Don’t let anyone tell you that young people don’t care about the world.
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This 18-year-old grandson of Holocaust survivors is demanding climate action from Democrats. This grandson of Holocaust survivors just gave a powerful testimony joined by hundreds of young people outside Nancy Pelosi’s office.
‘I’m gonna start telling a story about my grandparents. They were born in Hungary and when the Nazis rose to power, they lost almost everyone. Friends and families killed in the Holocaust. But they survived the war and moved […] to Cincinnati, Ohio to start a new life. I remember one day I was maybe 8 and my brother was maybe 10 and we were in my grandparents’ apartment and I remember my brother Nicholas secretly taking a copy of my grandmother’s Holocaust memoirs and going into the bathroom to read it.
And I remember my parents finding him and bringing him out and gently scolding him and saying to both of us, you’re too young to read this. You’re gonna have to wait a few years. I remember thinking, my brother shouldn’t have broken those rules and also remember asking myself, when will I be old enough to read those stories? And it was just a few years later when my parents let me follow my brother into the temple auditorium where there was a presentation on the Holocaust.
I remember how mature I felt, you know my head was up, my shoulders were back and I was full of resolve. Because you have to be full of resolve when you’re grappling with something so serious, when you’re dealing with the past that’s so painful. And I walked in and almost immediately to my right, I saw a book on the table and read that the Nazis pretended that the gas chambers were showers to kill the Jews. And I remember that I was devastated by that fact and all of my resolve fell from my shoulders. And before I left that room, I had to grow up.
So many times in the past few years, I have had to grow up. Like the first, second and third time I read about kids being shot in schools. And when we all learned about the lead in the water in Flint. And every time I read about the aftermath of climate-fueled disasters. Like the fires that are killing people. […] Record fires — I read that and my resolve is so shaken that I have to grow up.
On October 27th I was going to call my dad to ask a question about my bank account. […] and he said, ‘Jeremy, did you hear about what happened?’ I said, ‘No dad, what?’ He said, ‘Did you hear about what’s going on right now?’ I said, ‘No dad, what?’ He said, ‘There’s a shooter in a synagogue in Pittsburgh and he’s shooting people right now.’ He’s shooting people right now. And my dad’s voice broke. He’s shooting people right now. And I was wearing a hat and I threw the hat to the ground and I listened to my dad cry and I felt really afraid for myself.
My grandparents knew that when politicians plan seeds of fear and hate, those seeds turn into bullets and blood. Now I know that too. So I listened to my dad cry and I felt afraid. And then I grew up. […] Speaker Pelosi, last year I was the chair of the High School Democrats of America, […] I wonder if you remember this past June, Speaker Pelosi you came and spoke to us. I wonder if you remember how well dressed we were, how serious and attentive we were, how serious we were about fixing these problems. Because we have endured bullets, and storms, and fires. Because we have had to grow up one too many times.
Speaker Pelosi, Democratic leadership, we are asking you to grow up. When will you confront — When will you confront the roots of division and hatred? When will you come up with a plan to stop the climate crisis and defend the homes of millions of would-be climate refugees? When will you embrace a green new deal? When, Speaker Pelosi?
You know, everybody, I’ve got sort of a feeling that she’s gonna come out of the office and she’s gonna shake our hands and say, ‘Now — now is the day.’ I have hope in her and I have hope in the Democrats who I have worked so hard to support. Because my grandparents, they needed hope to survive.’
#ClimateChange #Climate #Activism #Politics
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