The Importance of Civil Disobedience

Behind almost every major social or political movement in the world are teenagers and young people. This is true for the modern era with global organizations like March for Our Lives or Students Demand Action as well as in the past with the protests against the draft and the Vietnam War. One of the most prominent youth lead movements in the world is Friday’s For Future, led by 17-year old Swedish student, Greta Thunberg. This movement is so widespread and powerful because climate change is one of the largest threats that the world currently faces. All across the globe, the effects of climate change are obvious, from the horrible air quality in China, to the increase in hurricanes, temperatures, and wildfires in North America. Unfortunately, many governments and administrations still have not directly addressed the issue or established a clear plan on how to stop it. Because of this, following the lead of the young people and their civil disobedience may be the only way to stop climate change before it is too late. In order to fix the issue of climate change, everyone in the world needs to become more involved, specifically by following the direction of young people who are fighting for their future and the future of the Earth.

Many politicians argue that young people should remain in school and they disregard our opinions and ideas about climate change. Luckily, all politicians are not like that, but it is still a significant number of them. These politicians insult and do not take young activists like Greta seriously, but they are still able to form a significant following for their global movements. Greta started protesting alone on the steps of Swedish Parliament, and now there are millions of people of all ages supporting her. The fact of the matter is that our time is running out to do something about climate change, but because of the strength of youth-led movements, politicians that do nothing to stop climate change will be voted out until there is a significant response from governments all over the world to slow the effects of this issue. Civil disobedience has worked well to further the issue, just like it did in the past with other movements. Some may look down on civil disobedience, but in the future, the next generations of children will be thankful for it and that people were willing to take a stand against climate change. Hopefully politicians will be more welcoming and accepting to youth activists in the near future, but for now the fight must continue until everyone is ready to listen.

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