At Groton there are three different types of students: Students who are extremely democratic/liberal, students who are highly republican/conservative, and students who still think Bernie is a candidate. I have no problem with being political—in fact, I think it’s very important for us, as adolescents, to understand our country’s politics and history. It’s important for us to have opinions and to be educated about current political events because America is a democracy. It functions properly only when its citizens are knowledgeable about its past, its present, and have ideas and opinions on how to improve its future. We have to be invested in our futures.
We should care about the current presidential election for the same reason we should care about environmental issues, and for the same reason we should care about going to college: it impacts our future. It affects the way we’re going to live our lives when we’re no longer worrying about how many major commitments we have next week. Caring, however, does not mean simply choosing an opinion on a topic you aren’t very educated on, and refusing to listen to other points of view. As young people we simply don’t know that much about the world yet—it has nothing to do with how capable or intelligent we might be. It simply has to do with the fact that we haven’t spent enough time on the earth to have perspective on many important issues. Of course, young people do have good ideas and are often the catalysts for change in today’s society. But unless they are extremely knowledgeable about a certain topic or issue, younger people should err more towards listening to and researching different points of view on various issues, rather than forming extreme opinions on issues they simply aren’t educated on.

Malik Gaye ’18

Groton students who identify as political often feel insecure about how much they actually know about the world. This insecurity leads to close-minded, heated debates that serve absolutely no purpose because neither party is willing to listen to the other party’s point. For productive discussion, an open mind is a necessity. Students need to be able to listen to the ideas and opinions of those with whom they disagree, and they need to be able to do so respectfully. When I was younger my mother told me that when you are arguing with someone, the most important thing is to be respectful. “If you aren’t respectful,” she said, “no one will take you seriously, and your ideas will never be heard.” I thought this was silly—why would you care enough to be respectful to someone you were arguing with? But I realize now that you only argue with the people you care about, or want to impress. Otherwise it’s not worth your time. Arguments take effort and time, and if you don’t care enough about the other person to treat them and their ideas with respect and dignity, why are you even bothering to argue with them?
Finally, the idea that the most complex, intricate issues of our world today are black and white is ridiculous. If every issue were black and white we would be able to tell which side were right and which side were wrong, and soon enough the whole issue would be solved. Everything in this world is grey. Not to make anyone uncomfortable, but we do live in fifty shades of grey. There is no “right” answer to anything; similarly, there is no “wrong” answer to anything. You can look at every major issue in today’s world from thousands of different perspectives. To act as if issues in today’s world are clear cut disrespects the politicians and activists who work to express their ideas and opinions eloquently enough to be taken seriously.
Political discussion should be part of every American citizen’s life. It should be considered an important part of a Groton education, as it is. But in order to have productive discussions, students need to be able to treat others, especially those who disagree with them, with respect.