We are 29 young women and men, brought together by a commitment to social justice and the fight for equality among all human beings. We are college students from across the United States and believe that the most important issues of our time are not being adequately addressed.
We are involved in local and national politics, service organizations, interfaith and religious groups, and in many forms of campus activism. We believe that community service is an important form of student activism, but that politics is still necessary to improve our world.
We recognize that we are young and that our youth is an asset. As our generation assumes the power and responsibility for change, we pledge to pursue these issues with diligence and persistence.
We will act in accordance with our own sense of justice, mindful of the lessons of American history. Central to our sense of justice is the conviction that each individual and community has the right to speak, act and effect change. To that end, we will educate others and ourselves.
The purpose of this document is to outline only some of the issues that compel us to action. We are not representatives of any political party, nor do we represent the full spectrum of America's diversity. Although we unanimously recognize these issues as important to the health of our democracy, we do not unanimously advocate any single solution to the problems outlined below. This document is, rather, the beginning of a larger discourse in our own lives and for the sake of the future we hold in common.
Our commitment to justice and equality is a foundation for our views on the environment and other social and global issues. We share a belief that when the environment is polluted, everyone is affected. Certain kinds of environmental pollution -- particularly air and water pollution -- not only cause ecological degradation but also illness and death among citizens of our society.
Responsibility for curbing environmental pollution falls on everyone: individuals, communities and corporations, as well as local, state and national governments. We demand greater responsibility from corporations for inefficient and harmful environmental practices. In this effort, we believe that corporations can be assisted by federal regulations. There are many examples of federal regulations spawning entirely new and successful industries. But the bottom-line approach of today's global capitalism has had a ravaging effect on our environment and, in order to be most effective, environmental activism must be a community responsibility. Environmental protection is also a personal responsibility, however. It is important for an environmental movement --or any other kind of social movement -- to build an activist base that is socio-economically diverse so that it cannot be resisted as the hobby of the privileged class.
Our government must address nuclear waste disposal in a safe and environmentally conscious manner, ensuring that transportation and storage of hazardous materials do not disproportionately endanger any community. Government must also recognize that these measures merely mitigate one of the many dangers of nuclear weapons. The ultimate goal must be the abolition of nuclear weapons themselves. Government can also set a good example of environmental responsibility by using renewable energy technologies, preserving natural lands and supporting public transportation. As a leader on the world stage, the United States must set a good example for environmental responsibility at home.
We recognize that many times pollution is distributed unfairly among groups of citizens. Poor neighborhoods often bear the greatest burden of environmental pollution, owing to a dearth of political clout and sometimes even a willingness to shoulder environmentally damaging industries and processes in exchange for small monetary gain. These communities also suffer from disproportionate levels of illness that can be related to the high levels of pollution. This practice exploits the political disenfranchisement of poor communities by endangering communities with the least political influence. We dedicate ourselves to pursuing courses of action that will correct this injustice.
Inequality demands urgent action. The growing income gap between rich and poor divides those with power from those without. This gap discourages everyone except the wealthiest Americans from participating in politics. The psychological, physical and political implications of economic inequality are not given the attention they demand.
One way to bridge economic segregation in America is through community service. Community service is a form of activism that helps build social networks and transform people's lives. Projects that involve personal interaction with people and communities help reweave the fabric of a greater American society. Mentoring children is one of the most effective ways to make a difference in someone's life and in a community. Positive role models have endless influence. However, mentoring and other forms of community service do not solve the structural problems. American citizens, mobilized by their volunteer experiences in these communities, can advocate on their behalf in public life. The government plays an important role in supporting community service organizations and must not avoid its responsibility to America's communities.
As the income gap widens, our generation has seen the growth of homelessness as a tragic manifestation of persistent poverty in America. About 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year, which is ultimately a result of an inadequate stock of affordable housing. Although we believe that people are responsible for their own lives, we reject the idea that homelessness as a social problem is caused solely by laziness or other personal characteristics. Rather, it must be seen as the product of larger structural injustices in our society. Homelessness cannot be explained by personal failures alone, and must not be criminalized. We believe homelessness should be addressed as an urgent social problem in which all members of society share culpability. We also recognize that raising the minimum wage to a living wage -- one that guarantees that individuals working 40-hour weeks are able to afford housing in their communities -- may be one way to reduce homelessness and help improve the lives of the working poor. In addition, we recognize universal health care as an important step in those same fights.
The segregation of American communities is not only economic. We place the same priority on eliminating racial segregation. Communities and schools remain racially segregated, a sad reality that has a deep historical context. We recognize the many causes for modern segregation, including institutional racism and racial discrimination on the part of individuals and communities. We believe, however, that segregation has fallen off the radar screen of our elected officials. Racism and discrimination diminishes all of us and weakens the social bonds of America's communities. We demand that our leaders recognize this history and injustice and take action to right it.
