When I set off a few weeks ago for the Massachusetts Girls State program, held at Stonehill College in Easton, I hoped to find something different from the corruption and cynicism that defines so much of today’s politics, and from the political apathy so common to much of my generation.
I’m very pleased to report that I found something extraordinary.
Girls State and its companion program, Boys State, are sponsored by the American Legion and held in every state across the country for rising high school seniors. Each delegate must be nominated and sponsored by their local American Legion Post in order to attend the program, which drops participants into a simulated state government for a week. Alongside my assigned city, I worked through local crises and advocated for policies in a mock congress. I ran for a seat in the House of Representatives and won, taking on the responsibility of representing my city’s interests. I sat through debates on bills my peers had written themselves, working with fellow representatives to painstakingly amend each one. In those debate rounds, I witnessed genuine passion – representatives arguing for hours over the version of the bill they believed was best. After each session, we would go to dinner and continue discussing the bills, taking the time to understand why each person thought the way they did. Often, perspectives on bills were shaped by real-life experiences: education bills were particularly relevant to girls from struggling school districts, while a bill proposing to tax sugary beverages was contested by those with experience in using these drinks to help manage type 1 diabetes. Our debates reflected the highest ideals of modern politics – with all of the genuine passion and good intent that our society should be striving toward, but rarely does in practice.
We also heard speeches from veterans, and their stories were incredibly impactful. They embodied the freedoms we spent the week exercising: the freedom to choose who we voted for, to campaign for our own positions, to lose an election and throw ourselves into another one. It’s easy to take our democracy for granted, and listening to the people who fought for it forced me to confront the level of sacrifice that freedom truly demands. Our speakers urged us, from their unique position as witnesses and survivors, to acknowledge the many gifts we have been given and to strive to be worthy of them. This means taking action without excuses or delays, voicing opinions even in a deafening room as loudly as it takes, and caring more about good values and correct actions than popularity or praise. The Girls State program is founded on the premise that good citizenship requires stepping up even when it is difficult, just as our founders sacrificed so much to bequeath us a legacy of freedom, and our soldiers over many generations have accepted the burden of defending it. So along with teaching us how to build a society, Girls State taught us what I consider essential to being an American – respect and gratitude for our country and its ideals, including freedom, rule of law, democracy, and the right of each individual to pursue his or her own version of happiness.
The moment that’s stayed with me most wasn’t a vote or a campaign speech. It was the last night, at the end-of-week talent show, when the entire program sang Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” together, all waving little American flags. It sounds like a fun albeit silly moment, and it was (I have to mention the program leader was dressed as the Statue of Liberty). But more than that, it was a reminder. There are young people who care, who are willing to read the news every day, to argue and campaign, to lose and win, to grudgingly compromise and still laugh with their opponents at the dinner table afterward. And there are our mentors – veterans and teachers and counselors – willing to put in the work to encourage our love for democracy and America.
That’s the part I keep coming back to when considering my takeaway from the program. My generation gets a lot of criticism for being disengaged, and much of that sentiment is fair. But Girls State showed me that the drive for civic involvement hasn’t disappeared, but simply isn’t often given a place to blossom. Give teenagers real stakes. Give us a problem and tell us to figure it out. Give us clear information and respectful analysis, and an understanding of historical context. You’ll find that we’re exceptional when given the chance. We don’t get a vote in real-life politics, not yet, but we undoubtedly have good ideas plus the intelligence and stubbornness to fight for them. Programs like Girls State realize that and understand how essential it is to foster our engagement. All we’ve ever needed is someone willing to give us a seat at the table.
America has always depended on people willing to do the work of showing up – writing the bill, making the phone calls, running for the seat nobody else wanted – shouldering the occasional mundanity of politics because they understand how essential these systems are. Girls State proves that the next generation is more willing to inherit that responsibility than we are given credit for. I hope more of us are given the opportunities and support to do so.