With school, sports and work, teens today have little time to pay attention to national politics. That is a major problem when we become tomorrow’s leaders.

So many things are changing in Washington D.C. Teens shouldn’t ignore what’s really going on.  Whether teens favor Republicans or Democrats is irrelevant. The parties are just a shell for political power.

If students understand what the actual people are saying, then they can have the power.

Teens don’t realize how much of their life is controlled by government. From the vending machine shutdown to the way they pay for college, government is everywhere. In the new healthcare bill, they even require you to have healthcare or they fine you.

You need to know who is controlling your life. Every time the President spends, you foot the bill. The government is even in your paycheck. If you work, a chunk is taken out to pay for social security, taxes, and medicare.

There is too much government interference in our lives. Why is it any of the government’s business if we want to buy Pepsi at the school vending machine to survive the morning? Why is it their business if we have healthcare or not?

I’m not saying you have to follow politics closely, just know what’s going on. Hearing so many people complain about the government, the President, or even Fox News without reasonable arguments is annoying.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “When the people fear the government there is tyranny (dictatorship); but when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”