Politics has always been a polarizing topic. Whether discussing it during Thanksgiving dinner or just casually with peers, politics never fails to make any conversation more interesting. There are two types of people engaged in a political conversation: those who are very knowledgeable about what is occurring in the political world, and those who have no interest in the issue. Neither option is necessarily incorrect or bad; they are simply different. 

Now, there is a lot of debate about whether or not people should be expected to be knowledgeable about politics. This concern about political literacy is a matter that plagues the minds of people all over the world. Recently, the Hill News’ very own Taylor Owens ’20 walked around the Hill campus and asked a variety of students if they knew what the Iowa Caucuses are. And a somewhat alarming two out of fifteen students knew. To be fair, this is a school that hosts students from all over the world, so it is understandable that some did not know. Still, many students who reside in the United States did not know about this important political event. This brings up the question of political literacy being important. 

When asked if political literacy is important, Tommy Simpson ’21 said, “I think political literacy is important as it can give you very different points of view on a topic. I believe that political literacy includes being able to understand and respectfully disagree with someone on a given issue. I think this is important given that we have a very divisive president right now, and I believe political literacy is the ability to see the good things people do, even if you disagree with their ideals. For instance, if conservatives can see the good things [former President] Obama did, and Democrats can see what good things [President] Trump has done, then I believe you are more politically literate.” Simpson is one of many students who agreed that being politically literate is extremely important. Another student, Michael Soland `21, also shared the same opinion as Simpson stating, “Political literacy is crucial to our republic. With the issues facing America, it is more important now than ever before for an informed voter base. With the level of education, media, and general information available at your fingertips, there is no excuse for not having an in-depth understanding of a subject. The Washington Post’s motto is ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’; without an informed voter base, extremist candidates can take over the government and corrupt the country, not leading the people to the nation and lives that are beneficial to them.”

In the end, the majority of students interviewed either said that political literacy is important or (fittingly) did not know what political literacy is. There was a very stark contrast between these two groups and this analysis proved to have two outcomes that were almost opposite to each other.