By Austin Flickstein
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of speaking to an intelligent group of high school students at the Academy for Community Education. It was part of Miami-Dade County’s Ethical Governance Day, a unique program that calls upon local business and political leaders to discuss the ways civic engagement, honesty, integrity, respect and other values contribute to a better community.
Below are three of the perspectives I shared with Mr. C.M. Bozorth’s history class:
- I was a prosecutor before joining Goldstein Law Group and often had an individual’s future in my hands. That experience made me truly realize the value of freedom. In fact, my favorite part of being a prosecutor was getting cases dismissed on behalf of clients I knew were not guilty.
- Voting is a right that should never be taken for granted. Unfortunately, our country has a sad history of restricting voting rights for political gain. Since many of the students in Mr. Bozorth’s class are approaching 18 years old, I stressed the importance of registering to vote and expressing their opinions at the polls.
- Yet, it’s difficult to become an informed voter. The news media is often biased and motivated by profit. Political ads are primarily negative and dishonest. It takes some effort to seek out the truth, but it’s worth it. Educated voters help shape public policy and motivate leaders to take action.
Ethical Governance Day was incredibly rewarding and I was pleased to see how informed, attentive and inquisitive the students were throughout the discussion. I enjoyed my time with Mr. Bozorth’s class and definitely plan on taking up his offer to speak again.
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