I’ve been patiently waiting for our young people to rise up and demand change, as we did in the 1960s. I see many similarities between the conditions then and what’s happening now. A quick Google search led me to a kindred soul, Serge Schemann, an opinion writer and former Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. Here, in his authoritative words, are some of those parallels.
“Many of us who lived through the 1960s are tempted to seek similarities between then and now. We see the acute polarization of the nation, the warring ideologies, the National Guard deployed against demonstrators, the presidents who abuse power, the sense of America losing its bearing.”
Back in the day, we fought for change by promoting civil rights, environmental protection and peace, while today’s youth are out in force, protesting against climate change, police brutality and racial justice (e.g., Black Lives Matter).
While we protested the Vietnam War, today’s youth are demonstrating against Israel’s destruction of Gaza and mobilizing against Trump’s war against Iran. We protested a high-casualty ground war, while current protests center on drone strikes, naval interventions and wars of choice, all of which are deployable on both moral and economic grounds.
The truth is, we already have a youth uprising in the U.S. But much of it has been under the radar because it has been achieved through the electoral process, not in the streets. A good example is the recent election of 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim and democratic socialist, as mayor of New York City.
His election is the result of a powerful grassroots youth movement, similar to those of the 1960s. The proof is in studies, showing that over 75% of young voters aged 18 to 29 supported him — including an army of 46,000 unpaid volunteers who handed out fliers in seven languages.
This is not only happening here but around the world. The Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban, whom Trump has been trying to copy, has just been booted from office after a 16-year reign of corrupt and anti-democratic rule. Meanwhile, in Nepal, Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper and former Kathmandu mayor, was just sworn in as prime minister.
“With his trademark rectangular sunglasses and lyrics lifting up the oppressed, Mr. Shah is perhaps the most prominent incarnation of a global youth movement against political stasis.” A newly elected parliament member, Bablu Gupta, 28, explained why: “We were desperate … Not just us in Nepal, many Gen Z around the world. We knew things needed to change.”
Yes, I know there have been serious reversals, such as the Arab Spring uprisings being viciously repressed and, of course, Trump turning back the clock with a tsunami of anti-democratic maneuvers. But, I believe, they are short-term setbacks. As with the suffrage and civil rights movements, progress comes only from sustained effort over time. That’s why we need to keep the momentum going by regaining control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections!
I will close with a quote from Ranju Darshana, one of the women who won office in Nepal’s recent election, overthrowing their dictatorial premier.“The Nepali mind-set is to wait for a leader to appear and rescue us,” she said. “We need to rescue ourselves.”
The same holds true for us in the United States. The time is now.
Jean Stimmell, retired stone mason and psychotherapist, lives in Northwood and blogs at jstim.substack.com.