The Vital Role of Youth Protest in Democracy
[Your Address]
4 June 2025
[MP’s Name]
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
Dear [MP’s Name],
When the World is Ablaze: Speak or Be Silent?
There are moments in history when silence ceases to be neutral — it becomes an act of surrender. Today is such a moment. As injustice swells and the climate buckles under the weight of human greed, what future are we preserving if we teach the next generation to suffer in silence? Young people should not merely be permitted to protest — they must be actively encouraged to do so. To suppress that right is to extinguish the very flame that keeps democracy alive.
We are so often told we are “too young” to understand. But tell me: how old must someone be before they are allowed to care? At what age does empathy become valid, or outrage become acceptable? Was Greta Thunberg too young when she stood before global leaders and held up a mirror to their cowardice? Was Malala Yousafzai too inexperienced to denounce tyranny? No — they were not too young. They were simply too brave for a world that fears the truth.
Protest: Resistance, Not Rebellion
Protests are not threats. They are beacons. They shine where others turn their heads. They awaken the sleeping, challenge the complicit, and demand that power be held to account. Young people protest not to destroy, but to defend — the planet, their futures, and the dignity of others. What is more democratic than that?
Yet critics label protest “disruptive,” as though disruption is a sin. But I ask you — should Rosa Parks have yielded her seat? Should the Suffragettes have remained docile? Progress is never birthed through compliance. It is born from confrontation — not of violence, but of conscience.
Suppressing Protest Creates Silence, Not Order
Discouraging young people from protesting does not keep society safe. It keeps it stagnant. When a generation is told that their voice is irrelevant, they do not grow into engaged citizens. They become disengaged spectators — people who stop believing that democracy is theirs to shape. But when we are told our voices matter, we rise. We march. We speak truth to power. We become the architects of the future.
And let us not pretend this fear of youth protest is rooted in concern for decorum. No. It is rooted in fear — fear that our clarity might cut deeper than adult compromise. Fear that we might say what others dare not. Fear that we might reveal truths too long ignored: that climate inaction is betrayal; that racial injustice is systemic; that poverty is not a flaw in individuals, but in policy. These truths are uncomfortable — and utterly essential.
Empower Youth Protest for Democracy
If you believe in democracy, then do not merely tolerate youth protest. Enshrine it. Elevate it. Empower it. Pass legislation that protects the right to peaceful assembly. Embed civic education into every school. Create councils where youth voices are not tokenistic, but transformative. We are not the future. We are the present — and we demand to be heard.
So I ask you: will you remain a bystander while the world burns — or will you stand with those brave enough to raise their voices?
Because history does not forget those who remained silent.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Full Name]