These days journalists and political pundits seem to be obsessed with questioning if the increase in young voter involvement and turnout that we witnessed during the 2008 election cycle can and will be sustained. They ask, "Can President Obama and the Democratic Party keep their newly energized young voter base engaged". Tonight as I sat at the Children's Defense Fund Washington, DC Beat the Odds Annual scholarship awards dinner; I was reminded of why the answer to this question can easily be a definitive Yes. It can be a yes, not solely because of President Obama or the Democratic Party, but because of the commitment of young people across this country to taking charge of their lives and becoming engaged in their community to ensure that they, their families, and future generations have the opportunity to foster and live healthy lives with a revived sense of community, safety, and security.
Tonight the five young people honored by Children's Defense Fund represent a generation of young people that are committed to transforming their lives and their communities despite the amazingly difficult life challenges they have had to face.
Despite extreme poverty, lack of family support, and having been victim to physical and emotional abuse these young people stand empowered and committed to being a part of ensuring that the opportunity to achieve the "American Dream" remains a possibility for themselves and those that come after them. They find this commitment not simply from the motivation of an eloquent candidate or elected leader, but from their personal experiences and their internal drive and desire to prove that they can achieve and that the barriers and challenges they have experienced, and we all experience, can be overcome.
The young woman who was neglected by her family and essentially abandoned with no familial support, who today leads her peers in local and national service and looks forward to exploring a future career in cancer research; the young man who was raising his younger siblings at the age of 12 and loss his mother to gang related violence two years ago, who is now a community leader and entrepreneur looking forward to receiving legal custody of his siblings; and the young girl who's family suffered so much as the result of illness and she herself suffered sexual abuse, who has taken on the role as a leader in her school; wasn't motivated by a speech or media campaign alone in 2008. They were motivated by a shared belief that they can take charge and create the life they desire to live, thus creating the community, country, and world they desire to live in.
This isn't something that will happen; this is something that is happening.
While so much attention is placed on young people speaking out on specific policy planks or pending legislation on Capitol Hill, the media and pundits ignore the work young people are doing across this country to strengthen their communities and create positive change.
The pundits say young people need to be more vocal about health care reform, well tell that to the young women who volunteers weekly to disseminate information about healthcare services and resources that are available in her community, or the young man who has developed a local campaign to encourage his friends to be tested for STD's/STI's. They say young people need to be more vocal about economic policy, well tell that to the young man who is working to build a network of business owners who will invest in the training and development of the unskilled workers in his community to bring them into the world of work.
The bottom-line is that young people across this country are playing and will continue to play an active role in addressing the shared challenges we face as a nation. Their voices may get lost in the ever growing roar of pontification, but their work speaks volumes as to their commitment to strengthening this great nation. And tonight, the life stories of the five amazing Children's Defense Fund Honorees spoke volumes to the future potentially strong state of our nation if we listen and act.
To President Obama, the Democratic Party, elected officials, and policy leaders across the country, understand it wasn't the media campaign alone that drew us to activism in 2008, it was a belief that our elected officials were listening to our stories and were connecting with our desires and dreams for our lives and our communities. Those desires and dreams still stand, but if we feel that you are no longer listening, we stop talking and stop showing up and simply get back to work.
The question isn't Can President Obama and the Democratic Party keep youth and young voters engaged, the question is will they continue to listen to our voices and support our work to facilitate change.
Tonight the five young people honored by Children's Defense Fund represent a generation of young people that are committed to transforming their lives and their communities despite the amazingly difficult life challenges they have had to face.
Despite extreme poverty, lack of family support, and having been victim to physical and emotional abuse these young people stand empowered and committed to being a part of ensuring that the opportunity to achieve the "American Dream" remains a possibility for themselves and those that come after them. They find this commitment not simply from the motivation of an eloquent candidate or elected leader, but from their personal experiences and their internal drive and desire to prove that they can achieve and that the barriers and challenges they have experienced, and we all experience, can be overcome.
The young woman who was neglected by her family and essentially abandoned with no familial support, who today leads her peers in local and national service and looks forward to exploring a future career in cancer research; the young man who was raising his younger siblings at the age of 12 and loss his mother to gang related violence two years ago, who is now a community leader and entrepreneur looking forward to receiving legal custody of his siblings; and the young girl who's family suffered so much as the result of illness and she herself suffered sexual abuse, who has taken on the role as a leader in her school; wasn't motivated by a speech or media campaign alone in 2008. They were motivated by a shared belief that they can take charge and create the life they desire to live, thus creating the community, country, and world they desire to live in.
This isn't something that will happen; this is something that is happening.
While so much attention is placed on young people speaking out on specific policy planks or pending legislation on Capitol Hill, the media and pundits ignore the work young people are doing across this country to strengthen their communities and create positive change.
The pundits say young people need to be more vocal about health care reform, well tell that to the young women who volunteers weekly to disseminate information about healthcare services and resources that are available in her community, or the young man who has developed a local campaign to encourage his friends to be tested for STD's/STI's. They say young people need to be more vocal about economic policy, well tell that to the young man who is working to build a network of business owners who will invest in the training and development of the unskilled workers in his community to bring them into the world of work.
The bottom-line is that young people across this country are playing and will continue to play an active role in addressing the shared challenges we face as a nation. Their voices may get lost in the ever growing roar of pontification, but their work speaks volumes as to their commitment to strengthening this great nation. And tonight, the life stories of the five amazing Children's Defense Fund Honorees spoke volumes to the future potentially strong state of our nation if we listen and act.
To President Obama, the Democratic Party, elected officials, and policy leaders across the country, understand it wasn't the media campaign alone that drew us to activism in 2008, it was a belief that our elected officials were listening to our stories and were connecting with our desires and dreams for our lives and our communities. Those desires and dreams still stand, but if we feel that you are no longer listening, we stop talking and stop showing up and simply get back to work.
The question isn't Can President Obama and the Democratic Party keep youth and young voters engaged, the question is will they continue to listen to our voices and support our work to facilitate change.
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