It's a weird time to be a young person. If you're a fan of Spectacles, you probably agree that democracy isn't in the best shape and that legacy leaders in media and politics don't seem to have a handle on the gravity of our current situation. And we know how hard it is for young people to get their voices heard or published.

That's why we'd like to hear from you and share your voice with our audience which cares about these issues as much as you do.

So pitch us! Send us your thoughts. Let us know what you'd like to talk about, what's on your mind lately. Share this with a friend or family member who might be interested.

Here's what we're looking for:

• young, thoughtful people between 16 to 24 years old, who are committed to liberal democracy from the left, right, and center
• a 3-5 sentence pitch explaining your argument and interest with some context
• a topic relevant to liberal democracy’s current challenges, even if it isn't 'in the news'

If we're interested in your idea, here's what we'll need:

• a 500-700 word article aimed at a general audience (wonkish topics welcome, but explain why it's important!)

Here are the details:

Guest submissions will be published every Wednesday. Writers should submit pitches to contact@spectacles.news by Thursday afternoon PST. Pitches should be 3-5 sentences in length, with a clear thesis and context. The editors will respond by Thursday evening informing writers whether there is an interest in the pitch. If interested, the editors will set up a time for a short (30 minutes or less) call on Friday to discuss the piece. The writer will have the weekend to work on the piece. A near-final draft should be complete and shared with the editors by 2pm PST on Sunday. The piece will be finalized by Tuesday night and published at 7:30am PST on Wednesday.

Lastly, don't stress. We're both young writers trying to make an impact too. We're right there with you. Every idea is worth trying out. If for whatever reason we don't think yours is a perfect fit, we want to work with you to hammer it out.

Don't hesitate to join us in trying to create and share a new way of seeing politics that puts democracy first.