Saturday, August 27, 2011

TeenPact: the Beginning

When I was 13 years old my mom found out about a program that taught homeschooled students about government called TeenPact. My mom has always been very politically active - she used to pull my brother and me around in our little red wagon while she would pound campaign posters into lawns around town. My tendency is to be politically apathetic. I've never really cared that much, and my cynicism when it comes to civic action tells me that my single vote won't do much good anyways. But at the age of 13 my political cynicism was not yet highly developed. So my mom signed me up for TeenPact and told some of our homeschool group friends about it as well, and I agreed to go - it seemed like it wouldn't be that bad, and plus my friends Rose and Andy were going to go as well.

TeenPact calls itself a "leadership school." It's a four-day intensive program focused on teaching teenagers from 13-19 about the way their local governments work. It's open to anyone, but since it's in the middle of the school year it's very rare that anyone but homeschoolers go. TeenPact travels from state to state, hosting classes in each state capitol building. The students hold mock legislatures, hear from guest lecturers who are often very high up in their state governments, and even get to meet their legislators. They learn about lobbying, the constitution, how a bill becomes a law, and the importance of civic action. All this sounded like not much fun to my 13-year-old self, but I figured it wouldn't be that bad, Rose and Andy would be there, and we might meet some nice kids. Then I found out about the dress code.

TeenPact's dress code was rigid. Boys: preferably a suit, at least a long-sleeved button up shirt and a tie, NO shorts, NO sneakers. Absolute professionalism. Alright, I thought, they want us to look nice, I understand that. It's important to present ourselves well. But the instructions for the girls were far more elaborate: girls may not wear pants, even professional pant suits. Skirts must be mid-calf length and must not show the knees when the girl is sitting. No sneakers, no sandals. Shirts must have sleeves - cap sleeves do not count as sleeves. The neckline must come no more than two finger-widths below the collar-bone. Shirts must not be form-fitting - you should be able to pinch the sides of your shirt and pull it away from your body without it pulling tight across your chest. Jewelry should not be attention-drawing. Then there were the more general instructions to both sexes: no piercings anywhere but the ears. No strange haircuts. No strange hair colors.

I had a little bit of a fit when I found out about these rules. At 13, I was struggling to know how to dress my strange new body in everyday life, let alone with this list of regulations to take into account. How was I going to avoid looking like a total dork in a mid-calf-length skirt? My mom encouraged me - these rules were strict, she said, but they just want everyone to look professional. We'll find you some clothes that you'll look alright in.

Well, we didn't. I remember my first year at TeenPact as an awkward time of trying to fit in with the older kids (Rose was 16 and had miraculously found clothes that looked cute and stylish even while meeting the dress code), wearing the same uncomfortable polyester-blend long black skirt every day (it was the only one we could find that was dress-code-proof) and being unsure of what I actually thought about anything.

So that was my first year at TeenPact. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it much either. That might have been the end of it, if it hadn't been for Rose.

Rose loved TeenPact. She was old enough to make friends easily, and it didn't hurt her that she has always had a personality that's at home with almost anyone and is one of the most strikingly beautiful people I've ever met. She loved TeenPact so much that she went to the TeenPact National Convention in Georgia that summer, and came home galvanized. Her mom became the state coordinator for our state and her excitement infected me a little. Maybe there was more to TeenPact than I had realized.

Year 2 of TeenPact was totally different. I was a year older and had more practice with what clothes worked for my body. I looked long and hard for pieces that would meet the dress code but still be cute. I did better than the year before, and at TeenPact Round Two I actually made friends. I got more excited about political activism - they taught us that we, individual people, and teenagers no less, could really make a difference in our state governments! This was empowering talk. That summer I went to the National Convention too, and by TeenPact Year 3 I was totally on board.

So what's the matter with this picture? TeenPact sounds great. It teaches kids about civic action, provides a place for homeschoolers to get to know other  young people (the coveted "socializing") and gives opportunities for travel and political involvement. What's wrong with that?

Well, not really anything, or at least, not anything really sinister. The best parts about TeenPact were wonderful, and the worst parts were mostly unintentional or accidental. But the worst parts were important, and starting at 13, they began to shape my view of myself and others. TeenPact officially endorses no candidates, but if it's an impartial organization, well, I'm a wildebeest. We learned which candidates were Godly and which weren't - which were trying to save our Christian nation from the hands of the wicked liberals and which were in cahoots with those very liberals themselves. TeenPact unofficially hosted Student Projects where TeenPacters from all over would fly in and go door-to-door for a certain candidate, holding signs on street corners, addressing and stuffing envelopes and phoning all the registered Republicans to remind them to get out and vote come voting day. It was an entirely conservative organization - at National Conventions we listened to guest speakers and sometimes even the founder himself tell us how we could save our nation from the evils of gay marriage, liberal higher education and taking God out of public life. We were going to take this country back for God from the ground up, one teenager at a time! It was a heavy responsibility, and a glorious one. We stood out from the ranks of wickedness all around us, shining the light for Christ and a Christian America. I took up the cause wholeheartedly.

