I just saw a story that lead with the phrase “teen activists.”
There shouldn’t be teen activists.
The vast majority (if not all) teens haven’t had enough life experience and are only beginning to get a high level understanding of the issues, events, nuances, and rationale of what’s going on in the world around them.
There is propaganda in the world, being pushed by professionals, supporting nearly every world view there is from which to choose. When you’re a teen, getting your first glimpse at the world beyond your own community borders, the chances are the first taste you’ll get is the simplistic and incomplete messaging that accompanies propaganda.
Not much, if anything, offends me. My filter is too well-honed, and my skin is sufficiently thick. But I’ve always found it unconscionable that people use kids to do their political bidding.
You can take any issue and frame it in a way where most teens will enthusiastically nod their head and get excited to go fight for it (unless you’re that teen’s parent, of course).
When we do this, we rob our kids of their childhood and innocence, and I think it’s wrong. Sure, they’re going to lose that soon enough, and many important issues are creeping into their childhoods, anyway.
But that’s the fault of the adults. And it should be our job to clean it up.
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