Playing politics is a pretty big part of our lives, even when we don’t really get involved in the actual political process. Not only do politics affect laws and policies that determine things like healthcare and education. They also seem to control the way people perceive right and wrong. In other words, we seem to live in a place where the people don’t influence the politics; instead, the politics influence the people. For this to be the “greatest democracy in the world”, we certainly have the process backwards. In my opinion, that’s because of two things:

1. We are too loyal to political parties.

2. The peak of our social activism happens in the voting booth.

When I was in my teens and early twenties, I didn’t keep up with the ins and outs of the political scene, but I knew when major events like elections were happening. I also knew that when it was time to vote in these elections, my parents and most other black folks were going to vote democrat. So when it was time for me to start voting, I pretty much knew that I’d be voting democrat, too. Now that I’m older and pay a little more attention to the political scene, I know enough about both major political parties to know that I agree with some of the ideals of both parties. That’s one reason why I believe that voting shouldn’t be about remaining loyal to a certain political party, it should be about being loyal to your morals and values.

The second issue is the fact that when it comes to social responsibility, most people seem to think that voting is enough. But when you really think about it, voting is pretty much the least that you can do. In my opinion, a person who works daily to change the things that they see going wrong in their community and never even see a voting booth has done more for the country than the person who votes in every election but does nothing more. Unfortunately, politics are marketed in a way that makes us feel like we’re doing something without really doing anything at all. We are always told that we need to get out and vote, and I believe that we do, but it definitely shouldn’t stop there.

Some of you are probably too young to vote and probably don’t really have any interest in politics, so why am I telling you this? Well, I’m telling you this because you haven’t drank the kool-aid yet. You are still deciding how you plan to make your imprint on the world. So while you’re figuring that out, please consider playing politics, but make sure you change the game when you do it.

-Tiffany Vicks

I made a list of twenty things I wanted to do before I died recently. One thing about teenagers our ages is that, we rarely ever think about death as a plausible occurrence. When we are young, we feel as if we can live forever. I don’t like to think of not being on this Earth, I rather think of an idea worth living for. After I read my “things before I die” to my mother she told me her list. Her list, I might add, is AWESOME!! However, you can decide that for yourself…

 1. Go to Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

2. Go to the Cannes and Sundace Film Festival

3. Go to Australia

4. See the Grand Canyon

5. See Old Faithful

6. Take a Cruise to an Island

7. Go to Brazil (preferably for Carnival)

8. Swim in Lake Tahoe

9. Stay in a hotel that cost $1000 a night

10. Visit the 7 Wonders of the world

11. Eat at the most famous restaurant in 10 major cities around the world

12. Meet Barack Obama

13. Take a train tour of Eastern Europe

14. Take a road trip across the US and Canada

15. Take a helicopter ride over Alaska

16. Take a bike ride through Ireland

17. Go to Bucking Ham Palace

18. Visit every island on the planet

19. See a live volcano

20. See all your children accomplish their dreams in life

My list, I suppose, happened to be pretty juvenile. It might have been my mother and I’s age difference. Most of the things I want to do, she had already done. The list above, are twenty things MOST people on this planet will never accomplish. My goal is to try to let my mother experience these things before she dies of either cancer or old age.

What are your top twenty???

Iyanna James