Letter: Angry about students who remain neutral

Posted 4/11/18

To the editor:

Now is not the time to remain neutral.

It is not a time for stillness nor silence. The common "I don't talk politics" sentiment can no longer be tolerated in our current …

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Letter: Angry about students who remain neutral

Posted

To the editor:

Now is not the time to remain neutral.

It is not a time for stillness nor silence. The common "I don't talk politics" sentiment can no longer be tolerated in our current political climate.

As mindful human beings we must ask ourselves, "Where is the line between talking politics and defending basic human rights and securities?" In my mind, this line began to fade as I watched those around me lose confidence in our nation's governance. This absence of political soundness has left matter, typically not of public concern, in the hands of the people.

As a junior in high school, I am most appalled by the nonexistent course of action that our government has taken in response to the preventable yet cyclical pattern of gun violence that we as a nation have endured. As millions of students and teachers attend school each day with a newfound sense of fear, our most highly-coveted government officials are concerned with concocting banking bills and taxes on washing machines. When the government begins to permeate such a fundamental facet of our lives as students, politically charged discourse can no longer be cast away as meaningless liberal or conservative jargon.

The only way to "ensure domestic tranquility" in this nation is to humanize our political views. On March 14, hundreds of Barrington High School students took a stance to do just that. This marked the day of the nationwide "walkout," a student led movement to demand stricter gun legislation and pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Parkland shooting. At 10 a.m., BHS students took part in one of three displays: a memorial service for the Parkland victims in our school gymnasium (organized by the administration and select students), the walkout (in which students congregated outside of the front doors in solidarity), or last but not least, neither.

As I returned from the walkout with over a hundred of my peers, what irked me most was those still in their seats who had not partaken in either event. I wanted to scream. 

This was not the first time I had experienced this type of neutrality among my peers, but it was definitely the most concerning. At first I considered the possibility that these seemingly unfazed students may have been taking a pro-gun stance, but then I promptly reminded myself that one of the displays was simply a memorial with no political connotation. My own sense of vulnerability as a school student in a gun-ridden society was overwhelmingly magnified in the presence of those who remained so painstakingly neutral. 

One truth that is not up for argument is the seventeen teachers and students who lost their lives in a violent attack on our nation's soil. Have we become so immune to gun violence and our own divisive political views that we have devalued human lives in the process? 

Impacting real change begins with letting go of the neutrality safety net and elevating our own morals through political action.

Kamryn Voutes

Barrington

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