Introduction
It is essential to mention that the article’s author is Karen Leggett. The woman lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, and writes children’s books. Karen Leggett is also an independent journalist who researches children and their development. Karen Leggett published the article “Why children have such powerful moral authority” on March 1, 2019 (Leggett, 2019). This article is about the influence of children on these issues. The challenges that arise in the modern world have significant consequences for them and the world as a whole. Therefore, the author provided examples of children who defend their beliefs and the analysis of their actions by adults who have authority in society.
Summary
The article states that California State Senator Dianne Feinstein held a non-standard meeting with elementary and middle school students as part of campaign activities. The reason was that they conducted a protest to encourage the Senator to vote for the Green New Deal (Leggett, 2019). However, the case of children’s calls to Dianne Feinstein is not the first example of youth political activism. Clayborne Carson provides an example of the political stance that young people had earlier and points to the 1963 Birmingham Children’s March, which had a significant impact during the civil rights movement (Leggett, 2019). Marian Wright Edelman believes that children should not be underestimated because of their relatively young age (Leggett, 2019). This is because they have such characteristics as honesty and sincerity, which are expressed in their desire to receive reasonable answers to their questions.
Meanwhile, children have more energy and perseverance to advocate for various initiatives than adults. Phillip Hoose argues that adults who have a strong political position do not have enough time to defend it because they have to do their daily work. According to Hoose, children also clearly understand the boundaries between right and wrong and appreciate the opportunities the school creates for them to organize (Leggett, 2019). Nevertheless, children in the organization separate themselves from the adults who control them and feel empowered to fight against a specific position.
Despite being young, Greta Thunber has implemented many initiatives, and the girl has created a position that many adults have supported. Moreover, Bill McKibben, who specializes in environmental issues, suggests that children, unlike adults, will live on the planet longer and are, therefore, more interested in preserving it (Leggett, 2019). Phillip Hoose indicates that young people can now use the social network Twitter to organize protests. In this way, young people drew attention to the shooting at their school and encouraged society to address such issues. It is also valuable to provide an example of how children and adolescents can influence the world with their sincere desire. Malala Yousafzai has united many thousands of supporters of the position that Pakistani girls also have the right to education (Leggett, 2019). In this case, the public had no questions about Malala Yousafzai’s young age, and people supported her initiatives.
Response
It is important to note that the article confirms that children have powerful moral authority. The main reason is that they are open to struggle because they want to hear serious and truthful answers to their questions. Children hear stories from their childhood about the lack of access to education in some states, or about how the environment is deteriorating. As a consequence, they realize that these global problems can be solved if society’s attention is focused on them (Leggett, 2019). At the same time, children believe that their actions will be successful, which motivates them to fight. They do not stop at their own efforts and responsibilities to society and try to create a comfortable world for themselves to live in.
I think that in this way children also express their own identity. Moreover, unlike adults, they understand that society’s moral values need to be promoted. This is because adults worry about problems arising at work or in other areas of life. Children have no such problems and can fully appreciate how events in the world relate to their worldview (Leggett, 2019). Therefore, when certain moral norms are violated, children try to restore them and sincerely believe in the validity of their actions. Accordingly, it seems to me that children have the ability to demonstrate to adults the importance of certain events, such as environmental pollution, the struggle for education, and others. It is only when adults observe the struggles of children that they are inspired by them and begin to analyze the moral values that are violated. After that, adults support children’s initiatives and are inspired by their power.
Moreover, children, in contrast to adults, are active users of children’s social networks. Therefore, they have many friends on the Internet who can support the struggle, for example, against the pollution of the planet. Consequently, children succeed faster than adults in convincing followers to support them. The virtual world becomes a preparation platform for them (Leggett, 2019). The adults need more time and energy to encourage people from social networks to attend a protest or a demonstration. Thus, I think that children are successfully using the advantages they have in the online space to assert their positions.
Nevertheless, I believe that children’s initiatives, despite their young age, are profound and inclusive and gather many followers. They are capable of encouraging adults to assess the situation differently and support them. It appears to me that the success of children lies in their ability to set the right example of struggle. Adults, on the other hand, are used to not interfering in situations that are complicated for them. Consequently, when adults observe children’s willingness to fight against social needs, they put a lot of effort into supporting them.
I am also an active social media user and monitor the initiatives promoted by teenagers. Additionally, I share posts with arguments for their positions to help them gain more supporters. For instance, I often refer to Greta Thunber in my posts on the Internet and believe that her work is essential to avoiding global warming. Moreover, Greta Thunber represents the interests of people who have not yet been born but who also deserve to live on a planet with a favorable climate. Therefore, my contribution is that I support the position of preserving the planet and spreading information on social networks to create a larger community of like-minded people.
Conclusion
Hence, children and adolescents often raise issues that adults do not address. This can be clarified by the fact that they have the desire, confidence, and inspiration to defend what they believe to be the proper position, which creates their moral authority. Moreover, social media is now helping spread the word about the issues and proposals children find and advance. As a result, there is a direction for adults to support children’s initiatives under the influence of young people’s moral authority.
Reference
Leggett, K. (2019). Why children have such powerful moral authority. The Washington Post, 1-3. Web.