We recognize the prison-industrial complex and imprisonment as crucial issues in our time. The disenfranchisement of felons who have served their time represents a denial of basic civil liberties. And the effects of print and broadcast media on the public perception of violence and criminals are immeasurable. The media must be conscious of stereotypes that it creates or perpetuates by the manner in which it presents information. Racial profiling is one example of a tactic that perpetuates stereotypes by relying on racially biased information. The media, however, is an instrument, not an impediment, to change. The media can play an important role in society by exposing social inequality and injustice.
Many of us also oppose the death penalty on the grounds that it is unjust, inhumane and a poor deterrent to crime. Persons not guilty of the crimes for which they were accused have been placed on death row in the recent past. We recognize that racial minorities are disparately impacted by the application of capital punishment. We believe that neither children nor mentally retarded people should be executed, and the continuation of these practices in American jurisprudence is unacceptable. Life is a human right and many of us believe that the death penalty is a violation of human rights.
Respect for human rights is essential to the strength of any society, including global society. In many instances, such as the recent genocide in Rwanda, the United States failed to prevent the violation of human rights. We recognize that the United States is a perpetrator of human rights abuses, in our own borders and in other countries. The United States has also failed to enforce human rights protections within its own borders, in places like the U.S.-Mexico boundary zone, where police officers frequently abuse people seeking to cross the border illegally. In general terms, the US ranked 17 of 17 industrial nations in the human poverty index according to the United Nations Development Report (HP1-2).
All Americans must recognize that threats to human rights exist within the United States. A strong moral sense is the foundation of any approach to human rights, but cultural sensitivity in protecting human rights is also important when violations occur among foreign peoples. There is a tendency to impose a Western view of morality on cultures that are foreign to our ways of thinking. These practices can prove to be a danger to the survival of indigenous cultures and foster animosity toward the United States. The distinction -- and proper balance -- between moral principles and cultural sensitivity is fundamental to a successful human rights and foreign policy in the 21st century.
Protecting human rights within the United States means protecting -- to the fullest extent of necessarily evolving legal standards -- the rights of people of all sexual orientations and minority groups, including Native Americans. Protecting human rights sometimes also means writing new law, such as expanding federal hate-crimes legislation to include protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. Better education in school curricula about the role of gays in all aspects of history, literature, and science might help dispel ignorance and fear that sometimes breed discrimination.
These problems must be addressed. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender high school students are 5 times more likely to commit suicide. 70 percent say they face harassment and 40 percent say they face physical violence. These numbers reflect the gross negligence of the government in addressing issues that affect the gay community. Sex education itself is far behind the developmental level of understanding of most children, a problem that also deserves attention. We pledge to help all Americans embrace gays and racial minorities as their fellow men and women.
Protecting human rights also means protecting Americans from dangers to public health, such as HIV/AIDS, which continues to have a steady growth rate and which disproportionately affects black communities. Responsible action against the HIV/AIDS epidemic also includes serious review of countermeasures such as needle-exchange programs, since two-thirds of new HIV/AIDS cases are related to IV drug use. United States failure to lead the global fight against HIV/AIDS is an irresponsible exercise of its rank and power in the world -- we demand urgent action by our country to save the lives of fellow human beings dying in Africa and around the world.
We believe that civic engagement in our country is in a state of crisis. There is a real danger that young people are becoming disconnected from each other, community life and politics. One of the greatest challenges for our generation is to find ways to engage people in civic activism and rebuild the bonds of a strong democracy. And we believe that government -- the instrument of the people -- has an important role in securing the welfare of society.
We recognize that complacency among youth is a persistent fact of history, but we believe that certain forces in our society make modern complacency particularly dangerous. Primary among these is the influence of money in politics, which will continue to turn people away from public service, as it already has. People justly feel powerless when the rich have unjust access to politicians. As we leave our universities to take positions of leadership in society, we will direct our attention to this issue.
Injustice can only be righted through change, and change is the result of individual and community action. As individuals, we are committed to helping our own communities address their own problems -- as activists we are united in the shared sense of purpose that compels us to action. We respect our differences as individuals, but know that fulfilling the American promise depends on a strong national belief in community involvement. We pledge to fight the causes of civic disengagement. We reject the social impulse to disconnect. And we know that now -- more than ever -- it is important that we connect our communities, our society, and ourselves to the progressive legacy of American history.
Ultimately, we embrace politics as a powerful means to deeply human ends. Our intellectual commitment to progressive policy grows from a moral commitment to human dignity in the communities where we grew up and where we have worked across the country. The task ahead is one of both head and heart.
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