Admittedly, I get worked up about leadership and policies more than an average 17-year-old, but only because I am looking for answers — and I want the best for myself, family and community.

Here’s the thing: We’ve become so deeply divided by political nuance that we can’t even express our own thoughts about what we need from leadership.

I asked some of my peers what they thought the state government should focus on. Their answers were largely “education, health care and living wages.”

Really, all we want are quality lives, no matter our political affiliations. Young Oklahomans want to hold people over politicization yet are frequently excluded from the narrative.

After a recent conversation I had with a friend, we were curious about how many of our classmates knew the name of our town’s mayor. I asked 25 people in my high school if they could name our mayor. Only one knew the answer.

This showcases an integral problem we see within all facets of our government — an inherent disconnect between places like my hometown and the pristine walls of Capitol buildings. It’s not the fault of young Oklahomans.

Effective policymaking is all about starting small, yet my peers don’t even know how we have started at all. What do we do?

The first barrier is that we need to have candidates on the ballot who will have a conversation with us. We need to have candidates on the ballot who will see us. Right now, it feels as though we are spiraling into an abyss of polarization.

As Howlin’ Wolf said, we ask for water, and they give us gasoline. Our leaders want to focus on combustible topics that garner media attention.

Do these topics actually affect the regular, working class Oklahomans? Where are the policies that focus on this demographic, and why don’t we know about them?

On the other hand, some of us know quite a bit about the outlandish comments, outbursts and pet projects in which our leaders partake. In the meantime, we younger individuals are desperately hopeful to see legislation at the local, state and federal levels that represents our values.

One of my classmates said this about our current leadership: “I think that Oklahoma legislators are stuck. The world is constantly changing and evolving, especially with Gen Z.”

When I speak to my peers, we want policies that increase our quality of life: a hospital bill that doesn’t completely drain our bank accounts, student loans that won’t follow us for life and food that is affordable.

We are scared for our future while people in charge of keeping our schools safe, clean and accessible to all types of learners continue to tread the beaten path of divisive tactics that politicize our very own education. This behavior consistently neglects informing young Oklahomans of the state of our leadership, not just from a curriculum, but from a culture.

We send representatives to the nation’s Capitol to represent us in ways that help young people become capable and independent citizens who can look forward to meaningful work, safe neighborhoods and health care that will allow us to care for ourselves and future families.

Federal lawmakers have power on the outcomes of our lives. Yet last year one of Oklahoma’s U.S. senators we voted into office in hopes of positive change got national attention for picking fistfights.

At the state level, our governor has aligned his values with the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, which exists solely to support cockfighting, and recently turned away $60 million in federal funds that were to going to feed students on free and reduced-price school meals during the summer months.

Are these actions helpful or unhelpful? Regardless of your answer, the rhetoric has a consequence on youth. We feel these problems are out of our control and leaders are out of touch. And, frankly, we are left out of the conversation.

Young people care a lot about health care, public education and living wages. It’s not OK to keep them in the dark and discourage them from solving these problems and voicing their legitimate concerns with cultural ignorance and media polarization.

Political divisions cut us off from the constructive conversations we need to have for a balanced and healthy democracy. We have to get young Oklahomans back into the narrative.

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