#Vote4OurFuture Launches: Time for Everybody to Get on Board
In searching for a thought-provoking quote about children I found this nugget from something called the Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health 1981: “Children are one-third of our population and all of our future.”
The quote should be posted in every politician’s office. It can serve as an inspiration to enact child-friendly policies or as a warning about getting voted out of office if their concerns are ignored.
No issue animates children more than the government’s lack of response to the existential threat of climate change. They understand that we’ve got 10 years to make substantial progress to mitigate the effects of this growing crisis or their future will be very bleak.
While some improvements are being made at the local and state level, the federal government is missing in action because corporate special interests, especially the fossil fuel industry, have exerted too much influence over the United States House of Representatives, Senate and Presidency.
Instead of handwringing, children are responding by championing solutions like the Green New Deal, a comprehensive legislative proposal that fundamentally transforms our economy to meet the challenges of climate change. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the Green New Deal’s original sponsors, answered critics who denounce the urgency many children feel about this issue in a video that went viral last year.
The best way to generate more support for the Green New Deal is by launching a political campaign to pressure elected officials to do the right thing. This month the Democratic Presidential primary has a whopping 35 states and territories voting to determine who will face President Donald Trump in November. If children want to interject the Green New Deal into the public discourse this is a perfect time to do that.
The National Children’s Campaign and Zero Hour, two child-focused nonprofit advocacy organizations, are joining together to launch the #Vote4OurFuture campaign that runs from March 20 – 30. It will educate the public about the Green New Deal and help register new voters. These organizations will be meeting with youth activists, community leaders, impacted families, and voters in New York City (March 20), Philadelphia (March 21-22), Pittsburgh (March 23-24), Detroit (March 25-26), Flint (March 27-28) and Milwaukee (March 29-30), five centers of youth activism in the Midwest. To learn more about the bus tour go here.
To close on another quote about the future, I am reminded of Mahatma Gandhi when he said, “The future depends on what you do today.” The children on this bus tour are taking their future into their hands because the battle against climate change is one they know they must win. Politicians need to adopt that same mindset.