The Hope the Youth Bring
Reasons for Hope (10 of 11)
Fixing the Big Mess
I rarely read a paper newspaper anymore, but a recent opinion article reprinted in the LaCrosse Tribune set me off. The well-intentioned writer, Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun, intended to “ask [today’s youth] to commit to fixing things.” By fixing things, he meant the “big mess” of a world that we are living in and leaving behind (Rodricks). What set me off? Two things: 1) His choice of words assumed that the young generation weren’t already aware of or interested in “fixing” the world and 2) He dumped the responsibility entirely on the younger generation, literally concluding with “We’ve had our chance. Now it’s yours. Save the country, save the planet. . . .”
It just so happened that I had already planned to write a full article called “The Hope the Youth Bring.” (That is the article I am writing at this very moment.) I have great hope for our future because of the hundreds of youth that I have worked with in schools around the world over the past 30 years as well as the great efforts and strides of young people like Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, and Yara Shahidi.
In my experience, young people today are very aware of not only the state of the planet but the pressures placed upon their shoulders to “fix it.” And many of them care deeply and have already begun making efforts to do their part. In fact, in my own family, one of my sons often feels quite depressed in his own life because he is so concerned about the state of the planet. I assure you, he is not alone in how much he wishes to “fix it.” And I have no doubt that his life’s journey will allow him to contribute his energy and talents to this effort.
Service
You might be surprised at the hundreds, even thousands of hours of service that youth today offer in their communities. In the Ashwaubenon School District’s Class of 2022 in Ashwaubenon Wisconsin, 12,819 hours of service were completed by 248 seniors over the course of high school (Ribbons). And they are only a small representation of the young people actively caring for others and the planet. Do the math to expand this to each and every community and see what you get. Also, check out the organization Dosomething.org. It is a 29-year-old, non-profit organization with 5.5 million youth members strong who are making social change. Their FB moto is: “Ready to join our global movement for good? Let’s do this.” Click the link and see what they are up to! What hope this brings me; I hope you are heartened as well.
Acceptance of others
Further, from my observations young people are far more accepting of others just as they are than my generation ever was. Here is just one example: I know that it took myself and my husband some real soul-searching to come to full acceptance of our oldest child as transgender. In contrast, his brother and schoolmates accepted him and his new identity seemingly effortlessly. As a lifelong educator, I observed the same thing over and over again when it came to sexual identity or gender identity - young people accepting others just as they are. Attend any Pride event, and you will be heartened by the number of youth allies who attend. (June is Pride month, by the way.)
Hope from History
“Young people are often key actors in powerful social movements that transform the course of human history.”
In prior articles, I had already established the idea that the Universe is always moving toward value fulfillment and growth and purpose for, through and with humanity and our planet. While we may not see the sunshine for the storm, the sun is still shining its light. Historically, the youth have consistently been light-bringers and changemakers. In her 2012 paper “Youth and Social Movements: Key Lessons for Allies,” Assistant Professor of Civic Media at MIT's Comparative Media Studies program and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Sasha Costanza-Chock writes that “young people are often key actors in powerful social movements that transform the course of human history. Indeed, youth have been deeply important to every progressive social movement, including the United States Civil Rights movement, the transnational LGBTQ movement, successive waves of feminism, environmentalism and environmental justice, the labor, antiwar, and immigrant rights movements, and more.” So let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of some of these amazing leaders who have already moved mountains.
Social and Political Leaders
As you may recall Malala Yousafzai was an activist for young girls’ rights to education even before she was shot in the face by the Taliban at the age of 15 for her activism. Her ongoing efforts to gain education for girls all over the planet was recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize when she was only 17. Her ongoing work continues to inspire young and old everywhere.
And who can forget a young Swedish girl with blond hair on national television speaking to the United Nations, “How dare you!” and “Our house is on fire,” Greta Thunberg rightfully admonished my generation - me - for not doing enough even after 30 years of knowing about the harm of climate change. She admonished us for placing hope upon their shoulders to fix things.
