Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
Editor’s note: About 550 Clark County high school students participated in the annual Sun Youth Forum on Sept. 11 at Clark High School. The students were divided into groups to discuss several topics. A spokesperson was chosen from each discussion group to write a column about the students’ findings. John Russel Magdael, a senior at College of Southern Nevada High School, tells of the students’ opinions in the session entitled “Around the World.”
Student Representative John Magdael, College of Southern Nevada High School, poses during the Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at Clark High School Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
The world is changing, becoming more radical, contentious and, thanks to modern technology, invasive. Trust is gone and as a society, we are struggling to find consensus on the existence of climate change, the importance of social justice and the role of the United States in the world.
However, at the Sun Youth Forum, a group of diverse students engaged in thoughtful discussions that overcame our differences and divisions, agreed on the urgency of the challenges facing our society and focused on solutions. Working together, we identified where we stand.
Climate change is a complex issue. But its impacts are undeniable and near impossible to reverse on a human timescale. Despite these realities, oil companies lobby politicians to subsidize fossil fuels, American cities are designed for car transportation, and the financial costs of a true green revolution are prohibitive.
We need to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and safe nuclear capacity, build “15-minute cities” that are walkable and have robust public transportation, make fossil fuel companies accountable by taxing them on carbon emissions, and guide developing nations to make clean energy infrastructure a centerpiece of their development.
We also need to return the United States to its position as a leader on the international stage. The Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, recent military operations, and mass shootings in schools and other public places, combined with policies that openly and proudly discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, people of color and women, have led to a decline in the perception of the United States among our global peers.
Moreover, if the United States fails to recognize the urgency of these issues and continues to be defined by democratic backsliding and hate, it could embolden violent extremists and risk destabilizing the nation. American youths deserve better and many of us have solutions that could help.
In a discussion about the United States’ interventionism and enforcing democracy, students who recently came from other countries such as Ukraine, Ethiopia and others discussed the need and benefit of U.S. intervention to protect human rights and the sovereignty of our allies. We must also learn from past interventions in order to improve our strategies and protect against corruption and abuse.
As a superpower, the United States is responsible for the burden of championing democracy and human rights around the world, and our group expressed overwhelming support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion and occupation. If we yield to the forces of aggression, then the United States and its allies have failed in their obligation to protect our democratic sphere. If we fail to protect the lives of people in the current conflict, many more lives will be at stake due to the destructive ambitions of aggressors seeking to expand their territory and resources.
The Sun Youth Forum allowed students like us to voice our opinions and share common grounds. The success of the forum gives me optimism that this generation has produced quality leaders and strong future diplomats who will soon lead our society.
It reaffirmed to me that youths have not given up on the vision of a country that works together to build a common vision of where we stand and overcome the challenges of the day.
