On Saturday, I attended my third No Kings protest and yet again I was shocked by the lack of young people there. There were a few people my age at the protest but the overwhelming majority were adults. At least half the people there were over the age of 65. It’s disheartening that more people don’t show up to the protest because I know they care. They post on social media constantly. Most of the people I talk to have a problem with the current administration and the state of our country, but when given the opportunity to actually show their dissent they choose to stay home.
I understand as a college student it’s not always convenient to take time out of your day to go to a march or protest. Many of us work on the weekends on top of using those couple days to catch up on school work. I get that time is limited, but some things are more important. Every choice the Trump administration makes will affect our future. We just entered a war with Iran that has no clear end. U.S. troops were in Iraq for eight years, and Afghanistan for twenty. This war will affect our future beyond Trump’s term. If the SAVE Act is passed by Congress would make it infinitely harder for millions of Americans to register to vote. This is our future that’s on the line and not enough young people are stepping up to do something about it.
At every No Kings protest I’ve attended at least one person over the age of 60 has come up to me and thanked me for being there. They talk about how disheartening it is that more young people don’t show up. My grandma who is over 70 years old has also attended every No Kings protest and attends many local protests in her community. She could easily ignore what’s going on and go about her life. She doesn’t have to worry about the future as much as I do. She doesn’t have to worry about losing her job to AI, how she’s going to afford to buy a house or raise kids, or that the government will suddenly reinstate the draft and she’ll be shipped off to war. She doesn’t have to care at all, but she does.
In the past young people have been the driving forces in many political movements. The Civil Rights Movement was fueled by high school age and college age kids. They organized sit-ins and freedom rides. They were the ones who gathered in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964 to register voters. During the Children’s Crusade in 1963 thousands of students in Birmingham, Alabama left school to march for civil rights. Some students were as young as seven years old. The protests against the Vietnam War were also led by young adults. In May of 1970, over 900 high schools, colleges, and universities experienced walk-outs to protest against the Vietnam War. In the past, the youth of our country were at the center of key political and cultural movements, so what changed?
I know people my age are angry and unhappy. They don’t like or agree with what’s happening in our country. They’re willing to repost things to their Instagram story or rant about everything that’s happening to their friends, but there are too many who aren’t willing to take action. I’ve attended the No Kings protests in Lancaster and Reading. My mom has attended them in Hershey. It’s always the same. There are so few young adults who are there. The majority of attendees are older citizens. Why don’t enough of us care about our future to fight for a better one? It’s not easy and yes it can be inconvenient to attend a march or a protest, but the actions of the current administration have consequences that will land beyond their time in office. Democracy is worth fighting for. Power lies in voices and numbers and power lies with the people. We are the future of this country. We should be the ones fighting hardest for it. Social media posts only go so far. Real action needs to be taken to show those in charge that we are not happy and that we will not stand for hatred.
