Love, GenZ
Youth Civic Engagement
By Sadie Levy
Our communities and our democracy prosper and are more equitable when everybody takes action collectively. We build and sustain power through community. Politically, our country is so divided that community is a hard thing to achieve. However, civic engagement and participation in our democracy is something much deeper than politics, and bigger than the individual.
Civic engagement throughout my life is how I have planted seeds to grow the future I hope to one day see. A future with less polarization and more empathic communication. I want to be able to connect with one another and engage in conversations regardless of different politics, backgrounds, and perspectives.
The desire to preserve and better our home exists inside the majority of American citizens. This energy would effectively create change if channeled with one another. The truth is that it’s hard to give space to beliefs you fundamentally disagree with. Thus, the question becomes, for a peaceful and equitable future for not only our country but that of the world, are we willing to work together, even when our views are at odds with each other?
Youth Civic Engagement
Specifically, youth civic engagement is fundamental to cultivating a just future. Being able to identify what’s important to you and your community, then taking action to implement these beliefs, is a skill that should be practiced from an early age and throughout one’s life. The US school systems are a source of civic power that is under-utilized. I have witnessed the magnitude of what can be accomplished by young and inspired students.
Civic engagement in this country has been reactive rather than proactive. We have often waited for something to go wrong and then acted in response. It’s important to not just put out fires but stop them before they start.
I often think about the complex question of how a generation inherits a world. I find myself and many of my peers overwhelmed with the impending sense of urgency that comes with the infinite loop of crisis, news stories, and pending legislation. It’s difficult to know where to start.
The only place we can start is by simply listening and showing up. Showing up to the building process. Taking steps of action in one’s community, however small. Whether it’s voting in local elections, putting time into community spaces or programs, buying locally, or simply by staying informed as a global citizen.
Sadie Levy is a Junior at Waynflete high school in Portland, Maine. She loves writing and adventuring in nature.
