WHERE I STAND, FROM PAGE 1:

STUDENTS OF TODAY WILL VOTE IN HUGE NUMBERS IN FUTURE

It is not a stretch to consider the fact that most of the conversations and discussions these young people have with each other about gay rights, Yucca Mountain, the relationship between Russia and America and the issue of gun control, among many others, are on a level and at a depth far greater than I witness adults having on a daily basis.

That is why there are finalists from each group who will share their group’s opinions on television, radio and in this newspaper in the coming weeks. And more important, that is why the adults in this community — today’s leaders — need to pay attention to these students.

Not only do they represent tomorrow’s inheritors, but they also could be part of the largest cohort of American voters in the 2020 elections. Those of us who participate in the Youth Forum are privileged to hear what is on the minds of our young people a few years before those ideas manifest at the polls.

Trust me on this: These kids will vote in numbers far greater than prior generations because they understand what is at stake. The good news is that they are prepared for that responsibility today.

The students at the Sun Youth Forum and others like them around the country are the medicine for what ails us.

And it is easy to take. All we have to do is listen.