As a teenager growing up in Alabama, I have come to realize that for many, politics can be a red, iron fortress, where political discussions can feel less like a debate about our future and more like a heavy and inescapable echo chamber, filled with bigotry, ignorance, and fear of the other side. As a teenager navigating high school, these conversations we hear at home or see monopolized on our social media pages often bleed into our classrooms, leaving us to wonder, what next? More and more every day, we see tension rising in our schools, communities, classrooms, and in our families, but what can we do? Should I stay silent? Or speak up, even though the environment may feel risky? I have come to realize that something must change, and that shouldn't start from Alabama, but should be internalized in our country as a whole.

We watch adults legislate our education, we see the Department of Education, science, and the world around us get defunded and changed for the interests of the elite, all while refusing to address the deeply rooted issues of division and bigotry, something not only present in our state, but has spread through the rise of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and bigotry all around the nation.

But what truly happens when a candidate decides to face the facts and stop tiptoeing around the truth?

Will someone finally look me in the eyes and tell me that the problems teens are worrying about, in the society we are going to inherit, are valid?

Today, I can firmly say my questions were answered.

This past week, The TeenView had the opportunity to sit down with Jeremy Devito, a candidate for U.S. Congress in District 5. Unlike the traditional politicians we are used to seeing in a state like Alabama, Mr. Devito offers a radically different, unapologetically progressive approach.

“I’m tired of politics the way they are,” Devito told me when we discussed the struggles of younger generations. “We’ve been getting the short end of the stick for a long time as young folks.” As a 41-year-old millennial, a father of three, and former Army Special Operations combat veteran, his sense of journey of running for office isn't born from a lifelong desire for power, but from a profound sense of urgency.

He explained how his background of service, whether that be jumping out of airplanes and operating in dangerous environments, taught him to overcome fear and learn the opposition before attacking, a lesson he now applies to the political battlefield. That matters because today, we often see people rush to take a side without ever trying to understand the other. His approach challenges that mindset, emphasizing that effective leadership starts with listening, not reacting. This sentiment is especially crucial in a state like Alabama and a district like CD-5. Understanding that we must acknowledge and learn from the other side before reacting will actually create space for real solutions, rather than unapologetic divide.

When we discussed the pressing issues in our hometown, District 5, instead of relying on empty buzzwords that we often see on the news, he truly left me thinking what effect we could have if we truly challenge the flawed structures we see around us. He pointed directly to affordability and healthcare, emphasizing our rural communities in specific, mentioning how a 45-minute drive to an emergency room is a terrifying matter of life and death. As a father to teenage daughters, he also expressed deep concern for women's healthcare in Alabama, firmly advocating for universal healthcare as an achievable goal, a direct call to focus on funding the issues that are most pressing to everyday people, rather than prioritizing the interests of political or economic elites.

What honestly resonated with me most, however, was our conversation about the “brain drain,” the reality that so many people are fleeing Alabama. While many politicians blame the economy, Devito addressed the elephant in the room, one that many of us teens can deeply resonate with. “A lot of people leave the state because of the oppressive politics.. And the stigma around Alabama. I know what it was like to live in a town and just be like, ‘Hey, I think I'm gonna leave as soon as I get old enough.”

He carried this same honesty and realism into our discussion on the rise of racism and misinformation, especially as it spreads throughout our communities, schools, and into our classrooms. In a state with a painful history, Devito stressed the absolute necessity of confronting hate head-on, emphasizing how hate feeds off silence. “We just have to be real and honest about the problems,” he said, noting his specific responsibility as a white man to call out prejudice when he sees it. “My goal is just to make sure that we always address it directly in the moment.”

Listening to Mr. Devito, I realized how starved my generation is for this kind of transparency and true leadership. I speak for many as I say we are tired of the sanitized, evasive answers that dominate Washington. We are tired of leaders who spread hate and divide amongst groups, religions, and facets of people. We are tired of a politics of endless divide rather than of progress and solution. We want leaders who are willing to have these “real conversations,” who actually understand how media echo chambers can manipulate the youth, and who are willing to fight for our right to be a better, more inclusive state.

Walking away from this interview, I felt a renewed sense of hope, but also a sense of gratefulness. Jeremy Devito's campaign is proof that our fight for the future isn't passive and shouldn't be shy. It will require courage, hard work, and calling out what is wrong, and above all, it requires us to stand and demand the change that we want to see in the world.

Never stay silent, because your voice is part of the change this world is waiting for.

Learn more about him below, at https://jeremytakesthehouse.org/