Anna Green
Ms. McKoy
English II
21 May 2012
Ascent: The Rise of Youth Activism
Last
year, Egypt, when frightened by the rising number of political
protests, completely shut off the internet and all of its cell phone
services. If you were resourceful, you could resort to classic
telephones, ham radios and walkie-talkies (which is still cool).
Needless to say, none of the citizens of Egypt enjoyed it very much.
Should governments be allowed to freely control internet and satellite
services? What if the United States could suddenly remove itself from
global communication by just the angry flip of a switch? Americans
everywhere would be enraged, deranged, and desperate: no Twitter,
Facebook, Yahoo, Cell phones, Tumblr, Digg, Pinterest or Google. You
wouldn’t know what was going on. Stocks would fall and people would lose
millions. After Egypt cut the power, people got a little- no, a lot-
angrier. Soon enough, young and old picketers alike finally convinced
Mubarak to step down, giving Egypt a new direction for the future.
So, is this still not your problem? Civic youth engagement is a
necessary asset to future change. If the youth don’t speak out, nothing
will change. What if the youth of Egypt had decided that the future of
their counrty was unimportant to them? Would Mubarak had stepped down,
or would he have continued to rig elections, ignore calls for help
against invasions in bordering countries, and neglect the basic needs of
his people? The literal definition of revolution is the usurping of a
government or organization that is suppressing
And
this is not the only case of such actions: All over the world, every
day, there are movements taking place. Revolutions, wars, crimes against
humanity, loaded elections, and other dark things are happening right
now. But why should you worry, right? After all, you’re just a teenager.
This is a problem for the grown-ups. This is how many, many teens feel.
And many.many teens are quite wrong. The topic of my argument is this:
Teenagers, in the U.S. and other parts of the world, should become
openly active in politics and their communities. Here is one excellent
reason why: According to the U.S. Census Bureau of 2009, roughly 13.8%
of the U.S. population are youth aged 16-25.
This
may not seem like too many people, but in reality, that is somewhere
around 21 million people. 250,000 people attended the Martin Luther King
Jr. speech in D.C. (Recalling MLK speech). Over 500,000 people attended
Woodstock in 1969 (UNC.edu). My point is that it took a fraction of a
million people to make these events history. Both of these events were
encouraged by the new ideas and beliefs experienced by the younger
generations of America. With the current accessibility of the internet,
phones, and other advanced ways of simple communication, there is no way
that we cannot make a difference if we try.
In the book “Beyond Resistance”
by Pedro Noguera and Julio Cammarota, a very important question is
asked of the reader. “...I will explore the need to promote the
development of citizenship across the growing population diversity of
youth in this county- in regard to ethnicity and culture, social class,
religion, sexual orientation, and handicap status. Across these
dimensions of variability, youth are not equal in their access to the
rights and responsibilityes of citizenship; for example, gay and lesbian
youth are not afforded the right to marry.” (Neguera 289) My topic here
is a rather different one: Are youth of today heavily and negatively
impacted by the views of the past? The current LGBT movement has members
both young and old, male and female, yet it seems as if their biggest
enemies are in fact the previous generations. And these issues do not
apply just to gay marriage. Traditional versus innovation has always
been one of the biggest arguments in politics. “In established
democracies, young people face the challenge of fitting into an
established political system or making changes. In new democracies, a
discredited regime is no more, but young people have the challenge of
promoting their country's new freedom.” If youth of the United States
wish for change, they must face the very faiths that they were raised
upon. It takes large amounts of courage, and a strong will, but if the
youth work together to make small changes to the old ways of working our
democracy, we can begin to fix the flaws that have slowly begun to sink
us.
You
may say that becoming so involved in all of the political turmoil
surrounding us impacts us negatively: It creates societal friction,
takes the fun out of being young, and could even put us in harms way.
And all of these things are true. Youth activism is not for everyone,
nor should anyone throw their lives away for just any cause. You must
evaluate yourself first: what matters the most to you? Is it poverty?
Taxes? Rights? It could be anything. You have the choice, however, to
opt out from becoming involved in politcs. It is perfectly fine to not
want to be an activist. Nevertheless, it is my personal belief that you
should support a cause that matters to you, in any way you see fit, even
if that is only tweeting or udpating a status. Youth activism is for
the brave, the just, and the hopeful. If there is something or someone
that is dear to you, then fight for it, and never let the shadows of a
corrupt dream get in your way.
The
United States has thousands of ways to support a cause, anything from
petitions to picketing to throwing feathers at strangers. The population
of youth within this country is massive, and in the past, it has taken
only fractions of the current amount to change the world forever. Youth
are responsible for so much, and it is their new ideas and young dreams
that keep the world alive and thriving with creativity. It only takes
one person to change the world. Will it be you?
This
paper should be very dear to you. Every thing you have experienced has
also happened to someone else, and for almost all of those things, there
is a battle waging somewhere. So what if you don’t feel like you have
any problems? You have great pay, a great life, a great family, great
friends, and great ideas? Share them. The world will swallow your ideas
like a starving billy goat. No matter how many times something is said,
it will always be repeated. And for every time it is repeated, it echoes
in the hearts and minds of others. As someone who doesn’t have the most
perfect lifestyle, I constanlty dream of change. I want to change the
world, give back to those who have made me who I am, and create a new
dream for another person. If you want to feel like a part of something,
to feel like you’re not alone, to save others, or to simply make
yourself known, then become active. Show the world what you can do. The
globe may not wrap around your pinkie, but if you have something good
enough to say, it may just bend your way. And if you can benefit
society, then someone, somewhere, will most definitely know that it was
you who saved them.
“L'homme c'est rien - l'oeuvre c'est tout” - Sherlock Holmes quoting Gustave Flaubert.
Works Cited
U.S. Census Bureau. "International Programs." U.S. Census- Region Summary.
United States Census Bureau, 2009. Web. 22 May 2012.
<http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php>.CBS Interactive. "Recalling MLK's "Dream" Speech." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-273_162-570525.html>.
Fox, Stacy. "Woodstock Paper." Woodstock Paper. UNC. Web. 24 May 2012. <http://www.unc.edu/~sfox/woodstock.html>.
Noguera, Pedro, and Julio Cammarota. "Google Books." Google Books. Google. Web. 24 May 2012. <http://books.google.com/books?hl=en>.
Lagos, Marta, and Richard Rose. "YOUNG PEOPLE IN POLITICS." YOUNG PEOPLE IN POLITICS. International IDEA. Web. 24 May 2012. <http://archive.idea.int/df/99df/daniela-int3.html>.
