A 1998 study by the National Constitution center reports that 59 percent of American teenagers know the names of the Three Stooges, 95 percent know the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 75 percent know which city has the zip code 90210 and 90 percent know the star of the film “Titanic.”

The same study states that of these same teenagers, 41 percent know the three branches of government, 2 percent know the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 25 percent know where the U.S. Constitution was written and 74 percent know the vice president of the United States.

Although this study was conducted and published more than a decade ago, there is reason to believe there is truth remaining to its message: American citizens, particularly teenagers, know much less about their own government than they do about popular culture. This issue is never more relevant than at the time of midterm congressional elections.

According to the Pew Research Center, 57 percent of the voting-age population cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election; this number, low in comparison to that of other democracies, demonstrated the highest level of voter turnout in the United States in four decades. In 2010, the percentage of adult Americans voting in the midterm elections dropped to a disappointing 37 percent. This number, according to a report by Al Jazeera, dropped in the Nov. 4 midterm election to 34 percent of the registered voting population, which doesn’t even account for the 70 million adult Americans not registered to vote.

Low turnout is a problem particularly in the demographic under the age of 30, a group of people whose participation in elections is downright abysmal even in comparison to the rest of the U.S. population. A Harvard University Institute of Politics poll shows that less than one-fourth of Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 “definitely” planned to vote in the midterm elections. Exit polls show that ballots from people under 30 comprised only 13 percent of Nov. 4 votes.

What this necessitates for the political system and for the country in general is a national conversation between American youth and the U.S. government. The results of the Institute of Politics poll can be explained by the seeming lack of relevance of current debates in Congress to young people, who are most concerned right now with issues like wealth disparity in the United States and student debt. It is important for the government to address issues that are of concern to younger people.

At the same time, with rights come responsibilities. The people should be heard—therefore, they must take the time to educate themselves on the on-goings in Congress and get involved in the process to elect representatives who care about their concerns. The original Constitution dictated direct election by the people only of the House of Representatives. Since then, government has become more and more democratic with the increased use of direct election and with enfranchisement of women and minorities. It is impossible to overstate the importance of strong participation by voters to the democratic process.

Many CHS students are not yet of voting age, but most soon will be, and in any case, it is never too early for them to start learning about and participating in government. Every day, a group of intelligent, driven students populates this school’s hallways, a group from a generation that will soon be in charge of managing the country. It’s safe to say that the workings of the government will have more bearing on them than will the Three Stooges and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.