There have been many debates as to whether or not the youth should be involved in political matters. Some argue that millennials are too young to understand national issues or participate in rallies fighting for movements and change. However, it is in their young age where they are able to grasp more things and be more open minded towards the events happening around them. People of legal age are allowed to vote – but do they know what do their votes amount to? Do they understand the gravity of their decisions if these candidates win?
 
The educational system in the Philippines teaches our kids about history – the battles for freedom, the revolutions held to achieve a common goal, all these were done with knowledge on what is going on. Kids will be unlikely to pick up a newspaper and read through it, and even if there are news apps, the younger generation will only see the latest news if it pops up on their social media feeds. It is time we stop allowing our children to think that the government and politics as a whole is just one big money making scam that officials use to get what they want. The people have so much power to change a government, and the youth needs to know what is going on in the country that they live in.
 
To get the youth on board with national issues, they must first love the country. Nationalism stems from knowing the culture and traditions, as well as the norms and the essence of Filipinos. This love for country will then turn into compassion and the need to help the country and its people, and that includes being aware of what goes on in the news because it affects them in more ways than one. It is not enough for a child to brush off extrajudicial killings simply because he or she does not do drugs. The youth need to be inspired to create change in the world, starting with the community they live in, and that can only begin once they know what is going on.