Youth - The Driving Force of Change
It has always been true that the young ones lead the way toward change in this world.
Why is that? Well, it’s mostly because of two things:
- Their youth and inexperience haven’t yet jaded their views on what is and what isn’t possible in this world. Cynicism will come later on in life.
- With the majority of their lives ahead of them, they have much more at stake than the older crowd with most of their lives in the rear view mirrors.
Something is happening around the world and here in the U.S. right now. It’s something that has the potential to change the world.
In the Middle East and other countries around the world, young people are expressing their discontent with the status quo of tyrannical governments and greedy politicians. Some are literally dying for their beliefs as I type this.
In the U.S., not just youths, but folks from all generations (my 85 year old uncle, for one) are participating or supporting in some way the recent “Occupy” and “99%er” movements that have sprung up this past month.
You may not have even heard about Occupy Wall Street. The mainstream media has kept it pretty quiet. Of course, the mainstream media in the U.S. is a commercial (for profit) enterprise. They can’t be expected to publicize something that is critical of their golden calf.
I feel a difference in the breeze lately. I see something coming. Thomas Jefferson, in his wisdom, commented that every good democracy needs a revolution every couple hundred years to get it back on track. We’re overdue here in the States; and overdue in many other places around the world.
Maybe it’s time to state our case. Maybe it’s time to let the-powers-that-be know that we’re not going to take their shit anymore. I’m still young enough that I might live to see some beneficial changes happen. For you younger folks, it’s imperative that these changes occur.
What does the world need? It needs peace. It needs for no child to go to bed hungry this evening. It needs for everyone to have access to a complete and quality education. Knowledge needs to be free. The world needs fair trade and fair wages. The world needs more people to have more compassion and respect for their fellow human beings… and all living things. The world needs less greed and more cooperation.
I was young dreamer once. I was a proponent of all those things I mention above. Life changed me. As I aged, I became more misanthropic, more cynical, less caring about anything buy my own fat ass. As I’ve aged further, I seem to be reverting to my idealistic youth again. Maybe I’m just understanding life better these days. Who knows?
I was having a conversation with my father once when I was a teen. We were discussing the war in Vietnam or something like that. I was vehemently opposed to whatever it was we were talking about. His reply to my opposition was, “Can you do anything about it?” My answer was, “Probably not.” He then said, “Well, then… don’t waste your time worrying about that shit.”
You know what, though? I was wrong. I could have done something about it. You can too. Don’t just sit there. You literally have the world at your fingertips with today’s technology in your lap. Don’t quietly shrug off the wrongs of this world. YELL! SCREAM! Make your voice heard. You can make a difference.
Now go on out there and do it!
~Eric
