A Golden Opportunity: Radical and separated politics endanger students' perspective on national leadership

When I see videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents tackling a teenage Target employee or 1,500 active-duty soldiers ready to deploy to Minnesota, I ask myself what things should look like for our country.

I have no reference point for what civil politics look like: no such thing has been taught in public schools, and I’ve had to search for examples of positive leadership and discourse between the political parties on my own. Thank you, Google and YouTube.

There’s no “Politics 101” class that details why it’s bad when President Donald Trump says he hates all Democrats or when California Governor Gavin Newsom posts an AI video degrading Republicans. The closest thing we have is general government classes in which we are encouraged to stay “unbiased” under guidelines set by the US Department of Education.

The furthest secondary schools are permitted to discuss politics is A: if it’s in a historical context or B: if it’s purely informational. Neither allows for critiquing the straight-up wrongdoings and immature actions of current politicians. That would be “biased.”  

While on paper it makes sense for a public school like SM East to stay unbiased, not being able to set standards and expectations for our government and our leaders is exactly how political environments become radicalized (extreme in policy and rhetoric) in the first place — uncontested and normalized.

Yes, in AP US Government, students may analyze the effects of current events, but that doesn’t set a national expectation for leaders in the eyes of the youth.

Setting standards isn’t about saying “Republicans are crazy right now!” It's about saying, “Trump shouldn’t be saying ‘Quiet piggy!’ to reporters, or claiming ‘Sometimes you need a dictator,’ that’s not how a leader should act.”

By ignoring blatant, unprofessional and unconstitutional actions from our government, like slandering other politicians on social media or allowing ICE agents to enter homes without warrants, we are enabling the normalization of these outlandish and potentially dangerous policies. 

Sixty-percent of party-affiliated voters say the opposing party is a “threat to the nation,” according to a Green Law Corp survey. That sort of mindset will continue unless new voters — coming out of high school — are taught to identify wrongdoings by politicians and administrations. 

Radical politics don’t have to be bad, and both sides do it. The issue arises when young, impressionable minds aren’t taught how radical politics can quickly turn into unlawful action or be flat-out dangerous if left unchecked, as seen by the incidents involving ICE. 

Teachers don’t have to condone or reject a giant wall at our border or deportations in order to tell students how important it is to follow the constitution and treat others with respect, and show them when citizens’ rights are violated and when our leaders act out of line. 

Our teachers shouldn't have to break the rules for us to understand what's wrong with our leaders.

In the 2008 election, Democrat Barack Obama was running against Republican John McCain. McCain never resorted to insulting his opponent and emphasized how Americans wouldn’t have to worry if Obama became president. Obama expressed similarly positive-sentiments about McCain.

Though both disagreed on fundamental policies like healthcare and taxation, they acknowledged that the other had the best interests of the country at heart. This is a stark contrast from the childish name-calling charades of the last three presidential debates.

Researching these old events was very eye-opening for me. But I had to do all that searching myself — something I’m sure most students my age aren’t doing.

There’s no established reference point for “civil” politics in my generation. No Kennedys or Eisenhowers with approval ratings above 65%. And I don’t want to face the possibility that 2016 could be the most civil year in politics my generation can reference. 

It’s not about red or blue, and it’s not complicated. It’s a concept we’ve been taught since before third grade: treat others how you want to be treated. We should expect that from our national leaders. 

All teachers need to do is say, “Our leaders should be expected to follow the golden rule and respect the Constitution.” That’s it. 

Additionally, students should reach out to district administrators and government teachers about this. If we, as a national body, can establish this basic principle as a foundation in our public education system, we’ll prevent future problems of radicalization from the educated generations to come.

Politics is in our faces all the time, from bumper stickers to Instagram posts, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t address politics in an open environment meant for learning.