A Legacy for the Future

To the Editor:

Injustice is still rampant today. It can exist in virtually any situation: in our everyday interactions with others, in our classrooms and in offices, and even on societal and political levels. People may choose to stay silent about issues to avoid conflict, but some of the youth choose to do the opposite.

Greta Thunberg, for example, became a prominent figure in 2019 when she called out authorities’ negligence in addressing the climate crisis. The 17-year-old is just one of the many activists who empowers others and promotes advocacies. After all, the youth is the future, and will be carrying on the legacy left behind by those who have walked before them.

Unfortunately, the youth’s opinions are often invalidated by those older than them. Scholasticans often receive flak for participating in rallies, like the 2016 anti-Marcos burial rally and the 2020 One Billion Rising campaign. Netizens, including blogger Mocha Uson, spamed the students’ social media accounts with fallacious attacks, using their age as the basis for the validity of their arguments. Others even accused the school of “brainwashing” its students.

This constant suppression can be deterring and discouraging. Still, many of the youth continue to speak up. SSC alumna Mikee De Vega was quick to defend the school during the aftermath of the Marcos rally. Likewise, other Scholasticans have turned to social media to galvanize efforts to end injustice.

This shows the resiliency of the youth. There is a fighting spirit that blazes within them, and this spirit won’t be easily extinguished. Age is not a measure of intelligence and should not be used to invalidate people’s statements. People need empathy and courage to bring justice where there is none; to shed light on those cast in darkness.

They may not have much power in the eyes of everyone else, but no matter how small, they will use that for the sake of others. As the future of this world, as the hope of our generation, the youth will do everything they are capable of, no matter the odds stacked against them, to ensure that there will still be a legacy left for the generations to come.