Published in The Daily Star; DAR Good Citizen Award-Winning Essay
As Americans, we have a responsibility to preserve both the natural world and the political traditions we have inherited. Over the past few years, it has become apparent that the physical environment that constitutes the United States is being threatened at the same time that our democracy is under pressure from warring factions. The fate of our nation rests on what this generation chooses to do to ensure that the political landscape and the actual land of America stay intact.
One of the greatest challenges that America faces both now and in the future is climate change. The recent Camp Fire in California, which left hundreds of people dead and missing, was a chilling reminder of the gravity of our situation. The United Nations’ 2018 Climate Report painted a foreboding picture of the potential natural disasters that may become commonplace by 2040 if serious changes to environmental policy are not made worldwide.
Although we cannot control what other countries do, Americans can pressure their representatives to create more stringent laws restricting the use of fossil fuels. A tax on carbon would be another wise incentive.
Individuals can make changes to their personal lives by buying an electric vehicle or installing solar panels. However, if citizens continue to be caught in the mire of apathy, we may soon reach a point of no return, which will have catastrophic effects on countries all over the globe, including the United States.
Another challenge facing America is the divisiveness of our current politics. We have reached a point where the left and the right often refuse to listen to each other, preferring to stay in echo chambers while demonizing the other side. It has become more popular to attack the ideology of the person speaking rather than debate the merit of ideas. This trend is ruinous for our democracy, as it distracts from creating concrete legislation that is beneficial to Americans, instead turning attention and energy to the latest tweet.
One way to combat this inability to communicate with the other side is to make an effort to listen to what people with opposing viewpoints have to say. While it is not necessary to agree with them, it is important to understand what they are saying and recognize that their opinions are valid. Americans all want the same thing — to make their countrymens’ lives better. What people disagree on is how to get there. If everyone realizes that their neighbor with a differing opinion is still their neighbor and a person deserving of dignity, then more meaningful and productive conversations will be had, and America will be able to overcome this problem.
Throughout history, America has been met with a series of trials and tribulations. The conservation and preservation of natural resources has been an issue for more than a century, with Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir being two famous activists in the early 1900s, and the creation of our National Parks system one of the products of their efforts. Similarly, the United States has seen its fair share of ugly partisanship. The Civil War was certainly a divisive era, and yet Americasurvived.
Although the future can look bleak at times, the United States will find a way to tackle climate change and divisiveness, overcoming challenge after challenge once again.