Young Voices of Clarity in A Confusing Time

There can be no doubt. All of us are in the middle of upheaval – several  transformational social movements that will have lasting impact for generations. Protests calling for reform in gun control, immigration laws, police action against minorities, treatment of sexual assault victims, threats from environmental policies are happening in town squares and city streets everywhere. And often the raised voices are young women and girls.

A recent OpEd column in The New York Times, Maybe Girls Will Save Us, profiles gun control advocates who are 18 and 11…a 23 year-old #MeToo leading voice…an 8 year-old fighter for clean water in Flint…and a 21 year-old who coordinated a 2,000 mile run from North Dakota to Washington to raise awareness of the threat of the Dakota Access Pipeline. All mighty girls.

We have profiled our own mighty girls, teenagers Yasmin Mendoza and Callie Strelow who are standing up and speaking out for gun safety reform.

The Times article asks, “Why are today’s girls — many of whom are so young that it will be years before they’re able to cast ballots — taking to the streets and to social media calling for change?”

Think about it for yourself…what would move you to push aside your fears of speaking out in public and against authorities, being criticized – sometimes cruelly – even threatened, and maybe losing friends? Because all these girls have done that and still they push on, and command our attention and respect.

Here is the hint of an answer from the article: “They display a sense of moral clarity…and a commitment to making the world a better place for people of all ages and genders.”

Oh yes. To these young minds and voices there are no gray, blurry lines when the light of moral fairness, honesty and equal justice shines on an issue. This is natural and inherent to them – it is their energy, their wisdom and force.

So what happened to us as adults? Do we start to dim and equivocate and rationalize as we age? Does life-experience blunt our inherent moral clarity, our natural knowing what is good to do for others, what is honest vs. false, what is right vs. wrong? Ooooph. We are supposed to get wiser, not weaker in our life-force.

These mighty girls remind us, We are hard-wired to do good and be better, to make the world better. This must be our original and fully-formed self – age can’t change it! Now more than ever we need to exercise that power, Use it – and not lose what we know inherently to be fair and good, honest and right.

Let’s be morally clear in every age!