Politics are a fundamental part of the U.S.government, without which our government cannot properly function. Most politicians are experienced and distinguished individuals of advanced years who, according to some, may be out of touch and unfit to lead.

The argument boils down to the fact that most career politicians are 63 or older. When you take into account that until September 29 the oldest politician was Diane Fienstien, who died on September 29 at 90 years old, 63 does not seem that old.

The current oldest politician is Senator Chuck Grassly from Iowa, who is 89 years old and has been a major politician since 1975. That is 48 years of being an integral part of the country’s government, during which a lot has changed.

Older politicians tend to make policies that are generally more inclined to be popular with the older generation. This could be a good thing, but it also could be bad as new problems and new trends develop.

However, on the other side of the argument, many say that new politicians do not have the experience or the know-how on how to deal with issues in the same way veteran politicians do. That might not necessarily be a bad thing, as chances are new politicians don’t have the same ideas as lifetime politicians.

“I would vote for younger politicians if any stood a chance,” FHS alumni McKenzie Hewitt said.

One thing that allows lifetime politicians to stay in office is the fact there are no term limits for either branch of Congress. Representatives in the House serve a two-year term, and senators have a six-year term, but both can run as many times as they want.

Most of the time, the people who run for office win because they ran and won before, causing their name to be recognized. This makes it that much harder for someone new to run and win office, especially if they are going up against someone who has already won an extensive amount of times.

This problem has no clear solution, but many people are calling for set term limits for members of Congress to avoid lifetime or career politicians, and to allow the newer generation to have more of a say in our government.

“Lifetime politicians just seem to be out of touch with current problems and that is a problem,” FHS community member Conner Ebanks said.