Where I Stand — Guest columnist Valerie Delgrosso: Redefining America

Friday, Jan. 3, 2003 | 4:37 a.m.

Editor's note: More than 1,000 students from 30 Clark County high schools participated in the 47th annual Sun Youth Forum Nov. 26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The students were divided into groups to discuss various topics. A spokesperson was chosen from each discussion group to write a column about the students' findings. Valerie Delgrosso of Advanced Technologies Academy writes about her generation's views on a variety of issues covered in her group's topic, "America."

CONSERVATIVES BEWARE: America's youth are not going to vote your way. But liberals should be concerned also. They aren't going to vote your way either. If this year's Sun Youth Forum debate on America was any indication, the next generation of voters expects more from our government and the people who run it.

Today the main issues are terrorism, the war in Iraq, and the slump in the economy. But what about more enduring issues, like the homeless or the increasing problem with health care? Our students want solutions that don't just sound good in a campaign or waste money, but expect and understand the need for enduring, nonpartisan decisions that truly take the needs of America into account.

What is America? Throughout the discussion, no matter what the topic, was a thread of opinion about this question. Some of it was about who represents us. One of the major topics we discussed was why the 18-35 age range votes in such low numbers. Students said they didn't feel compelled to vote because their votes don't count and that they can't relate to either major party.

The predominantly middle-aged white male lawyer composition of the Senate was the subject of many jokes that day. Are these truly the people who have their constituents' interests at heart? Are these the true representatives of America? After all, as a democratic republic, we vote for the people who we feel are strong representatives for us.

A major part of the day was spent talking about our opinions about America's response to Sept. 11. Some students felt that because they had nothing to hide that they would allow the government to tap their phones and watch them in their homes.

One student pointed out that because of her ethnicity, she is searched more than most people at the airport. Is panic a reason to profile certain groups? What about in a country where almost no one is actually "American?"

A student pointed out that a major problem with our response to Sept. 11 is that by giving our government the freedom to watch us as if we were enemies is in turn making it "us" versus the "government." This is not feasible. We are the government. Our system can work if it is allowed to. There is no need to bypass our Constitution and to give away our inalienable rights because of panic.

In a reactionary attempt to appease a scared nation, it is easy to lose sight of what America really is. When one right that is not so "important" is given away, the rest are in danger, especially those that we decide are more "important." The general opinion after the discussion was that we have gone too far. There really is no amount of surveillance and surrendered rights that are going to prevent a group from harming the United States and remain within the bounds of the Constitution. And what would happen if we were to overstep the limits of our Constitution? There would be no America to fight for.

Most of the arguments among the students were not about specific ways of solving problems, but disagreements over what the actual problems were. Some of the students did not feel that Saddam Hussein was a threat to our nation, and others said they live in fear.

Many students were disillusioned because they did not understand who gave us the power to disarm other countries and why we wanted to do it all of a sudden. Some people said that it is an absolute joke to think that we have a say in this war, and others want to know why people who have the privilege of voting would choose a party that wanted war.

The most important question that everyone had: Why have we wasted so much time if the threat of nuclear weapons is so imminent? The students also felt that since we impose our will on others and kill innocents (Hiroshima, anyone?) that we are no better than Saddam. We decided that because so many Americans, including many military personnel, do not agree with the war, that we are winning the war for Saddam.

The true threat of Saddam is not what he is going to do to us as a whole, but how he has turned Americans on each other. To students, it seems that by going to the Middle East, or remaining in the Middle East, we are only going to increase the problems that are our fault in the first place.

And then there were taxes. First of all, there is nothing wrong with taxes. Wasted tax money is a problem, but not taxes. Taxes are how we pay our country for success.

Take your well-to-do family business to a Third World country and see how successful it is there. To save time you can assume it would not be. Success is available in America, and taxes eliminate the problems that in other countries impede success.

When 80 percent of the world lives in substandard housing and much of it starves, we have no need to be greedy. There were the standard arguments about why a person's money should have to pay for someone else, but mostly everyone agreed with the fact that taxes are necessary and beneficial.

Immigration and bilingual education were the best topics of the day in my opinion. This was when everyone's ethnic background truly enriched the debate.

Some people did not think it was fair that illegal immigrants come to this country and use the benefits we have paid for. A logical statement, except for the fact that nearly every single one of us has some sort of immigration in our ancestry. Learning another language should not be considered an inconvenience.

The Renaissance was a flowering of lost languages such as Greek. Language is the same as enlightenment, and besides that, there are people in this country who do not speak English, whether we like it or not. We can choose to ignore this fact but it would be much more productive to do something about it.

Overall, the students in the American group at the Sun Youth Forum want a government that takes a risk to prepare for the future. Our debates were not centered on today's issues but what impact they will have on tomorrow.

The conservatives and liberals should know that the next generation doesn't dislike their opinions, but it seems a more effective system. And to Americans who are uncertain about the future of our nation: Don't panic! A new, strong set of leaders is preparing itself to make the necessary changes.

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