Today's Activism: The Art of the Possible

We have spent the few years since we graduated from college working on engaging young people on politics and issues. In our work, we often hear the question: If young people aren't marching in the streets by the millions, 1960s style, in opposition to the Iraq war, does that mean they're apathetic?

The answer is simple "no," but the reasons are not.

The heart of 60s activism -- the Vietnam War and the struggle for Civil Rights -- possessed narratives that galvanized and unified a generation in a way that no issue has for our generation. The draft meant that every neighborhood in the country had body bags coming home, and the sting of racial injustice was present and visible everywhere. Though the tragic consequences of our current misguided war loom large, no single issue facing young people (or America) today contains as potent a cocktail as either of these issues did, nor does today's hyper-commercialized popular culture feed rebellion the way it did back then.

Today's world is different from the world of the 1960s, and so is its breed of activism. Speaking in broad strokes, our generation's activism is being shaped by two important factors: a practical focus on getting results in our own communities and the rise of institutionalized opportunities for engagement on social issues.

Where activists of the 1960s and 70s grappled with political issues on a national scale, today many young people focus on creating measurable successes in their communities and on their campuses -- places where their voices carry the most weight. Some see this shift away from the national stage as the pessimism that comes with living under an arrogant and unrepentant administration wreaking havoc at home and abroad. But contrary to popular perception, young people voted in record numbers in 2004, suggesting that a local focus is just as much a measure of true pragmatism as it is one of disengaged cynicism. Recently, students on campuses across the country, led by groups like the Sudan Divestment Task Force, have successfully moved their schools to divest from companies doing business in the Sudan in response to the genocide in Darfur. Others are working with their administrations to incorporate solar power into university buildings or to pay their workers a living wage. The Workers Rights Consortium, a student led effort to enforce fair labor standards for manufacturers of college apparel, has 155 college and university chapters.

In short, we are finding battles we can win now, and learning to practice the art of the possible.

Moreover, volunteerism and community service are more commonplace among this generation than ever before. In 2004, more than 83% of college freshman surveyed in a UCLA study reported doing volunteer work in their last year of high school¿up from 66% in 1989. Every year, tens of thousands of young Americans forfeit a sunny week sitting poolside to participate in "alternative spring break" projects, doing everything from working in underserved public school classrooms to, this year, rebuilding gutted homes along the Gulf Coast.

At the same time, programs like AmeriCorps (founded in 1993), Teach for America (founded in 1990) and CityYear (founded in 1988), give young people the chance to affect concrete change as a first job or even a career.

Critics see these programs as impure -- lacking in street cred. Certainly, AmeriCorps looks better on a resume than, say, protesting at the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999. But it will shock no one if we point out that every young person in America might not be driven to service purely by altruism. Giving young people the opportunity to create change while earning a salary and getting health care and loan forgiveness or school credit is not only smart, it is sustainable. That these programs require attention to things like institution-building and good business practices -- considerations that would have made Abbie Hoffman drop his bullhorn in disgust -- is a reality our generation would be wise to continue to embrace.

Of course, political passion now has an outlet that Hoffman couldn't have imagined in the form of the internet -- which for many young people functions as a new public square. Tens of thousands of students have used MySpace to organize immigration rallies, and youth groups are using text messaging accomplish voter education. Certainly there is a profound difference between literally putting your life on the line and doing work online, but the power of a civically engaged online generation is just beginning to be tapped.

The heart of a potential grassroots activist or political leader may not lie beating beneath the Urban Outfitters t-shirt of every young American. But young people today are engaged in changing their world in many ways -- some more visible than others. We should be informed and inspired by past generations of progressives, but we need not accept their models unquestioningly as we try to find our generation's voice and find room to craft our own civic identity. A commitment to social change that can be incorporated into our daily lives holds the best hope for creating a new social norm -- one in which citizens are as invested in their community's interest as they are in their own.

Adam Jentleson is the Policy and Advocacy Manager and Elana Berkowitz is the Editor of Campus Progress.org and Manager of Strategic Initiatives for Campus Progress -- an part of the Center for American Progress