“Stop talking about politics all the time.”
“Why do you always have to bring politics into conversation?”
I hear these kind of statements all the time. In life and on social media. It’s usually older people, but sometimes young people have this point of view as well. The problem is, politics are more than that. They are about human rights, some of which we still lack in America. Who is running for office, what laws are being made and how many people are voting are all important factors of our future.
It's what I have to pay for birth control, what choices I have if I become pregnant, whether I'll get paid as much as men, if I'll have to worry about my children being shot at school, and so much more. Politics are not just about me, though. They are about Muslims, and if they will be treated with equality and respect in our society. They are about black men and boys and whether they will have to worry about dying from police violence. They are about all of the women and men in our country, who are fighting the war against women. They are about people living in poverty. All of these people — women, men, children, black, Hispanic, white, all religions — need politicians on our side to make important change.
This is why to me, it is not just politics. It is our future, it is emotional and it fires young people up because it matters. When people ask me to stop talking about politics all the time, I want them to know this: I still have a future to think about, and the future of my children. There are so many more changes that need to be made in America. That is why I won't stop droning on about gun control and better sex ed. I won't stop posting about Bernie and Hillary. I will always bring up the current issues like police violence and homelessness at the dinner table. I know that politics can often be boring and shady, but the end result of talking about all of this and encouraging voting; is change (for the better).
