(April 5, 2006) — Living on the Left Coast, one is often given the choice of being a Democrat or being a Democrat. What a selection, no? Being the lucky girl that I am though, I actually have a façade of a choice. I live in a family of Fox-watching, Kerry-bashing Republicans. As such, I am swarmed with political options. Or am I? Voting rates for national elections, especially for the younger generations, have been decreasing each year. According to the Current Population Survey (CPS) performed by the U.S. Census Bureau for the 2004 November elections, only 41 percent of the potential voters 18-24 years of age actually voted. What a depressing statistic. My belief is that this statistic stems from the lack of choices teenagers are given today. With some notable exceptions, teachers nowadays are Democrats. As such, often the best way to survive in such a class is to agree with them, unless you are one of those rare individuals who can manage to say your opinion in a delicate enough manner to not offend. My parents pressure me politically as well. Whenever there is something stupid said on television, my family jokingly says, “I wonder if he/she is a Democrat.” And when they see my homework (styled to agree with my Democrat teachers), they call me a sell-out, a spineless lowlife and an all-around shmuck. This leaves me feeling guilty at “betraying” my parents’ (and supposedly mine by association) opinion and also angry at being berated for writing something other than what they approve of. Is there any wonder why I care nothing for the world of politics? Teenagers are so pressured from both their home and school lives to pick a side that apparently many are choosing not to care. Why vote if you have no opinion of your own? Young people are often expected to pursue the political ideals of their family. If they go against the grain, they are then labeled the black sheep of the family. It’s much better to avoid all that controversy and start on the piles of homework in your room instead. A solution will be hard to fi nd, since teachers inevitably let their political affi liations show to their students. Unless we can fi nd some Green Party teachers for our schools, or we balance out the ratio of partisan teachers, the only way to ameliorate this problem is to start at home. If parents just let their children develop their own political ideas, perhaps the next election’s CPS would have less depressing statistics. Should all else fail, we politically confused students can all join the Green Party and have our votes not matter anyway.