Times are tough … but we can fix that.

Editor’s Note: The following is an opinion piece by Masuk High School senior Ariq Rahman.

I know it’s easy to look at the state of politics right now and feel like the world is ending. We’ve got assassination attempts, presidential dropouts, couch scandals, raging forest fires and terrible floods, potential AI controversies, all within the last three-ish months. And behind all of this there rages ongoing war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It’s all so much to handle, and I honestly don’t blame anyone for feeling like the world, or at the very least this country, is falling apart.

If you asked me three months ago, I’d probably feel the same. But since then, I’ve had the honor of getting to meet 99 absolute geniuses, and I’m here to tell you that this country is far from doomed.

Let’s rewind. Near the end of April this year, my history teacher at Masuk handed me an information sheet and told me that I had been selected by the social studies department to represent our school at something called “Boys State.” I had no idea what he was talking about but took the paper and went back to work.

Though I had no idea, being selected out of the blue for that put me on the path of going to both American Legion’s Boys State and subsequently Boys Nation (there’s also a Girls State and Girls Nation), both mock government programs designed to bring together the brightest high school minds from across the state and country.

Just a few weeks ago, I returned home from Boys Nation. The slogan of both programs is “a week that shapes a lifetime.” Well I can pretty definitively say that my lifetime has been shaped.

I remember being on the bus from the airport to the campus and telling my friend, the other participating “senator” from Connecticut, that we were “cooked” after getting to know a few of the other senators. I mean these guys were smart. There were kids who ran nonprofits, kids who had research published in accredited papers, we had kids who were Youth Senate Pages (working for the real Senate) or kids who were part of the youth party leadership of the party they support in their state.

I had always considered myself someone who was politically informed. I watch the news, try to keep up with current events. But within those first few days, talking to teenagers who interned at the DNC or who worked alongside real senators, I realized just exactly how surface level my knowledge and participation was.

A lot of that week was spent coping with a bruised ego. Maybe bruised isn’t the right term. A bruise implied that it hurt. More like an adjusted ego. Meeting dozens of kids, my same age, who were just so smart was an amazing experience.

But not only did I get to meet great people, but I got to be alongside them during an intense week in D.C.– a week unprecedented in U.S. history that will be studied and talked about for years to come.

Those same days that I was at Boys Nation, President Joe Biden announced his drop from the presidential race. I sat in a bus with 30 other politically engaged high schoolers all hearing the news at the same time, and all losing their mind about the move. People were shouting asking if it was fake (I thought it was a hoax), some were disparaging the move while others were celebrating it. To top it all off, the day after, we found ourselves at the White House witnessing Vice President Kamala Harris give her first public address following Biden’s announcement as the new Presidential candidate.

If that unprecedented electoral event wasn’t enough, that same week, President Netanyahu of Israel visited the U.S. Congress, leading to protests throughout D.C. I heard debates between the kids I was with about their viewpoints. But unlike some of the debates on the TV screen or in a Facebook comment section, these people were all smart. When these fellow Boy’s Nations senators spoke, they were well informed, had talking points, and brought out well formed arguments with evidence.

I got a little taste of that myself with my roommate. I shared a 16-foot-by-13-foot bedroom with one of the Boys Nation Senators from Idaho. We got along quite well. He was very kind and respectful in addition to being a good roommate all around. But, as I got to talking with him, I realized we had some big differences. Politically speaking, my roommate was on the exact opposite of the spectrum to me. Totally inverted.

Boys Nation gave me an opportunity I had never before been given. My roommate and I talked about it. Despite the 2,500 miles between our homes, our differing ethnic and religious backgrounds, and of course our political views, I was able to understand his viewpoints. Key word: understand. Neither of us totally flipped our aligning within those six days, but for the first time in either of our lives, we learned firsthand that there were logical and intelligent people on both sides of the aisle.

The most important fact that I learned in D.C. that week is just how promising our future is. Because though things look rough right now, I have faith that we have the power to fix things. Because the script of our futures isn’t going to be written by the fossils in the Senate, but by the politically minded youths of today. I put my trust in us.

Just because today the world may feel like it’s in ruin, and our nation is falling apart, that doesn’t mean that it’s all over. The kids during 1776 must have thought their lives to have been over. The children during the Civil War were most likely convinced that that would be the end of Union.

Whether it be the Second World War, Vietnam, even the War on Terror, America has always faced strife. But in all those cases, it was the future, you and I, who pulled the U.S. out of disarray and back into prosperity.

Don’t forget that change won’t come from inaction. I won’t lie to you. Things are in a bad state. It’s so incredibly easy to lie down and grow apathetic. But after going to Boys Nation, I realized that it’s up to us to try to set things right.

So get out of your seats and act. Of course, it’s imperative as ever to vote. But even more than that, be active! Get involved! Do something like I am – interning for local state house candidate Beth Cliff. Or do something else. Go sign a petition! Donate to a cause you believe in. Research an issue that you think is being ignored and tell people about it! Scream it as loud as you can until people have no choice but to hear you! The future won’t just be us 100 boys who met at D.C.. It’ll take all of us if we want to change the injustice we see around us. As cliché as it sounds, the world isn’t gonna fix itself.

To register to vote, click on this link.

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