In a world with so many improvements to be made, why do you not care?

I am a Millennial. I take selfies. I drink Starbucks. But I do not want to hear another millennial say, “I don’t care.” In a country that is currently facing one of its biggest threats for presidential candidacy, it is not a time to say, “I don’t care."

What many young adults forget about is that we are the future of this country. One day, we will be like our parents, in the workforce. We are going to be the people paying taxes, making this country a more accepting place and ultimately, changing the future of this country is up to us. Now, do we want a country full of people who “don’t care,” or do we want people who are willing to passionately fight for what they believe?

Let’s take a quick trip through history. During the Civil Right’s Movement, people of all ages took to the streets and marched to Selma. In protests against the Vietnam War, young adults were the main voice of anti-war efforts. More recently, the Black Lives Matter movement took the internet by storm, spreading the world one retweet at a time. These are just three examples of how the voices of young people who do care have changed history. I do not want to live in a country of people who don’t care because nothing will be changed.

Some may say that our country is fine as it is, but I ask those people to do some research on the wage gap, African American incarceration rates vs. any other race and climate change, just for starters. Along with that, I ask those people to ask themselves what they want to be changed. In this country we have a beautiful gift — it’s called freedom of speech. I ask you to join me and use that right. We have the right to “peaceably to assemble to protest the government for a redress of grievance.” I ask you to USE that right. We have the “freedom of the press.” USE THAT RIGHT. Nothing in the history of this country has ever been changed for the better without people exercising those rights.

So ask you to join me and millions of others in this country in using your rights to care about something. I ask you to do this not for myself or even yourself, but for the future of the United States.

It’s not hard to start something amazing, it just takes a few people to care.