I was -- what's the word? -- dumbfounded. These are bright kids from the suburban Philadelphia heartland. But they had absolutely no interest in the political process. They were turned off by all the negative TV ads during the campaign. They didn't see "the point" of voting. They didn't know who was running for what, or even what what was. One kid described last Tuesday as the "presidential election." They were unaware of the significance of what this election was about, even though several of them have friends or family members their age serving in Iraq.

So, agent provocateur that I am, I assigned them a paper to write on the following subject:

"Since March of 2003 more than 2.800 American men and women have died in Iraq trying to bring democracy to that country. Tell those dead Americans why you chose not to vote this year."

My students' responses were awesome. Here is what a 19-year-old living with her parents in Telford wrote. (You just might want to grab a hanky first.)

" I AM SO SORRY. There is no excuse for my disrespect and selfish attitude. I am so caught up in this stream of life that I dismiss those that enabled me to have this amazing gift of freedom. Voting is a privlege and an honor; a gift to me that I have kept unwrapped.

"I don't vote because I don't pay attention. I decide not to learn about the candidates and what they stand for. I skip over the political news articles and dismiss the signs scattered along the roadside. Whenever I try to take the easy way out by asking others about the candidates I get biased opinions. I don't want to vote for someone simply because others told me to. I believe a half-hearted attempt is worse than no attempt at all.

"I say that I can never make a difference. The greatest lie I have ever spoken. With enough people telling the same lie a difference will never be made. We are all part of this country and need to work together to keep it running properly and efficiently or else we'll just start to fall apart. It may have seemed at times that your country forgot you, but we have not. It's the assholes like me that put that thought into your mind, and it's people like me that you need to bury underneath all those who actually support you and our country. I owe you all my freedoms and luxuries, yet I act like I owe you nothing. I could easily go on defense and argue my innocence but that would be a pointless battle. No one is exempt from giving back, and working to keep this country what it is.

"The war in Iraq is so heavy on the heart that I pretend it's not happening. I'm unsure about what I feel towards the war itself but I know I don't want our troops there. Enough of you have died. You gave your lives so that I could keep living mine. So. . .thank you.

" Thank you for this life I take for granted. I get to wake up every morning to the most beautiful sunrises, ones that take your breath away. Did you think about us when you watched the sun rise in a foreign sky? I get to shout to the heavens my love for God and not be prosecuted. Did you feel our prayers? I am allowed to disagree with the decisions of those who run this great country and let them know how I feel without being hunted down like a dog. Did you always agree with the reasons why you were fighting? I have the privlege of going to school and making the decision of which career path to take. Did you ever regret the path you decided to take? I can marry whomever I choose and be in charge of my own body. Did you leave behind a wife and children?

" You all knew of these wonders and loved them and our country so much that you died for them and died fighting to give these gifts to others. You died fighting for equality and freedom, there is nothing more honorable and I am sorry I do not acknowledge that.

" I have no excuse for my lack of involvement in this country. I can make a difference and it's time for me to start. I thank you, I respect you, and I honor you."

Just when you begin to doubt, our kids show us what they're made of.