There are kind, thoughtful, smart people in this world, of course, but in the 13 years I have been alive, careless, mindless and uneducated people overpower the rest.

Let’s get straight to the point: The world is dying right in front of our eyes. This wonderful world of culture, wildlife, plants, creatures and life is dying whether we want to believe it or not. But there is always room for change. I live in the new generation, a generation that needs to start waking up and start realizing our world is fairly quickly reaching its ending point.

Every day I go to school. I have math, social studies, science and English Language Arts. Many people I know get straight As. Good for them, they are smart. Are they educated about what’s truly important? Will they grow up and be the change that is needed to keep the earth alive? That’s what I find truly important.

I was once talking about a very important topic that could truly hurt a wide spread of wildlife, and one kid said, “I don’t care.” Another said, “Why does it matter? Our voices don’t matter.” It’s not the first time I have heard it. Once in class, we were learning about climate change. This is a major contributor to the problems we live in. I saw kids chewing their fingernails or rolling their eyes, smirking and chuckling. This is not a time for selfishness and greed; it’s a time for the younger generation to recognize where the world is heading.

For the adults and parents reading this, make sure your kids know what is going on. Make sure your kids understand how important they are now, and how important they will be, in making a difference.

Emilia Barth, Cold Spring

Barth is an eighth grader at Haldane Middle School.

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Type: Opinion

Opinion: Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.

This piece is by a contributor to The Current who is not on staff. Typically this is because it is a letter to the editor or a guest column.

5 replies on “Letter: The “I Don’t Care” Generation”

  1. What’s sad is that there are many adults reading this who are to blame, are worse, or are the reason that an eighth-grader is a better citizen than they are.

  4. I am so proud of you, my beloved granddaughter Emi . I am proud that you are socially aware and wise beyond your years.

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