Local opinion: Never say 'I am too young'

I clearly remember Friday afternoons in fourth grade. Each week, 10 of us were assigned to stand up in front of the class and “report” on a current event. I remember searching the daily newspaper for a blurb (the shorter the better) with words I could understand and on a topic I cared about. Although I often chose a story about a child or an animal, I sometimes ventured into a fourth-grade version of politics. I liked the sound of “I like Ike,” and proudly wore a button declaring that as I delivered my version of an article I had slogged through. The exercise was to teach us to read and speak. It also encouraged me to think. There was no parental involvement (apart from supplying a daily newspaper). My parents were at times amused or befuddled by the “current event” I chose. I loved the reading exercise even though speaking in front of my class terrified me, and my voice squeaked.

I’d like to think now, at age 82, that elementary school exercise still pushes me to learn about those things I care about, and to speak out loud my concerns. At two recent No Kings rallies, I was inspired by some young adults carrying signs and participating in public dialogue about things they care about: government, health care, climate, immigration, education, ethics, war. (I enjoyed especially the signs carried by two small children that read, “NO TO KINGS, YES TO PRE-SCHOOL” and “NO TO KINGS, YES TO SOCCER.”)

Young people, we need you! You are never too young to care about the world you are inheriting and will soon lead. You are not too young to speak. You are not too young to make a difference.

Democrat Maxwell Frost, now age 29, began to care about justice for everyone when he was in elementary school. Today he works in Congress to end gun violence, and make to available health care and affordable housing. One of our youngest Republican congressmen, Addison McDowell, lost his younger brother to a fatal dose of illegal fentanyl, and now works tirelessly to heal the scourge of drugs in this country and to save kids like his brother Luke.

In 1955, when she was only 15 years old, Claudette Colvin was arrested when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to make room for several white people who were deemed “better” than her. At age 16, she helped to win a landmark federal lawsuit that ultimately ended bus segregation in Alabama.

Jennifer Keelan was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that confined her to a wheelchair. On March 12, 1990, when she was only 8 years old, she cast aside her wheelchair and, with 1,000 other disabled persons, crawled up the 83 steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate the barriers that people like her face. She was instrumental in bringing about civil rights legislation, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

After surviving an attack by the Taliban in Pakistan at age 15, Malala Yousafzai became a global advocate for girls’ education.

At age 18, Boyan Slat of the Netherlands founded The Ocean Cleanup organization after designing a passive system to concentrate and remove plastic trash from ocean waters.

Thandiwe Abdullah created Black Lives Matter in Schools when she was 15. Her program for racial social justice was adopted by the Los Angeles School Board.

Kelvin Doe, a self-taught engineer from Sierra Leone, at age 13, built his own radio station and battery generators out of scrap metal and supplied electrical power to his whole neighborhood.

Remember David and Goliath? Goliath, the Philistine giant, was threatening the Israelite army. It was David, the shepherd boy with a well-aimed slingshot who felled the giant and saved a nation.

Young people, know what you care about. Make your voices heard. Our world will soon be in your hands.