Being under the age of 18, I will be unable to vote in this presidential election. This does not mean that I, and millions of other kids around the country, will be unaffected by this toxic campaign.

I've lived for 16 years and, as I'm told by my elders, I am witnessing an election unlike any other in U.S. history. There has been a tremendous amount of mudslinging from both sides, perhaps more than America is accustomed to. Much of the debate, if you could call it that, has been shallow and primarily inflammatory. There have been damning revelations about the candidates that would be disqualifying if not for the two individuals who are running. One of the candidates has even questioned the legitimacy of the process. The extent to which this election has been polarizing is unprecedented, and regardless of who wins, there will be lasting consequences. I won't pretend to know how the political climate will change in the imminent future, since I lack the years and experience required to guess. What I do know is that kids growing up, being exposed to this particular election, will be affected.

I'm taking a political science course, and one of the things that we've learned about is political socialization. Kids are exposed to various influences that shape their base political understanding. This includes how they are raised, what they learn in school, who they befriend and (perhaps most important) the events that transpire as their opinions are being shaped.

The first time I was truly exposed to the political process was in 2008. I was in third grade, and one day our teacher decided to teach us a bit about the election. She taught us what the election was for and asked us to go to respective sides of the room based on who we would support. We slowly got out of our seats and walked to different sides of the room. Obama won, though I don't remember by how much. After the verdict was drawn, we talked briefly about the candidates (of course about nothing substantive), then continued on with our day. There were no hard feelings between kids who voted differently; kids were tolerant of different opinions.

Of course, I was younger then and probably was exposed to only a certain amount of that election, but regardless, what would that classroom be like today? If we were asked to support one of the candidates, what would happen? I can't imagine that the kids would be insulated from the vulgarity of the campaign despite their parents' best efforts, so they would have some degree of knowledge regarding the candidates. If even one kid supported a candidate the vast majority of the other kids opposed, how would the other kids react? I would imagine that some kids would react with disbelief; that others might react by insulting the opposing side, and that most would stay silent. If those in the minority tried to speak up, they might get shouted down (assuming the teacher didn't stop this). As a result, the minority might feel invalidated, and the majority might feel vindictive and righteous.

After that episode, the few who supported the unpopular candidate might be ostracized within the class or perhaps get bullied for their unpopular opinion, while the ones with the popular opinion might pat themselves on the back and go on about their day.

While that was an extremely drawn-out example, it was an attempt to show how this election might affect the thinking of today's young people. This election could potentially escalate intolerance of people who have different opinions and thus exacerbate the partisan and polarizing political climate that has led to many of today's problems. Some kids might come away from the election thinking that it's normal to say the election was rigged. Others might come away from the election thinking that it's OK for someone to threaten to jail political opponents. Another might think that it's normal for someone to continue to run for president while under FBI investigation.

Kids rely on their elders to guide them. Their elders have failed to teach tolerance but instead have preached prejudice and dogmatism.

Greg Bolles, of Eden Prairie, is a student.