Recently, news has been circulating about the health care debate, tea parties, and other political problems. Adults are practically tripping over themselves to stand up for what they believe in and what they think is best.

However, they should not be the ones raising a fuss. Many of the things Obama is addressing are problems our generation will have to face and pay for. We should be concerned about all of this and we should be trying to find our own solutions to the problems politicians have put on our backs.

But before we address those problems, we need to address the biggest problem among teenagers in America: apathy. All too often I hear people telling others not to worry about problems. After all, we’re just kids, right?

Wrong. Many of us are approaching voting age, and we need to get our act together. This is our country, and we too have a voice in politics. Laws that are being passed now will fully come into effect when we are adults. It won’t be our parents’ tax dollars supporting the new health care bill; it will be money from our own pockets.

It’s about time that we realized that things happening now are going to have a bigger effect on our life than we think. Apathy is not an option, and we need to get our attention off of the Internet, mindless celebrity gossip, and prom to instead focus on the things that are really important. It’s time that we all watched the morning and evening news, not just a select few of us. Instead of spending all of our time on Facebook or YouTube, we should be reading news online.

This is our future, and we need to take charge and control it ourselves, instead of handing our destinies over to politicians who will be dead and gone before their bills truly come into effect. It’s time to take things into our own hands.