JSA: The Future Is You
A common misconception amongst society is that those who are not of age to vote should keep themselves out of political matters. However, the problem with such a belief system is that it leads to uneducated, ill-prepared young adults with no conception of politics/civic engagement. Members of the JSA chapter at Lamar sought out to investigate this cause further, inquiring into the local political system to learn more about local government and civic engagement.
McKinley Jones, Jalyssiah Ott, and Lily Collins all met with Mrs. Fannie Johnson to learn more about her position on Meridian’s City Council. Her official title, City Council Woman Ward 3, consists of oversight of, “...the budget and the spending of the city resources and funds” along with promoting gun safety. However, even she believes that she is unable to accomplish everything on her own. She works to build a system in which there is community involvement to promote youth involvement.
Our very own mayor of Meridian, Percy Bland, emphasizes the importance of youth involvement and awareness. He believes that, “Youths are the future. It is important for them to know how politics operate and especially important for them to be able to come up with their own opinions and ideologies so that they will make informed decisions when they become of age to participate in our government.”
Bland went on to say that “Sheltering children from political matters will only cause them to be uninformed. The best way to ensure that youth will be prepared to participate in government when they turn 18 is to have discussions about political matters that are occurring both nationally and locally.” Telling young adults that they are too young to understand serious matters is ineffective and costly. In a few years, they will be the adults forming opinions to vote on the future leaders of our country. What good does it do for the nation if those electing its leaders are ignorant of the system?
Other local leaders, such as Weston Lindemann, Laura Carmichael, George Thomas, and more, have all stressed the importance of community involvement. JSA members can all coherently agree that if there were one thing to be pulled from interviewing these leaders, it would be to question everything and to question it thoroughly. The best way to learn new things is to leave one’s comfort zone and learn from those in a position to teach.
When young people become of age to participate in such political matters, amazing things will happen. Considering the fact that there are 1.8 billion people aged between 10 and 18, there is no limit to what the youths of today can do. The future lies in our hands, and it is up to us as to what we can do with it.
Written by Isabella Gray
Check out our next edition for an interview in full written by JSA member Isabel Price!
Interviews provided by Lamar School JSA members.
Pictured: Madisen Daleo, Elizabeth Self, Isabella Gray, Emma Grace Johnson, Bayleigh Brent, McKinley
Not Pictured: Elizabeth Scott Bond, Lauren Ray Goodman, Demia Bland, Lily Collins, Jalyssiah Ott