Grizzly Gazette: Boys State: a plea

Daniel was a Boys State nominee last year. So far this year, Granite Hills boys are not allowed to compete in Boys State.

Boys State: a plea
Daniel Hensley | 2/13/08 | Opinion

oys State. It’s a chance for local juniors to get the chance to experience our great nation’s politics at their best. It allows one lucky student to participate in a mock government and compete for the best "government." Boys State is a way for our students to be able to learn about politics, not just the inner workings (that’s what our civics class is for), but the faces that we see participating in them.

In order to qualify, one must first be nominated. This in itself is a great honor, since very few are nominated each year. After that, each nominee is given a packet to study from. It’s just information on congressmen and such, but it’s very important since there is an interview shortly after acknowledgement of nomination. This interview is to see if you truly know your stuff, and if you pass, you’re sent off to take part in this epic chance to partake in the wonders of politics.

How do I know all this, you ask? I was nominated for Boys State last year. I was in the last class to be nominated it seems, since only one person that was nominated showed up for the interview and then was unable to participate in the actual event.

Right now you’re probably thinking that it was I who was there, that it was I who was unable to participate. No. I didn’t even get to the interview due to my inability to attain a ride there and the fact that the rest who were nominated were INFINITELY more intelligent than myself when it came to the topic of politics. Do I regret it? In retrospect, yes. Yes I do. I would have walked to the interview site had I known I would have been one of two people to be interviewed. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Many people believe that it was apathy that none of the candidates bothered to show up for their interviews. This may or may not be true, but that does not mean that our actions should ruin it for generations to come. The beautiful thing about American government is that if someone is doing a bad job, they can be voted out and replaced by someone who can do it better. So why is it that those who are judging this do not seem to think that the next generation can do a better job than their predecessors?

I am not defending those candidates who did not take part in Boys State due to apathy. They have been voted out of office and are no longer on our minds. I am defending those who are unable to take part in Boys State TODAY because of the mistakes of the past. They are the future, as so many elder generations have said, so why aren’t we giving them the chance to prove themselves?

If any of you who read this are big wigs in the Boys State organization, please, PLEASE, allow my successors to take the place that I was unable to. Allow them to take part in the beauty that is America. Allow them to take part in the eternal game of chess that is politics. They deserve it. They are our redemption.

Please keep in mind that this is a high school newspaper. Please make your responses professional and appropriate. Any comments deemed inappropriate will not be posted.

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