Perhaps you recall the unrest in Hong Kong these past years Pre-Covid. In 2014 and 2019 my family lived in Hong Kong. Both years were rife with protests against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments. In 2014 the Umbrella Movement unfolded as yellow umbrellas became a symbol for solidarity. During their peaceful protests the protesters, consisting mostly of youth, raised their umbrellas against the pepper spray of the police. In 2018, Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow and the entire Umbrella Movement were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for "their peaceful efforts to bring political reform and protect the autonomy and freedoms guaranteed Hong Kong in the Sino-British Joint Declaration" (“Joshua Wong”, Wikipedia). While the youth were the primary catalysts for these movements promoting democratic security for Hong Kong, I was amazed and heartened by the ally-ship of many elders in the city who at times made their way to the front of the line to shield the youth from police in full riot-gear armed with batons and pepper spray.
Further, I’d never watched Blackish nor had I heard of Yara Shahidi until about a year ago. But when I heard her interview with Oprah for an episode of Super Soul Sunday, I immediately respected her as a political and social activist leader of today. In the interview she was speaking about her efforts to get young people to vote in the mid-term elections. “This young woman may well be president one day,” I thought, “and won’t we all be better off because of it.” She was just turning 18. According to Wikipedia, “Shahidi's activism was noticed by former first lady Michelle Obama, who wrote her a letter of recommendation to Harvard University” (“Yara Shahiri”).
The young people I just mentioned are not alone nor are they anomalies. Each is a young, intelligent, vital leader supported by thousands and thousands of other likeminded youth and adults. They not only believe in their own power to make the change needed in the world (dare I say, “to fix it”), they are doing it. You need only log onto DoSomething.org as one example of this to be reassured.
Together
If we haven’t already, we can choose to be allies to the youth as they take the lead. Costanza-Chock provides some good guidance as to how we can support young leaders in social and political movements, for example. She suggests we offer them respect and recognition, challenge disparaging representations of young people wherever we find it, and provide real talk. She writes, “Have open conversations with youth about systems of power, oppression, resistance, and liberation.. . Discuss [topics] together in intergenerational spaces, without trying to impose one ‘correct’ way of understanding them. . . . Real talk helps youth build real movements.” Even without supporting movements, we can support our planet by supporting young people.
Choosing A Hopeful Narrative
The young people of today bring me much hope. Like the adults around them, they do care. Together they bring voices and power for much needed change in the world. But we older generations do not get to sit back and simply hand over our planet. We are still here. We have responsibilities, too. Together, we can shift this doom and gloom narrative. When we ALL act with sincere love toward one another and our planet, we will truly achieve the improbable. I choose to be the change I want to see in the world. I choose to support the youth who do the same. I choose hope! What about you?
Further Resources and References
Costanza-Chock, Sasha. “Youth and Social Movements: Key Lessons for Allies.” The Kinder & Braver World Project: Research Series. Editors Danah Boyd, John Palfrey, and Dena Sacco. 17 December 2012.
Dosomething.org
“Emotional Greta Thunberg Chastises World Leaders.” USA Today online. 23 September 2019.
Gorman, Amanda. “An Ode We Owe.” TheHummingbirdPost.com. https://www.thehummingbirdpost.com/home-page/2022/9/22/amanda-gorman-ode
“Joshua Wong.” Wikipedia. Wikepedia.org. Last edited 14 May 2022.
Ribbons, Dirk. Personal Email. 15 June 2022.
Rodricks, Dan. “Class of 2022 has a chance to be the next greatest generation.” The LaCrosse Tribune online. 11 June 2022.
Next up: The Hope in Coherence
You can find my other series in the archives:
Parenting 101 Coupons: A Gift from your Parents
Partnering 101: A Deep Dive into Leaving Kindly
Me-Time: Self-care in the time of Covid
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Brenda BraykoWriter. Teacher. Gong Player.
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All photos by © Brenda Brayko 2022.
Thank you, Brenda, for these messages of hope. As teachers, we are constantly reminded of the reasons for hope embodied by the young people with whom we interact. But you are so right--it's not a game of "Tag, you're it!" now. Our job is to find ways to empower and support these hopeful endeavors that make a brighter future possible. What a wonderful and timely post!