If Libyan youth can do it, why can't we

Opinion: A new Ireland.

We look to Libya and see a revolution. The tide of change sweeps the region, and people rise up to challenge those who once oppressed them. For too long they have accepted compromises to their inherent dignity. For too long they have not challenged oppression in the hope that tomorrow will usher in a new day. Those who challenge oppression act with the same resolve that we have seen in previous generations. They use innovative forms to communicate the same ideals that inspired their ancestors to challenge oppression. They believe, as previous generations believed, in a universal human dignity. Their demands are simple and their determination is strong. They are today’s youth. These are the children of those who fought in the wars of independence that swept across Africa, of those that challenged the military dictatorships of southern Europe and Latin America, of the resistance movement on the East side of the Iron Curtain, and of the pacifists that frustrated Vietnam War efforts and questioned oppressive social and cultural norms that created racial, gender and sexual inequalities.

Young people are the children of change. They are not apathetic. They are not uninterested. They are not passive. They have been the beneficiaries of change; but they want also to lead the change. Like the youth of North Africa and the Middle East it is time for the youth of Ireland rise up. We must not accept the status-quo but forge a new just and truly democratic Ireland using the idealistic yet realistic eye of our Youth.

This is a simple message: It is up to the Youth to create a new Ireland, because it’s the youth that freed the country from our colonial masters and it’s time for the youth once again to free this country from the oppression of social injustice and corruption because if the youth don’t do it, nobody else will.

By: theyouthareonfire

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