Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Nurturing our young

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2000 | 2:36 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

I WANTED to talk about the election. But it wasn't my time.

It was the Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum this past Tuesday and it was the one time each year set aside for Clark County's young people to talk about what was on their minds. And while some of them got to talk a lot about the presidential election, the groups I was moderating -- Around the World and Home in Nevada -- did not have the time nor the subject on their agendas to discuss what was on the tips of the tongues of everyone else in this country.

In a few hours after this newspaper is delivered to Las Vegas' homes, we may have a pretty good idea which of the two candidates will be certified by Florida as the Sunshine State's winner of the 25 electoral votes and, therefore, the election.

In a few weeks, Las Vegans will learn what Clark County's best and brightest students think about the election and a host of other issues that affect them, their parents and their futures as citizens of this great country and this most exciting city in which we live.

While it is of the utmost importance to Americans and people around the world who the next American president will be, it is also important that local and state officials pay attention to what is on the minds of tomorrow's leaders. And, make no mistake, the 885 students who represented the high schools of Clark County are not only the cream of the junior and senior crop but contain among them many of Nevada's future leaders.

What they and their peers think now and how they nurture those positions through maturity should be of utmost importance to the current generation of leaders who like to plan ahead.

When my father and Ruthe Deskin first conceived of the idea for the Youth Forum 45 years ago, it was with the belief that our young people should and must have a place where they can gather to share their ideas, free of intereference from adults, yet with the assurance that those same adults would pay heed to what they have to say.

Over the years the Sun Youth Forum has been a breeding ground for Nevada's leaders, who as students from the various local high schools, were active participants in what has been hailed by groups like the American Legion as one of the best programs in the country for young people.

Some of the earlier Youth Forum participants include former U.S. Representative Jimmy Bilbray and current U.S. Senators Dick Bryan and Harry Reid.

All three of these men have been and continue to be active moderators of the Youth Forum. Other moderators include Senator-elect John Ensign, Federal Judge Phil Pro and a host of community leaders who understand and appreciate the great value in giving their time to these students, knowing full well that some or many of these young people will aspire to leadership roles themselves, some as a direct result of their Sun Youth Forum experience.

So, if we didn't get to talk about the election, what subjects did they discuss and what did they say? Good questions. What they said will have to wait for the television appearances and the Where I Stand columns which will follow in the next few weeks. The manner and the quality of the discussions, though, are worthy of note and the reason for this column.

Even though this was my first -- it is hard to believe -- day as a moderator, I have attended practically every Youth Forum since it was first created 45 years ago. I have watched and listened each year, not so much for what the students were saying, but for the ways in which they were conducting themselves and how they dealt with those with whom they disagreed. I understand that people change their minds, certainly young people who are only just beginning to test theories about the way life ought to be. Many times you can see them change their minds in the course of one morning's discussion. Others take longer, sometimes a lifetime. But the one thing that you can tell about a person is the way they react to those with whom they disagree, especially when emotions are running high, which they often do in Youth Forum settings.

The best part of this year's Youth Forum for me was the respect that each student had for his or her colleagues as they discussed topics ranging from abortion -- not an unemotional topic -- to gay marriages and nuclear waste dumps. In years past, it was quite clear that parents had failed a great many young people by not teaching them the rules of basic civility and good manners.

In a larger sense, the kids mirrored the unruliness and downright rudeness that their parents exhibited in more adult situations so, however disappointing, it was understandable.

By contrast, this year's group was by and large polite and very respectful of the viewpoints of those with whom they disagreed. Whether or not that repesented a clean break with the attitudes of their parents is hard to tell, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless.

Since most of the students are seniors, perhaps we can read into their attitudes a rejection of what we see generally across the country which has been manifested in highly partisan rhetoric and, frankly, shouting contests in an effort to drown out opposing opinions.

None of that was present this past week. Not only were the high school students dressed neatly -- which is a comment on their upbringing and attitude -- but they came to the Youth Forum wanting to participate and learn. Perhaps it was just the idea that adults were welcoming their comments or, perhaps it was a sign of maturity. Regardless of the reasons, I can tell you it was a sign to me that all is well with the republic because much is good about the generation coming up.

Now it is time for the adults to do their part. Read what our young people have to say and understand what they think and why. Watch for the high school juniors and seniors as they discuss their group's positions on television in the weeks ahead. And, then, do something different. Pay attention to what they have said.

If we can do this right over the next few years, the level of participation in this great democracy among young people will increase dramatically. That is good for democracy, which means it is good for our country.

That also means there will be very few, if any, presidential elections in the future that will be the topic of all conversation the way this one has turned out to be.