The American tradition of helping those in need such as the ending of slavery, voting equality, and civil rights is being carried forward with the service of humanity by our youth.
Source/Credit: The Northwestern | Editorials
By Ahmed Khan | December 4, 2012
A disaster has hit your area and you are left homeless, but thankfully you are alive and the lives of your immediately family members are okay. This is a possible scenario that has the ability to occur anywhere in the world but most importantly where you live. Unbeknownst to most people, our youth are playing a big part in serving humanity and facing these kinds of challenges that lie in wait for our country.
Hurricane Sandy devastated the east coast with her unrelenting winds and storm surges. Many people were left without power andbasic amenities, but some were left with nothing at all. They were completely dependent on the ability of others to provide food, water, shelter, and clothing.
Our history tells us that whenever we have put humanity first before anything else than we have made a meaningful impact on our society. The efforts of the abolitionist movement that began in the earlier part of the nineteenth century subsequently allowed helped garner support for the 13th Amendment to completely end slavery. The massive activism of groups like National Women Suffrage Association and American Women Suffrage Association lead to the Nineteenth Amendment which allowed women to vote. Lastly the participation of millions of Americans in the civil rights movement leads to the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
These days Americans are not as hopeful when it comes to good things happening in this country. In a recent Gallup poll Americans were asked whether they were dissatisfied or satisfied with how things were currently going in the United States and an overwhelming 68% were dissatisfied.
The greatest way that Americans will feel satisfied is when their future is secured and not uncertain. I am here to say that the future is secured through the efforts that our youth are making now. An overwhelming amount of youth came out this past election to vote showing the country that their activism can change and affect society in a positive way. Since the 2004 presidential election their voting ratio has gone up from 17to 19 percent. Retrospectively this zeal has transcended into serving humanity as well.
For the past ten years Teach for America, an American non-profit organization to eliminate educational inequality, has been using high-achieving recent college graduates to provide a best quality education for inner city schools. Since the inception of the program the number of applicants has gone from 500 to 48,442.
Through the partnership with Humanity First and the Leading Muslim Youth Organization of America (Majlis-e-Khudaam ul Ahmadiyya USA), disaster relief assistance was able to be provided to the victims of Katrina and Sandy. During Sandy they served 7,000 hot meals and amassed over 5400 volunteer hours by working with Homeland Security, FEMA, American Red Cross, and other faith based groups to help anyone they could in the greater New York metropolitan and New Jersey disaster struck areas.
The American tradition of helping those in need such as the ending of slavery, voting equality, and civil rights is being carried forward with the service of humanity by our youth. A devastating storm like Sandy should not have been the one to make us realize this.But hopefully from this devastation a lesson in continued unity and support for humanity will flourish.
Ahmed Khan received his BSc in Computer Science from University of Maryland Baltimore County and works as an IT Consultant in Oshkosh. He has published in various local and state newspapers and is an award winning member of the Muslim Writers Guild of America. E-mail columnists@thenorthwestern.com
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