25 young people making noise for social progress

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 24: Parkland student activists attend the 2018 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Time)

The Parkland Survivors

If you’ve ever thought kids can’t make a difference, look no further than Parkland, Florida. The survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting are nothing short of inspirational. It’s hard to believe that 17-year olds are taking on the NRA, organizing huge walkouts and marches like the March for Our Lives, working to influence the election, going on TV for town halls and interviews, and more. And these 17-year olds did all this after just surviving a mass shooting at their school when they already had so much trauma to deal with.

After the Valentine’s Day shooting, the Parkland survivors stood up and decided to use their voices to fight for gun control. When they were told that they were too young and didn’t know what they were talking about, young activists like Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind, and more said, “No,” and demanded their voices be heard and that theirs would be the last mass shooting. And when they were told this wasn’t the time to talk about politics, they said, “okay,” and named a date. Hundreds of thousands of people marched for their lives.

America seemed to get stuck in a loop when it came to these shootings. We’d be horrified and offer our thoughts and prayers, people would try to talk about gun control but would be told not to politicize a tragedy, and then we’d move on. But the Parkland survivors haven’t become jaded yet. They are using their anger and grief to work for change. And they’re using their social media skills, which, let’s face it, are much better than the older politicians’, to cut down any of their critics and get the word out.

After many people had given up, it looks like we may actually get gun reform thanks to these powerful activists. It’s no wonder they were named on Time’s 100 Most Influential People of the year list.

“The world failed us,” Kasky said, “and we’re here to make a new one that’s going to be easier on the next generation. If you’re against that, then get out.”