Barbara Cervone · Work & Publications · Personal Writing · Progressive Education
June 18, 1965 By Barbara Tucker
A recent article in Newsweek magazine began with the words: “America’s future has always belonged to its youth, but never before have the young staked out so large a claim in America’s present.” This claim can be seen in many places: on the educational scene with student unreset on a number of campuses throughout the nation, on the political level with students sitting in at the White House in Washington and marching on the courthouse in Selma, or on the international stage with such groups as the Peace Corps. Youth is no longer a disinterested part of society; it has a voice that wants to be heard.
But what does it speak of - what are its hopes? Is youth foolish in devoting so much energy to idealistic aims such as world peace, improvement of living standards in under-developed countries, conquering disease, or social equality and civil rights? Aristotle once described youth as having “exalted notions because they have not yet been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations.” Yet, only a decade ago, travel in outer space was an “exalted notion” and our own earth’s atmosphere was our limitation. Thus, idealistic striving is essential to progress, to the future, and most important, to the voice of today’s youth.
Our involvement in America’s present seems to stem, first, from a belief in the ideal of the dignity and worth of every man. Perhaps the civil rights movement, as much as anything else, has awakened the social conscience of our generation. Because none of us are completely independent, to become involved in and to care about the plight of others is part of living. Realizing this, youth does not just speak for itself, but of the other man, and all men, as well. The brotherhood of mankind is more than a simple cliche. The sufferings of Negroes in Alabama or of flood victims in Northern California concern all of us. Just because we are not directly involved, we cannot turn our back on their need.
Secondly, we recognize the power of each individual to make a significant contribution to society. As Everett Hale wrote:
I am only one
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
It is this belief that has motivated young people to form political groups, to provide aid to needy persons in the community, to take an active interest in the civil rights movement, or even to help build roads and bridges in economically backward nations. Although each of us is only one, together our generation has a stake in the present.
Nevertheless, our greatest claim lies in the future. As a result of our education, in the coming years we, America’s young, will be the pacesetters for political and social progress - it is an inescapable responsibility. And needless to say, it will be in the fields of war and peace, poverty and affluence, oppression and equality, and rights and duties that we will work and strive. It may be that our pace will be slow, we will forward no new ideas, dream no dreams. We cannot make any promises. Yet on the other hand, we may bring our “exalted hopes” into being, and take not one, but many steps forward. Perhaps, through our continuous efforts, such vital issues as the battle for civil rights or the threat of nuclear holocaust will be no more than past history.
Already we have seen many instances of the potential of today’s youth. One small example is the “Operation Crossroads Africa” - a project which has sent more than five hundred American students to Africa to work besides natives in summer work camps. Alone, they have built schoolhouses, clinics, parts of training centers, improved market places, and cleared bush for roads, in addition to furthering international communications. Perhaps the impact of such a project does not seem large on the world-scale; and yet, the presence of these young Americans left an unforgettable imprint on those that witnessed their work. As one African spoke: “If we Africans should behave as these Americans, the whole world will be in peace, and there will be no war or hatred.” Such a reaction, multiplied many times, can have an enormous effect – it is definitely a step forward. Still such progress is often painful and filled with setbacks. As a result, to insure our future success, we need some imaginative stimulus to shape vague hope and transform it into effective desire and to carry us year after year. Idealism must be the foundation of this hope.
This is a time of great events. The American involvement in this history is filled with dangers and promises that plainly affect every individual’s future. Most people are content simply to live from day to day. But a great many, especially young people, feel curiosity and concern and, most of all, a need to participate in some meaningful way in all that is going on. We want a role, we want to make some personal impact on these great and impersonal events, even though our aims may be criticized as being too idealistic. It was once said: “Our bitterest wine is always drained from crushed ideals.” Let it be that our generation never has to taste such a wine. If one were to choose a slogan to speak youth’s hopes, it might be: “To look up and not down, to look forward and not back, to look out and not in, and to lend a hand.”