Today's teenagers take a lot of criticism for their materialism, obsession with celebrities, and apathy about politics and world affairs. Some of this criticism is the standard "kids these days" grumbling that every new generation must endure, but a lot of it is justified.

However, a group of 50 high school seniors has temporarily restored my faith in today's teenagers. The high schoolers were invited to the White House as part of the Presidential Scholars program, and when President Bush used them as a photo op during a speech about reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind act, they took the opportunity to present him with a letter.

What was in the letter? According to the MSNBC, it urged a halt to "violations of human rights" and condemned the torturing of terror suspects. These kids were being recognized and honored by the President of the United States, and they could have easily set aside politics and used the opportunity to get some good photos for their scrapbooks. But instead they had the courage to call the administration out on one of the most un-American policies it has implemented.

And what was the President's response? He "let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights." In other words, he lied.