Revolution. Withoutrevolutions, the United States would still belong to the British. Withoutindividual revolutions, politics would not be an important factor in ourgovernment. Where there are people, there are differences of opinions, and whatwould government be without disagreements? Would we even need government?

Every election season, politics proves an important factor whendetermining the nation's leaders. This shows that politics has a strong influenceon the opinions of citizens, including long-term issues and current affairs.Teenagers today think little about how politics affects them.

I assumedfor a long time that politics was over my head. To me, there was no point to it,and no reason to try to understand it. As I learn more about its importance tothe health of our country, however, I find it is important to be aware ofpolitical issues. Also, I have begun to develop my own beliefs about politics andthe government, including its leaders, judicial system and themilitary.

Teenagers often overlook the significance of understanding therelevance of politics to their lives. I know I did. However, teens really do notknow what they're missing when they assume politics is not as essential to themas to the adult population. Teenagers don't care for a few reasons. First andforemost a word cherished by so many Americans: taxes. My age group can't realizethe impact of taxes because most teens do not pay taxes - an issue which greatlyaffects politics. Because today's generations are being raised to praise thedollar, taxes are something that will have a huge impact on our future. Second,politics is sculpted around our leaders - the presidents the senators andgovernors - not high-school students.

So politics, though it affectsteens, is shaped by adults. The average teenager is not interested in the termsof the budget summary nearly as much as football terms. So plainly put, politicsis on a different level of intelligence and interest than teens are used to.

When choosing between the Braves/Yankees series on ESPN and the electoraldebate on CSPAN, I know which I would choose. If a teen was asked the followingday if he or she watched the game, and responded with, "No, but did you hearwhat Bush said when asked about the budget cut?" calls for oxygen would echothrough the school halls. Basically, it's normal for a teenager not to care aboutpolitics, even though I believe we should. Until recently, if I were asked todefine politics I would have been forced to respond, "Some governmentstuff?"

Now that I know something about politics, I realize that itis important to have at least some understanding of what is happening in theworld. Politics is vital to our society since it presents issues that face usall. Strong political parties are necessary for a healthy government. ThomasJefferson believed that, "The duty of an upright administration is to pursueits course steadily ... and to cherish the good principles of both parties."This shows that it takes more than one political party to make a well-balancedgovernment. Having at least two ensures the exclusion of the weaknesses of each,and use each's strengths for one prosperous government.

In the UnitedStates, political parties have guided us through times of hardship to triumph.However, politics can easily become a liability if the parties only focus on whatthey think is important. In this case two groups of politicians with a narrowpath toward individual goals may exclude the needs of the nation. As long asthere is free speech, though, there will be multiple political parties. They arenecessary to the strength of our government. Our founding fathers proved it couldwork, and it has thus far.

For our political system to flourish, adultsmust realize that teens must be educated about politics: why it exists, why it isimportant, and what our generation can do. Soon enough, it will be our turn tolead the nation.