Sedona, AZ (March 24, 2018) It was simply amazing watching the youth of America on TV wake up during their million strong march in Washington D.C. There they were, our youth, across the country, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity, demonstrating their unified resistance to the scourge of gun violence in the schools they attend. Finally, finally the youth of our nation have a common cause; a unifying vision that gives them a reason to band together and demand change. I’m talking about today’s “March For Our Lives” national demonstration.
As a Baby Boomer, in my youth, we had a common cause, a common threat that unified us and motivated us to protest a war we felt was unjust and profit motivated. So we marched en masse. We faced down police and National Guardsmen. Placed flower in the barrels of guns pointed at us. We were beaten with batons at demonstrations and still we were not deterred.
We wrote music that inspired our peers and filled the streets of Washington D.C. with our bodies in protest. But it was not until we eventually learned the true power of change exists at the voting booth, that we were able to turn things around.
We changed the world. Stopped the war. And brought our sense of justice, love and compassion into the political arena, resulting in massive social changes which provided service and hope to those less fortunate and those marginalized by poverty and discrimination
But then we lost the flame as age took its toll. We settled into our lives and forget the passion we once had for truth and justice, bringing us to the apathetic world we know today.
There was no one for us to pass the torch to as Generation X and the Millennials took their rightful place as the dominant generation. Unlike the Baby Boomers, they had no common foe, no common threat and no common cause to unify them and move them to action. Apathy became their mantra.
This “March for Our Lives” global event marks the beginning of a movement, just like ours back then during the late 60’s, a movement that will change the political face of our country more profoundly than we ever can have imagined back then.
As I sat transfixed in front of the television watching these new leaders, these young and passionate leaders, articulate with passion their frustration and their intention to take the fight to the voting booths I thought “My God. They are awake! The fight is still on!” And that was when I cried. Hope still lives. The fight the Baby Boomers brought to the table was not for naught. Our dream remains firmly in place, seeded in the youth of our nation.
What we fought for back then in the 60’s has resurrected from the embers and is now being carried forward by this new generation of young people. We are not talking about a movement led by college students. We are talking about a movement initiated by high school and middle-high school students.
Armed with their IPhones and social media savvy, these kids are going to shake the world of the elected.
These kids have a common cause. That is to preserve their lives. Just like the threat posed to Baby Boomers by the Viet Nam War. And this is just the beginning. The gun issue is the platform from which they will launch their assault. From gun control to social justice is just a tiny little leap and be assured they are making it already.
Ideas are like quicksilver. You hit a glob of mercury with a hammer and it simply spreads everywhere. There will be those who will try to quiet or discredit the youth movement’s leaders. That will only make their message bolder and kids will band even tighter together to their cause.
The kids are empowered. They believe they can actually make a difference. Before the last school shooting they were aimless with no motivating factor in their lives other than social media.
This has all changed. They have tasted power and it’s intoxicating. They are unified. They now have purpose. They are here. Get ready.
9 Comments
This was a beautifully written article about an historic movement being born before our very eyes!
Thank you for recognizing these young adults have viable, patriotic values.
Too many of the older generations prefer to degrade the youth and hide from the truth of the culture they have built … the world is the mess it is today because the Boomers and Gen-X didn’t follow through … didn’t care … didn’t stand, step up, and fight for their rights. It’s a mess because the elders dropped the ball.
These ‘kids’ are magnificent … from them, the pride of the nation, tomorrow will rise – and it will be a better, kinder, fairer, safer world if they have their way … if the gutless adults get out of their way … if their own parents don’t beat them down and force them to comply with what is no longer viable or working.
Thank you for this article … and thanks to the kids for their courage in the face of adult cowardice … stay strong, kids – sometimes, the elders are not right!
Those kids were paid actors.All they did was use the misfortune of their peers to blow themselves up. It was all staged. It’s a plot to smear Republicans and our brave President. People like you are facilitators. Stay quiet and get behind the NRA. The parents did not fail the kids. The kids failed the parents. The times they are a changing for Liberals like you. You are the past. Embrace the future.
Ironic that the “kids” are using their 1st amendment rights to destroy their 2nd amendment rights.
Statistically speaking, children have a greater chance of being harmed by the vaccination shot than a shot from a gun.
Seems priorities are a bit skewed.
As someone that lives in SE Florida I’m very proud of the students at Stoneman
Douglas High school and the leadership they have shown.I wish they would
do the same for unborn children that are killed at the rate of about 3000 per day.
Since abortion was legalized in 1973 ,approx. 60 million have been killed.
What the author fails to mention or cover is that the real intention of these kids is to take down the Republican Party this coming midterm election. The Democrats are firmly behind them and grooming them for the assault. The gun control issue is just a cover. There is a massive, coordinated voter registration effort going on right now and no one is talking about it. The Republicans better do something to stop them now. Vilify them. Attack them. Minimize their message. Smear them. Paint them as leftists agitators, whatever. This is a fight Trump can’t lose.God forbid if there is another school shooting.
Sleeping giant my eye! The permit for the “March for your Life” protest was pulled MONTHS before the school shooting — takes a long time to organize such a large protest. So many questions about this and other mass shootings go unanswered.
The only thing we learn from history is that history repeats itself. Will we ever learn? And it’s happening again. When we saw what was happening in Vietnam and we let Washington D.C. know our displeasure, we took to the streets and then to the voting booths. And they (whoever THEY are) heard the message: stop the senseless killing. It’s called Civics 101. So, here we are again, repeating history again. Kids, united under a common cause: stop the senseless killing. No one is asking to abolish the 2nd amendment, just to use common sense, just like we were taught in Civics 101. Just remember: 4 million “kids” turn 18 before the 2018 election and 17 year olds can register to vote if they will be 18 on or before Election Day. It’s not a liberal conspiracy, it’s called Civics 101.
You hit the proverbial nail on the head, Steve. It’s at the voting booths these kids will show their mettle and commitment. But they lack a rallying song. Remember, it was the music of our era that became our battle cry and banner. So far, there is nothing yet to inspire and unify them even further. But if and when that happens, watch out world.