As more attention is put on me and my work, I find an increasing number of people assigning me their interpretations of my beliefs. While I’ve shared my assumptions before, and I’ve talked my what the future will look like, I haven’t, to this date, shared a statement of beliefs that drive my work, theory, and practice. Until now.
Following is my statement of beliefs.
1. The roles of all young people must transform in order to meet the needs of the present and the demands of the future.
2. Every young person in our society is inherently discriminated against because of their age.
3. A drastic change of consciousness is required in every person’s mind in order to facilitate the large scale social transformations I advocate for.
4. The most relevant socio-political design for this work is radical democracy, which will materialize only through nonviolent direct action.
5. This revolution is an evolution of the mind that is inherently rooted in individual-level, grassroots transformation. At home, in neighborhoods, throughout families, and across succeeding generations all people must take personal responsibility for their relationships with children and youth, as fellow young people and as adults.
6. Most democratic societies around the world today are representative; I am calling for a modified form of direct democracy which allows for every individual to have substantive and meaningful roles throughout their lives.
7. My focus on drastic, full-scale social transformation necessitates the inclusion of the structural components of social functioning, including the government. Young people should be fully enfranchised through the mechanism of the law as full humans with all the rights and responsibilities afforded to anyone simply because of their humanity.
8. In addition to extending the recognition of the basic human rights and responsibilities of young people, I believe all governments should acknowledge the particular rights that all children and youth should have simply because they are young. These rights should focus on protection and empowerment, with neither falsely negating the other.
9. All public institutions of governance, education, and so forth should be made capable, held responsible, and made accountable for the complete integration of young people throughout their operations.
10. My beliefs necessitate the immediate, focused, and deliberate action of myself, and my continued engagement of young people and adults who ally and align themselves with my beliefs. We must continue to personally and professionally take up any and all opportunities to promote the evolution of society through the enactment of these beliefs in any and all forms, every single day in every single way for all people in all communities around the world.
I invite your feedback to this statement, and I continue to look forward to my life’s work. Thank you for joining me in it, however you do.
— This is Adam Fletcher’s blog originally posted at http://www.YoungerWorld.org. For more see http://www.bicyclingfish.com
— This is Adam Fletcher’s blog originally posted at http://www.YoungerWorld.org. For more see http://www.bicyclingfish.com
Adam F.C. Fletcher 