What is the greatest threat to my generation?  An impossible question; a million thoughts race through my head. My first thought is almost immediate: climate change. I mean we only have a little more than a decade to reverse it. We can reverse climate change. Except we’re not. Another thought is the lack of gun control in our country. We have children dying in their desks and no change is happening. And because of the insignificant change happening in our country, the greatest threat to my generation is the inability of powerful corporations and government officials to act on issues that matter to the people.

History is full of people underrating threats and acting too late. Herbert Hoover’s second term is a great example of this; he underrated The Great Depression, thinking it would fix itself without government involvement. Instead he only made the depression fester and get worse. Herbert Hoover didn't listen to the people, and look where that got him. The same problem keeps happening again and again.  We have made the American Constitution so hard to amend that no change is happening. We have accepted the slow pace and inconsequential way that old politicians favor. As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says, “it only has ever been radicals that have changed this country.”

The reason we're even in this crisis with climate change is because people haven't taken it seriously. Billion dollar corporations continue to prioritize profit over the good of the people, and elected government officials refuse to believe the scientists who have been studying climate change for decades. They are putting off the inevitable. The Carbon Majors Report done by the CDP shows that just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of the world's gas emissions. According to Sarah Zielinski, writer for the Smithsonian website, “ The United States could lower carbon emissions...by as much as 78 percent without having to develop any new technologies.” Renewable energy is ready, we could make huge steps to start being powered with renewable energy. But we continue to allow powerful corporations to poison our planet, so they can hoard more money than they will ever need.

Speaking of the inability of this country to act, and the slow and inconsequential way that old politicians create change, the topic of gun violence is a good example of this. According to New York Times 40,000 people died from guns in the past year. It's an epidemic. Kids are scared to go to school. A place that is supposed to nurture and care for the developing brains of children is giving teenagers ptsd. We refuse to ban assault rifles because of the second amendment. When the second amendment was made, the types of guns that were available were “According to the Washington Post... a one-round magazine capacity, and it could fire around three effective rounds per minute – in the hands of the most skilled wielder.”(ranker) Our founding fathers couldn't even comprehend the types of guns we would be able to produce today. I doubt they would be very happy with people citing the second amendment as a reason that children are dying when they go to school.

I’m not saying that all politicians are responsible for the deaths of children in schools or the looming threat of climate change, but many do contribute to the problems.  We need people who are willing to take big steps to gun reform and ending climate change. And so, that is why I restate my case that the greatest threat to future generations is our nation’s fear to make big changes and radical decisions.

Works Cited

Aisch, Gregor, and Alicia Parlapiano. “'What Do You Think Is the Most Important Problem Facing This Country Today?'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Feb. 2017.

Mazza, Ed, and Ed Mazza. “Ocasio-Cortez Hits Back At Hannity With A Radically Honest Correction.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 8 Jan. 2019.

Milman, Oliver. “Trump Plan to Tackle Lead in Drinking Water Criticized as 'Empty Exercise'.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Apr. 2018.

Neal, Jeff. “Why Is Change So Hard to Accomplish in Government?” ChiefHRO, 17 June 2014.

“New Report Shows Just 100 Companies Are Source of over 70% of Emissions.” CDP.

Pierre-Louis, Kendra. “Almost Every Country in the World Can Power Itself with Renewable Energy.” Popular Science, 24 Aug. 2017.

Rauch, Jonathan. “How American Politics Went Insane.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 19 Apr. 2018.

Riley, Tess. “Just 100 Companies Responsible for 71% of Global Emissions, Study Says.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 July 2017.