In discussions surrounding the 2016 presidential election, rhetoric regarding socialism, Trump’s antics, and hot button issues have been the center. Many articles, posts, and videos have come out bashing candidates that seem “unfit” for office. In the midst of a campaign of outsiders, such as Sanders and Trump, we as voters are able to choose where we fit into this seemingly ultra liberal or ultra conservative ideology.

Recently, talk of socialism and how it works in an economy like ours is one of the biggest topics as Bernie Sanders campaign sees real results. Giving Hillary a scare in the Iowa caucus and a run for her money in New Hampshire has given the openly democratic socialist credibility for his campaign.

Now, we are seriously seeing the results of the millennial support that Sanders has talked about. For this reason, conservative media outlets and platforms have started releasing videos and articles bashing the ideas behind socialism. While we know that socialist ideas have not had great successes throughout history, we also know that Sanders isn’t a radical socialist. Many American policies such as Social Security have socialist ideology fueling them. Whether we use the word socialist is no longer the issue, as many conservative and liberal platforms would like you to believe. When we direct the focus to that of whether socialism is right or wrong, we miss the point entirely.

Throughout history, the biggest problem facing elections is the problem of an apathetic voter, specifically young people. As much as we say that voting is important for everyone, this message doesn’t hold for many millennials. In the 2014 midterm elections, only 21.3 percent of millennials turned out to vote according to this research. While stereotypes of millennials have always been that they are lazy, technology obsessed and uneducated about politics, we have seen an ever increasing interest in this coming election throughout this younger generation.

By focusing on whether socialism is right, whether Donald Trump is stupid, and how often Hillary Clinton sends out annoying emails, we fail to recognize the amazing motivation present in a population that it has never before been seen in. In an age when we need people to care about our country more than ever, these radical candidates are giving people something to invest in. It is in our benefit to step back and take a look at what millennials are achieving, how involved they are in politics, and how much they truly care about the nation that we all call home.

The distracting talk around how uneducated millennials are because they believe in radical policies is just that -- distracting. It is distracting from the fact that for one of the first times in history, young people care. They care about the future of this nation. Let’s stop the discourse around the ineptitude of a whole generation and focus on the amazing potential that lies in the hands of voters that have never cared to vote before.