For me, thinking about what is important for the future, first and foremost, it’s the climate and the environment. This is really the backbone of life. Next in priority is equality:equality of race, of gender, of opportunity. This is the backbone of society. After that, it’s important to have food security, a fair minimum wage and housing affordability.
Visions for South Gippsland-Amity Sands-Morris
For me, thinking about what is important for the future, first and foremost, it’s the climate and the environment. This is really the backbone of life. Next in priority is equality:equality of race, of gender, of opportunity. This is the backbone of society. After that, it’s important to have food security, a fair minimum wage and housing affordability.
We have seen that for things to work, we have to work together. An equal society is one where everyone can contribute, where everyone has a chance to reach their potential. When we can achieve equality, then everyone will benefit and everyone will be protected by our fairer world. When we learn to value the disadvantaged, everyone’s ability to contribute increases.
A lot of people care for the environment and work at it. But a lot of government departments and corporations don’t care. We have to make systemic change to overturn the obstacles, and most of those obstacles seem to be people in high places. To make the needed changes, as many people as possible are going to have to be part of this. We need passionate people at the core of this issue, we need more people to care, to put the environment at the forefront. Corporations put profits before all else and we need to change that.
I think we need to look more carefully at how we make decisions. How will we meet our needs for water if we contaminate the river? What about the health of the people living down wind from industry?
While the biggest issue is climate change, housing affordability is a serious concern for me. I don’t necessarily need to own a home, but I need housing security.
I saw the film 2040 and it spoke to me. It has a lot of truth in it and a lot of optimism. Optimism gives you hope. The basis of a stronger tomorrow involves all of us and all of us have to be part of the solution.
While I am optimistic, I know it is going to fall on my generation to live with the future, to live with the extreme weather and its dangers, to live with the rising seas, to live with extinctions.
We humans seem to need stability, and I think this is an intrinsic need for humankind. But climate change is going to pull the rug out from under us. Of course, everything is always changing, but climate change, this will be a huge change.
Living in Fish Creek is being part of a community. I enjoy going into the city, but there’s a lot of messy and confusing noise there. But here, there’s always a place for me because I’m part of this community. Here we have a different kind of connection than you would find in the city.
The people around me are calling for justice–racial, gender, climate. I’m optimistic because my generation will be the politicians soon. I surround myself with people who think like me, and this is vital to maintaining an optimistic outlook.
We all have a choice and for me, this is my choice. I believe that everything is interconnected, and I believe that if we are to succeed in these goals, all people must be engaged in the solution.
Amity Sands-Morris is a year-12 student at South Gippsland Secondary College and lives in Fish Creek
Editor Comment: With young people today having views such as this, I am more confident that tomorrow will be better than the past. Well done Amity.
Reprinted from justcommunitysg.com with permission under (CC BY 4.0)
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