My interest in politics began when I discovered how much I really didn’t know…

A few years ago, I read the story of Immaculee a young woman who hid for 91 days with seven other Tutsi women in a tiny bathroom of a Hutu pastor’s house, escaping the genocide which killed over 800,000 Rwandans in the short span of only three very dark months. Miraculously she survived to tell her story, opening the eyes of a very blind world, as she opened mine.

I was surprised at how little I knew about this atrocity. The Rwandan Genocide began in early April 1994, when I was 8 years old. Despite the fact I was old enough to watch the news with my parents and understand major events people were talking about, I knew very little of the atrocious crimes committed that day, and don’t remember anything about it on news media.

Although I was young, I do remember watching the OJ Simpson trial on TV constantly. I remember seeing footage of the car chase and everyone talking about the verdict.

To my surprise, as I was researching the Genocide further I discovered that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were killed in June 12, 1994, almost exactly two months into the Rwandan Genocide, just as world was beginning to recognize the atrocities occurring in Rwanda.

I was so appalled at how powerful our media is in determining public knowledge and opinion. I recognize that most of my peers are not knowledgeable about important current affairs. Yet I feel strongly that my generation consists of the future decision makers of this country and we must take this responsibility seriously. As we approach the years of adulthood comes a social responsibility which calls us to engage in the world outside of our own physical surroundings and cultural setting, whether we want the responsibility for it or not. We must seek understanding and gain knowledge of the people and places throughout the world where hardships and suffering, celebration and accomplishment or even simple differences exist. While it is a common occurrence for my peers to go on mission trips all around the world learning and participating in other cultures, social responsibility is more than that.

We as Americans have the privilege to make informed political decisions that affect people across the world, across the country, or even just across the street. We have been given a precious gift that most of the world will never have. We can help make political decisions and put political pressure on those who have the power to make a difference. But we can also make decisions about what to do with our own time and money to support and encourage those in need.

Although I still get caught up in my day-to-day routine and business of my own life, God has given me a passion to encourage widespread knowledge of the issues that should impact our political understanding and decisions.