Photo by Matt Stern
The throngs of people who came to celebrate the Inauguration have left all of us at CCAN immensely inspired and hopeful that we share a vision of a new country and a new plan to move forward. They may have snarled our transportation lines, they may have crashed our phone systems and trampled our lawns, but they were all here to invoke a new era for our country, to work for a new, more equitable, more sustainable future.
It was hard not to feel like you were a part of history standing on the mall and listening to President Obama’s first speech as president. But, as Jake Brewer reminds us, “Hope is not a strategy.”
The question clearly and powerfully before us is not what we hope for, but rather, what are we going to do to make our hopes actually happen. We need to act. Now. And just as we came together in record numbers to vote new elected officials into office, the young people of this country WILL act.
Our response is bold. It is equal to this historic moment. It is audaciously hopeful, and infused with the energy and vitality of an entire generation of Americans ready to turn good intentions and rhetoric into reality.
As we’ve already talked about, Power Shift this year is going to be huge–10,000 students will descend on Washington to coordinate and tell legislators to take action on the climate.
Today, 1,400 students registered–in ONE DAY! But that means we still have a lot of work to do. So, if you are a student or know any students get registered at http://www.PowerShift09.org!
