youth inspires change - young people do great things.Archived Message
Posted by Liberal on January 31, 2011, 11:34 am
"“Most of us are under 30,” said Amr Ezz, a 27-year-old lawyer who was one of the group as part of the April 6 Youth Movement, which organized an earlier day of protests last week via Facebook. They were surprised and delighted to see that more than 90,000 people signed up online to participate, emboldening others to turn out and bringing tens of thousands of mostly young people into the streets.
Surprised by the turnout, older opposition leaders from across the spectrum — including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood; the liberal protest group the Egyptian Movement for Change, known by its slogan, “Enough”; and the umbrella group organized by Dr. ElBaradei — joined in, vowing to turn out their supporters for another day of protest on Friday. But the same handful of young online organizers were still calling the shots."
it will be the youth that motivates and brings about change. it was the "pups" who forced the changes of the civil rights movement in this country, as one example of many throughout history of youth inspiring change - and i know many of these nations in revolt will rely upon their youth to do what must be done. a more liberal society is in their future - seemingly out of necessity and by demand.
they want education. they want healthcare. they want jobs. they want relief from poverty that is currently not there. they want a future for themselves and their children that is not completely bleak and grim - and alone or individually they can not create such a place.
they find themsevles in this situation because of a long history of abuse from larger countries (like ours) who usurp 3rd world countries. for a period of time industrial nations tried to prevent them from attaining industrial might. Egypt in particular has a long history of economic oppression, mainly from England via massive debts, and the main staple of their economy for some time now has been a crumbling textile industry.
if the situation will get better or less chaotic - it will be done by the hands of the youth re-inventing the nation.
something i think we need as well - but our generation is kind of outnumbered by old baby boomers stuck in an industrial-age mindset. many of our elderly still feel we live in a world where we must line up our tanks and puff out our chests - there are old people who with all of their heart believe war is good for the economy. if this is you - i assure you war is not good for the economy. at least the iraq war was not, and i have confident afghanistan will be no different.
our generation is for the most part very different than those before us (as is usually the case) - and we tend to be more liberal. we have grown up knowing racial and gender equality. we have grown up in a country in which WE are the agressor in most American Historical scenarios and typically disapprove of war. wars are not popular anymore - possibly because of the reasons why we go to war. the counter culture planted the seeds - and our generation is the plant that has grown.
and before some of you make snide remarks and act like children despite your old age - this approach to society has progressed and maintained a high standard of living for us in this country. no one can say our country is worse than what it was before because of liberal policy - we can only say it is because of deficit spending and starting un-necessary war - two common principles of the republican party.
beyond the budget and military expenses - government public policy plays a small part in the condition of the economy as a whole. for example - clinton's economy was so good mainly due to the emergence of microsoft and desktop computers...not policy he enacted.
of course i am speaking generally when i discuss republicans - i know some young conservatives my age - but even they are typically more moderate than conservatives of previous generations...and i know some conservatives who can at least understand that our military budget is absurd. the only republicans who i respect at all - are the ones who promote cutting government spending and MAKE THE MILITARY THEIR PRIMARY TARGET.
now i sit back and watch negative old people act trifling...and maintain hope that those worth engaging add their opinions.
on January 31, 2011, 11:34 am