I loved TeenPact. I had more friends than I had ever had before - true, dear friends who cared about each other passionately. I had a purpose and a calling - TeenPact was at times a truly empowering organization. "Let no one look down on you because you are young," TeenPact had us recite, "but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." I felt like God really wanted me and needed me to further His kingdom. At the same time, I was becoming more and more firmly convinced that gay people and liberals were definitely trying to destroy everything Godly about America, that America needed specifically Christian laws in order for God's hand to remain upon us, that 9/11 may have been God's punishment for taking His Laws out of our schools and courthouses, and that there was a rising tide of young people in this country who were spurining true manhood and womanhood. It wasn't until much later that I reflected on many of the things TeenPact taught me about myself and specifically myself as a woman. Those things will be the subject of my next post.

6 comments:

  1. Was this really a government program? Because it sounds illegal (partisan, religious) to be a government program.

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  2. Yeah, I can see how that sounds really misleading... it was a private organization teaching government. I'll edit so it's more clear.

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  3. "I loved TeenPact. I had more friends than I had ever had before - true, dear friends who cared about each other passionately. I had a purpose and a calling - TeenPact was at times a truly empowering organization."

    I wasn't in TeenPact, but my family was highly politically involved, and I felt this too, powerfully. Unfortunately:

    "At the same time, I was becoming more and more firmly convinced that gay people and liberals were definitely trying to destroy everything Godly about America, that America needed specifically Christian laws in order for God's hand to remain upon us, that 9/11 may have been God's punishment for taking His Laws out of our schools and courthouses, and that there was a rising tide of young people in this country who were spurining true manhood and womanhood."

    This stuff is all bullshit. TeenPact and others like it take idealistic young evangelicals and pack their brains full of LIES. As a result, they turn into conservative political machines - having no real understanding of the arguments for the other side, or even of reality. When I reached college and examined the whole spectrum of political views for the first time, I switched sides.

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  4. "As a result, they turn into conservative political machines - having no real understanding of the arguments for the other side, or even of reality. When I reached college and examined the whole spectrum of political views for the first time, I switched sides."

    I completely identify with this. I had NO understanding of the other side of any conservative argument. I had never met a gay person. I had never even really met a liberal person, or at least one that was articulate about his or her ideas. The closest I ever got to thinking that maybe the other side was worth listening to was the day I had an epiphany and realized: people who believe in evolution aren't simply idiots who are purposely rejecting God's truth in favor of a lie. They are just people like me, who believe a different thing because they have been convinced by the evidence. This was a big moment for me.

    Then, just like you, I got to college, paid attention, and switched sides.

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  5. Because of this, I intend to expose my daughter to the whole political spectrum, and help her understand the arguments for each side. It's not that I will say I think each side is right (I don't!) but rather simply that I don't want my daughter to reach college and feel like she was deceived and only told one side of everything.

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  6. "I was becoming more and more firmly convinced that gay people and liberals were definitely trying to destroy everything Godly about America, that America needed specifically Christian laws in order for God's hand to remain upon us, that 9/11 may have been God's punishment for taking His Laws out of our schools and courthouses,"

    I had been involved in TeenPact for several years as a high school student, I am in College now, and never was given the impression that this is what they believed. After conversations with the current leaders of this organization, I actually know for a fact that this is not what they believe. Maybe times have changed TeenPact, and I never met the individuals who led your class. I have listened to several Democrats share at a state class, and as a student interviewed a gay politician as part of my "field experience".

    I am sorry that this is the way you felt treated, and I pray that this doesn't hurt the way you view others.

    I once was actually the intern that would tell the students the dress code. I told the students to express themselves with jewelry, have fun with your hair, but remember that we are in a professional setting and that we should adapt to our environment.

    "Shirts must have sleeves - cap sleeves do not count as sleeves." - Cap sleeves are fine.

    "The neckline must come no more than two finger-widths below the collar-bone." - No cleavage, please. That is all.

    "Shirts must not be form-fitting - you should be able to pinch the sides of your shirt and pull it away from your body without it pulling tight across your chest." - Everyone has a different body type, therefore there is no way to exactly measure this. Be sensible, we don't need to see your bra line.

    "Jewelry should not be attention-drawing." - Please wear Jewelry! Scarves! Hair ties!

    "...no piercings anywhere but the ears." - That's news to me.

    "No strange haircuts." - I've seen half shaved heads to bad bowl cuts. Guys with shoulder length hair, to mohawks.

    "No strange hair colors." - Also, news to me. I've seen quite colorful hair in my time. I never was told to correct it.


    Again, maybe the years have changed TeenPact, or maybe the impression you received from the organization was faulty. Obviously, there is no perfect group, ministry, or political organization. I would encourage you to give TeenPact another chance and check out their website.

    I am not trying to prove you wrong, but just asking that you don't put judgement on someone or something before you first understand them. You are obviously a brilliant woman, and a passionate activist.

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