“That we’re young only means we have the most to lose by standing idle,” say the young protesters mocked by mainstream media. But let’s focus on the young. The issue of debt, especially student debt, hovers over the protests. And that doesn’t factor in the fact that many college educated workers are working jobs that don’t require college degrees. They are essentially using their degrees to crowd out those with a high school diploma or some college education from the jobs they would normally take. And no matter what jobs they are able to get, student debt hangs around their necks like an albatross.
So yes, young people have an important stake in what happens going forward. Do we continue policies that benefit Wall Street and the top 1 percent? Do we tax the rich to rebuild America? Do we reform a financial sector that dominates the economy? The list of choices in front of us goes on and on. Their whole future, indeed all of ours, depends on it. It’s no wonder that they’ve taken to the streets.
Learning Change 