Sometimes I think we get wrapped up in the immediate. We need people to contact their legislators now. We need people to contribute today. Kids can't vote, and they generally have no money, so we tend to not worry so much about them, but the fact is, we should start. The next generation is going to be making a lot of decisions about what our country looks like, and the the high schoolers of today will be shaping our final decisions to do away with capital punishment. So they are important.

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to speak to the Youth Meeting at the Nashville Friends meeting, and I gotta tell you, those kids rocked my world! They are smart and sensitive, but more over profoundly moral people (maybe a little more so then older people who become more and more de-sensitized to the injustice in the world). The idea that we can execute innocent people is absolutely abominable to anyone, but these young people felt it more. Executing the mentally ill, or children is unacceptable. And you know what else? They're ready to do something about it! This morning I've already received an email from one of them registering for our Justice Day on the Hill (March 29th for those of you who haven't been keeping up), and another has posted death penalty information to her personal blog encouraging (maybe even ordering) other people to attend. Check it out: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=18780127&blogID=94658390&MyToken=c970ac14-d083-40bc-89b6-d3ed57a0c696

But there may be an even more important, though less tangible, reason to work with young adults. Yes they bring energy, yes, they feel injustice maybe more acutely, but they're also an inspiration. The way they respond to the death penalty reminds us why we became involved in the first place. And the fact that they're ready to get up and do something about it renews our own hopes and efforts, because when we see kids get involved like this, we know that we will win this fight. So, I've got a new prescription for feeling run down or burned out. Forget that take a day off stuff! Go talk to the kids!