron-Memorial High School, because he feels as though "their families need to have them around." Because he has had friends and close family members serve overseas, he is thankful that they now are on home soil.

Nichole Taylor, a senior at Silverado High School, says the United States needs to make peace with countries with which it is at war. "We need to become more independent as a country," and therefore make the country "a better place."

Paredes says he believes it is a president's duty to be "someone who knows how to work peacefully with other countries," which would ultimately lead to "a safer home front," and would "rebuild our reputation in the eyes of other countries."

But the way in which a candidate deals with the war is not the only subject teens have on the brain. Many teens are concerned with global warming, a subject made popular by previous presidential candidate Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

"What happens on our Earth now will affect how we live later," says Elena Mihaylova, a senior at Clark High School. Environmental policies and how fossil fuels are used are what are most important to her. "Global warming is a real issue. If it is not addressed soon, there could be deadly outcomes," she says.

Concerns about energy and the environment are echoed by others.

"It is time we re-evaluate what we're doing with our power usage," says Cryts, who thinks that the overuse of nonrenewable resources will inevitably lead to "the unavailability of these widely used forms of fuels."

Paredes adds, "A role of a president should be to fund research whether it be for alternative fossil fuels or diseases."

This leads to another topic of concern: where the candidates stand on health issues and the morals they would apply in making controversial decisions.

Neil Baker, a senior at Clark, admits to not following the campaigns, but what he does care about is whether a candidate has principles. "I believe that a candidate's religion is important. If he has no moral grounding, then I cannot trust him."

Calvin Mendoza, a senior at Foothill High School, says he bases his concerns on his morals and beliefs. "To me, the most important issues are abortion rights, stem cell research and civil rights."

Besides foreign policy and health issues, teens are worried about the country's financial state.

"We should be worried about balancing our budget and finally getting out of debt," says Paredes. "We can't make money out of thin air; it has to come from somewhere."

And where that money comes from, teens realize, is from taxes.

Cryts says "taxes should be the first issue handled," once a president steps into the White House.

Cunningham says the country needs to be less of a Scrooge and give more money to schools to pay for books and supplies. "We could use more teachers so there won't be so many kids in one room with only one teacher teaching them," he says. "Maybe if that happens we can have a higher success rate."

Some teens already have picked a candidate they think will address their concerns. Mendoza, Cryts and Taylor all support Hillary Clinton. Others, such as Paredes and Cunningham, have not decided.

The teens who have been following the campaigns recognize they might be the minority among their peers.

Mihaylova says she believes teens are just too busy with school and work to follow the news, but she says they should make the extra effort. "It is time for us to get involved."

Baker agrees that teens are consumed with things like "getting jobs and cars, and applying for colleges" more than the political process.

Paredes says some teens form opinions based on those of others. He says the lack of research has led teens to "rally over Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton because they are the first of their kind." He says he has noticed that when a teen is questioned about where a politician stands on an issue, few of them can give an answer.

Cunningham accuses the youth of America of being "uninformed, lazy and uncaring," but thinks the situation can and must be changed.

Though some may remain apathetic, many young people now are realizing that their single votes can make a difference.

"The most votes come from senior citizens, so they are the ones affecting the policies on a whole," says Mendoza. "If teens just cared and were more knowledgeable, then we would theoretically have control."

What is most important to remember, Paredes says, is that "the election is about our future."

"We are the epitome of what the future can hold," he says. "We shouldn't be so concerned with things like reality TV and who's dating who."