What distinguishes us Americans from almost any other culture on earth and makes us the American Idol to people who are oppressed by dictatorships or prevented from living out their dream is our freedom. We are not the comatose society Aldous Huxley describes in his book, Brave New World, where society’s stability is dependent upon anaesthetizing individual thought with sportive sex and drugs. And while it may cost us some momentary instability, and we may endure violent growing pains because of the turmoil and friction free expression sometimes causes, our freedom is definitely worth the risk. In America we are movers and shakers. When we ask the question ‘why,’ at the very least we are advancing discussion - at most we are creating the opportunity for positive changes to evolve.

If you think about it, your generation has already expressed itself after the tragedy that was Sept. 11th. Many young people did some extraordinary things - working with the Red Cross, reaching out to victims’ families, assuming a strong role in your own families and expressing your patriotism with American flags and a renewed dedication to our nation. TeenSpeak’s Teen Summit on Terrorism in April 2002 showcased the bravery of your peers, Abdul Majeed Arsala, whose father was slain on a peace mission in Afghanistan, and Chloe Wohlforth, who lost her father in the attacks against the United States. It also provided a podium for your solutions to terrorism. Your important voices resonated loud and clear to people in leadership roles like Lieutenant Governor Jodi Rell, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, former Deputy Mayor Robert Harding and CNN’s Paula Zahn who were significantly impressed by your courage in dedicating yourselves to prevent terrorism of any kind in your communities.

I wonder, however, if you’ve thought of putting the same energies into challenging the status quo on other issues like Affirmative Action, parity for women in sports or providing an easier means for more women to enter politics. These issues affect you just as much. Affirmative Action, for example, has excited a lot of very controversial opinions on what’s fair in the college application process and how to intellectually create diversity.

Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision, there isn’t an iron clad plan that fairly addresses how to create diversity on campuses across the United States. Antiracist Tim Wise and constitutional law professor and author Abigail Thernstrom would agree that this is because racism is still America’s number one domestic issue. We simply are not color blind. More importantly, no one has implemented a good plan that addresses how we level the playing field where dramatic disparities of opportunities exist between neighborhoods that are poor and without resources and opportunities - and others that, at least comparatively speaking, are loaded with both.

Fifteen-year-old West Oakland, California resident Jenny Solky believes educational opportunities are exclusive and not everyone is given an equal chance to succeed. She attributes this to publicized negative stereotypes about areas like West Oakland that are preventing kids like her from getting better opportunities. It’s easy to give up on a community that has been painted by the media as drug infested, violent, and where it is falsely assumed that the kids in the community don’t want to learn and would rather skip school. West Oakland residents are creating some publicity of their own through an organization called Y.E.L.L. and parents, students and teachers are screaming for educational opportunities and resources that can keep step with an increasing number of kids who are on the honor roll, an increasing number of kids who are performing well on State tests and an increasing number of kids who hope to go to college despite the harming misstatements and lack of financial investment.

More women role models in politics are having their voices heard at a political table that has traditionally been sat at by men marking a breakthrough of another barrier. Yet women have to work twice as hard to get half as far as men. This is also the case for women in sports. Trailblazers, like Laila Ali are fighting hard to achieve visibility for women in sports, specifically in the boxing arena. Boxing is a multibillion-dollar industry for men and their sponsorships run 25 to every woman’s one. Despite reluctance on behalf of many TV sports venue executives to put women’s boxing front and center before a large television audience, Ali remains resolute.

Conviction and commitment has defined Dr. Dorothy Height, who, even at the age of 91 is still making a difference in our lives. Her recently published book, Open Wide the Freedom Gates documents her life long battle against racist barriers, and has given Height yet another podium to advance equity and justice for everyone. “We will never have a work field where all of the people have an equal chance if some people have been shut out or denied,” she says.

Finally, we should never be so content to believe that everything is perfect just because it’s perfect for us. Our free society is only as strong and only as successful as our weakest link. It is our responsibility to honestly confront what is not fair for others. We must be brave enough to learn by listening, brave enough to step outside of our comfort zone, and brave enough to act on behalf of a free society that requires everyone to have an equal opportunity to be a meaningful contributor in making the world we share a better place to live.

Debra Mamorsky
Editor & Publisher