Boys State

In college, I took a marketing class where the students were divided into soda companies. We all began with one soda and the same amount of capital. Over the semester we built our companies. We began to market our first soda and then slowly launch others. Eventually one would have global domination.  Amazing class.   

We watched Boys State the other night which is a documentary set in Texas following high school boys spend a week learning about self-governance, aka democracy.  There is a separate camp for girls but this documentary focuses only on the boys. The end game is to win like the marketing class. It is a bit like camp color war with the camp divided into two teams but instead of playing sports for points, the winner becomes the Governor. 

Bill Clinton, Cory Booker, Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh are some of the more famous people who attended this camp in their earlier lives.

These kids are learning that politics is just a game for power.  That is what the conservatives who make up the majority of this camp believe after all this is set in Texas.  Some of the kids really care about the issues, the others not so much but they do care about winning. There is something insanely scary and upsetting that this is what getting into Government has become. 

It is just like any industry where parents send their kids places in their earlier years to classes or camps where they seem to have a passion for like ballet school or sports camp. These kids are prepping to be the next generation of politicians. 

The male testosterone in this insanely well-done Documentary is enough to either shake you to your core or scare the shit out of you.  It definitely leaves a lasting impression.