The future is you

As seniors toss their hats in another graduation ceremony, I have a few words for those going out into the world.

You are the future.

I don’t mean that in some Seussical, feel good, look-at-you-go way. That’s not how reality operates.

I mean it in the most real sense possible.

You are the adults who will decide how the world works as the older generation dies off.

Statistically, you’re not all going to be world leaders or multimillionaires.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a say in shaping the future.

It will be your tax dollars paying for policies the government implements.

It will be your votes that choose the next president and members of Congress.

Your money will make corporations profit. Your attention will tell the media where to focus.

The world can be a terrible place.

 There are so many things that need fixing.

Global warming, growing inequality, kidnapped young children — the list goes on.

You are the ones deciding what the world thinks about and deals with — even if you don’t realize it.

Your decisions and your actions set the precedent.

You have to do better.

You can’t just sit by as the world turns around you.

 Your actions matter, but more importantly your inactions matter.

If you don’t do something, no one will.

Even if it’s in baby steps, you have to try to make the world a better place.

Go out and vote, even on off-year elections.

Congress won’t otherwise.

Be mindful of what you purchase.

Corporations have a tremendous amount of power, but only when you give it to them.

Don’t settle for sensationalist gossip from news headlines.

The media will focus on what gets the most attention, and if you demand hard-hitting stories, they’ll respond.

You haven’t been dealt a great hand.

A lot of mistakes have been made by past generations.

But they’ve also given you great potential.

Technology has put all of mankind’s knowledge at our fingertips.

We can communicate in ways and speeds never before possible.

America still has great influence in the world, and you can work to make it a better place. 

The future is yours — to brighten or screw up.

Acting well is a conscious effort.

If you’re going to make the world a better place, you have to want it.

For the sake of future generations, please want it.

­              sckroll@indiana.edu