“And you, of tender years
…teach your parents well…and feed them on your dreams….”,[i] A hit song of another generation was right on
in the 70s and hits the mark today with equal force.
This past weekend saw children
teach the parents. We saw the power of
an idea take hold. We saw people of all
ages unite in a call to end violence across the land, the boil that has
festered for years. Young people proclaimed; “enough is enough!”
The nation’s youth rose
up once before and changed the direction of the country and the world. They were college aged and susceptible to a draft
that would take them to a war they did not support.
Today’s students, traumatized
by a despicably violent event at their Florida high school raised millions of dollars
on gofundme. They
appealed to people of influence to support them with the know-how needed
to mobilize a nation. They too want to change
the country and the world. They exceeded
expectations.
Eight-hundred thousand
people marched to the nation’s capital while members of Congress fled town and
the president flew to Florida to play golf.
People shouted for change in eight-hundred cities across our land, and thousands
more marched in cities around the world.
Millions let their voices be heard.
The message was strong and it was aimed directly at the Congress as a
whole and members individually.
Nearly 300 thousand high
school students will vote this year and another 300 thousand will be able to vote
next year. They are coming after those
who don’t support an end to violence.
They will ignore the special interest group that mocked them in video
ads and called them dupes of the rich and famous, out to destroy America.[ii] They will march again in April to commemorate
similar violence at Columbine High School.
The kids achieved their
goal right under the nose of most adults.
They know how to wage resistance and rebellion through the technology of
social media. They have power most of us
don’t understand. They are smart and
they are articulate. I predict they will
be successful in their efforts and we will experience a sea change in American
culture.
The youth will, once
again, teach the parents and we will be the better for it.
