The  2016 presidential election is nine months away, but the sense of disaster is already palpable. Few people in our hallways appear to notice. Since the race shares a striking resemblance to reality television, I don’t know why any  high schooler wouldn’t be interested. The election has all the elements of an outrageous performance: feuds, cliches and overcooked outrage.

The race is almost a comedy. Almost. When I scroll through my Twitter feed, gazing at the Trump jokes, I take time to understand the actual harm those seemingly innocuous blurbs do. As much fun as it is, the mindless jeering by teenagers towards politicians can play a dangerous roll in our futures. In a phone interview, University of Illinois Political Science Professor Thomas Rudolph said instead of joking around, young adults should listen up.

“As teenagers, it is your civic duty to care,” Rudolph said.

Plenty of Naperville North High School students are 18 or will be 18 in time to vote for president in 2016. Further down the road, those teenagers will be adults; the future of this country lies in the hands of those who vote.

Stemming from the polls of RealClearPolitics, the top GOP candidates include Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina. Each of these contenders share something: none of them have any political experience. A neurosurgeon, a real estate developer and a former CEO all running for the highest political office raises the obvious question: why are politically inexperienced candidates leading in the polls? Junior Kristen Cerne said she is supportive of this trend.

“They don’t want someone just playing for political gain,” Cerne said. “The Republican Party wants a change.”

Government teacher Ryan Hantak said he agrees with the Republican Party’s need for change.

“People are fed up with Washington, fed up with Congress, and are anti-politician right now,” Hantak said.

With the anti-establishment sentiment spreading throughout the GOP, it is no wonder Trump has gained so much notoriety. In the first Republican debate on Fox News in Cleveland, Ohio, Senator Marco Rubio rebutted Jeb Bush’s résumé by concluding democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will be the next president if this is a résumé competition. Unfortunately, it is actually much more unsettling. The evidence of Trump’s infamy conveys this can often be a media contest. Junior Rachel Urbas said she is critical of the roll Trump plays in this competition.

“He has too much ego,” Urbas said. “He is just doing it to endorse himself and get more publicity.”

While most of the GOP continues to attempt to escape their media contest, it seems as though Democrats are in a brawl for who qualifies to challenge Clinton in the ring. However, with Clinton’s email scandal unfolding, her chief rival Bernie Sanders is beginning to catch up. Sanders has a strong reputation of being favored by younger audiences. One of those audience members is junior Allison Chao.

“I love Bernie Sanders and I think a lot of younger people starting to vote will vote for him,” Chao said.

Because this is President Obama’s last year in office, making him the incumbent in this upcoming election, there is a higher chance for better voter turnout. According to Bipartisan Policy, in the 2008 presidential election, there was a 62.3% voter turnout, and last election in 2012, turnout was 57.5%.

Although voter turnout will most likely increase overall, there has been a massive dip in turnout for younger voters (age 18-24), according to The Atlantic. The data is disheartening because we should care what happens to our country. But apparently, we believe that by not voting, everything will still somehow work in our favor. Surprisingly enough, this is not true.

Staying in the loop about each candidate and their opinions is not as hard as it may seem. One of the simplest ways to educate yourself is by searching for when the next debate is and watching it. No research or notes are required, just watching television and letting your mind absorb the viewpoints of each contender. After viewing the debates, you can find out more about individual candidates you found interesting.

This is where countless amounts of young people go wrong. My reference concerns those who only worry about their stance on the political spectrum. Before jumping into the overwhelming world of American Politics, you do not need to set if you are a Democrat, Republican or anything between.

Instead, young people should focus on hearing all sides of a conversation and analyzing each one carefully to form their own stance. The opinions of Trump may appear as foolish satire to a chunk of the population, but it’s crucial to remember that the man is running for president and he has a chance of becoming one.

Whether or not you actually care about politics, you should care about your country’s future. Take into consideration the minimum wage, the army draft and college admission–just a few things the government that we elect has control over. Long before we were born, people fought hard and long for our right to vote. Give them some credit and give your country some dignity.