Every night after I come home from school, I thank the Lord for DVR. Unfortunately, my DVR consists mostly of my guilty pleasure shows, from America’s Next Top Model to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. However, one of my all-time favorites is definitely Jimmy Kimmel: Live, specifically, his famous segment, “Lie Witness News.”

Unlike Kimmel’s other, often more light-hearted segments, “Lie Witness News” is both comical and telling about today’s youths as Kimmel asks strangers in L.A. questions about pop culture and basic politics. With each question, I was baffled to see the large number of students, and even adults, who could name Woody’s best friend from Toy Story, but couldn’t remember who killed Abraham Lincoln or name four senators. Initially, I felt these answers or lack thereof were justified. It simply seems pop culture is more a part our our everyday lives and our childhoods than politics are.

I thought about all the times my mom told me to write a letter to my governor concerning any issues I wanted to fix or about the homework assignment Mr. Morton gave us to send our state representatives an email. Yet, here I was, probably just as unaware about politics as most of the people on Kimmel’s show. While it’s easy to watch other people answer questions about politics and laugh, it can be challenging to notice the same scenario within our own communities.

Which of these can you name off the top of your head?

• Kim Kardashian's kid's name.
• The governor of your home state.

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I asked twenty-four students and faculty members at Wilmington Friends two questions, one about pop culture and the other about their state senators. The first question being, “who is Spongebob Squarepants’s best friend?” and the other asking students to name the United States senators of the states in which they live. After asking students the first question about Spongebob’s best friend, I found that all of the students I asked named Patrick Star often without much hesitation. However, after being asked about United States Senators,  there was usually a pause or just a quick “I don’t know.” Only one student and four teachers were able to name both of their state senators. Five students named John Carney, Delaware’s United States Representative, as one of Delaware’s two senators. Nine students couldn’t name either senator, including Chris Coons, whose children, as well as Carney’s, are currently attending or have attended Wilmington Friends. Out of the six teachers asked, two could not name both of their United States Senators from their home state and none of the teachers gave Patrick Star as their answer to the first question.

After being asked these two questions, I received multiple responses from both the students and faculty members from, “I should know this” to “why do I need to know this?” A few students even quipped that they grew up with Spongebob and Patrick Star, not their senators. However, it seemed that most students hadn’t really thought about the question until it was asked. Perhaps it goes along with the mentality that politics are boring or that we, as kids, don’t belong in politics, but one day, fairly soon, we will be the ones voting. Whether that day isn’t for a few years or a few months, it is important to remember that politics affects everyone, and although most of us didn’t grow up watching debates on television or campaigning for a favorite politician, it is never too late to start!