By: Jonathan Becker
Student Change Agent Coalition Leader and Newman Civic Fellow, Whitman College
Published as part of Letters to America, a national youth-driven civic initiative launched by Made By Us through Youth250, in which young people put forward their own declaration for America’s 250th anniversary. These letters are published unedited and in full to showcase the students’ authentic voices and unique perspectives. While their views are entirely their own, we believe their voices, and those of all our student leaders, are a vital part of the conversation around America’s future.
Dear America,
The circumstances of your birth are hard to reconcile:
Violence
Colonization
War
Death
Slavery
Our history is held in our bodies. We hold the past in our physical being.
As we ground ourselves with the Earth, we remember that all people are one
Across space and time
And so we must attempt to
Heal
Heal the wounds of our past, and of our present
We live on stolen land
And even as we have one foot rooted in our past
we also remember our present also demands attention
Deportations
Climate Change
Racism
Social Injustice
We live in a world of pain, but there is also light if we dare to seek it out
Light in the most unexpected of places. Light that is seen when we
listen to our wise teacher, Mr. Rogers, and do as he teaches when
we “look for the helpers”
Heal
America… you must heal
We are too divided, live in too much pain
Our people are suffering everyday. Our neighbors. Our loved ones.
And as we are all connected as one people, we all hurt Heal
America…. It is time to heal… past and present….
Tomorrow is a new future.
Be brave and remember that all of us are capable of making change
Even if we cannot solve the world’s problems, we must do our small part
Only then can light prevail. Light will prevail…
Sincerely,
The Youth