You know, since I started doing this column, there have been weeks where I’ve had some trouble thinking of ideas. Usually when that happens, I’ll go find someone else and ask them if there’s anything they want to see me expound upon.

Three times out of four, the answer is something related to politics.

Now I’m not entirely sure why this subject, or rather my opinions on it, would be so fascinating. To be brutally frank, I think it’s a mess, and I’m concerned for the future of this country.

If you just laughed at that … you’re part of why I’m concerned.

It’s not just that the politics in this country are messy and hard to follow that has me worried and upset. It’s also that everyone seems to be OK with the situation.

Or perhaps not exactly “OK,” but most of the time when I raise the subject, it’s met with irritated acceptance. Talking about how Congress was putting a block on any Supreme Court nominees with my dad, for example – his answer was somewhere along the lines of “that’s the Republicans, alright.” And that was that.

This attitude frustrates me. And not just because it seems like a dangerously irresponsible level of apathy toward the institution that determines so much of our daily lives, that will determine the future. Such an attitude can only encourage the future disregard of politicians toward the needs and wants of voters. Take, for example, the current election. I’ve heard many voters explain their position on a certain candidate by explaining that they favor him because he isn’t a politician. How is this a good thing? Shouldn’t the person being elected to a position of executive power, the most visible political office in the country, be an experienced politician? Someone who understands how, precisely, the government works?

But of course, politicians are not to be trusted. Which means that as soon as one commits a wrongdoing or engages in shady activity, the resulting scandal flaps around the 24- hour news cycle, but too often ends up simply being written off as “what politicians do.”

Again, treating this behavior casually cannot possibly end well. We want these people to be responsible for the welfare of the country, for the welfare of ourselves and future generations. What is there to gain from letting them get away with anything?

And then there’s the fact that a staggeringly large number of people currently serving in the federal government are or have been lawyers – 41 percent of the House and 60 percent of the Senate. Sure, having people who are familiar with the laws make them is good, but wouldn’t it be good to have more people intimately familiar with issues like climate change or education or poverty – scientists and teachers and social workers? It could be, and is argued, that those people are doing more good where they are. The unfortunate connotation of that argument is that the government, an establishment whose purpose is supposedly to ensure the smooth operations of the country, is not where any good can actually be done.

That is an implication we as a people cannot afford not to seriously consider.

— Nina Collay is a junior at Thornton Academy who can frequently be found listening to music, reading, wrestling with a heavy cello case, or poking at an uncooperative laptop.