If You’re 16 or 17, We Want to Hear Your Ideas for Repairing America

You can’t vote, but the future is yours.

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Let’s face it, we are all struggling. The devastation from the last four years, the pandemic, the climate crisis, the terrifying shredding of the norms we thought would somehow endure and protect our democracy, all seem to be heading for a day of reckoning on November 3. But, of course, the election is only the beginning. What about everything else? What are the next steps that we need to take in order to fix so many institutions, address such deep problems, create a future that is not mired in the mistakes of the past?

Every day, our reporters talk to some of the greatest experts in whatever field they happen to be covering. But for this project, we’d like to hear from young people, ages 16 and 17, who may not be able to vote, but who are definitely able to dream, plan, and imagine a much better world. If you are a young person in this age range, or if you know a young person—perhaps you’re a parent or a teacher or a friend—please ask them send us two of their very best ideas for repairing this country.

You could focus on climate change or COVID, politics or racial justice, police violence or our courts, the economy or whatever else you think will be crucial in order to mend the mess we’re in. Your ideas can be global or local. This is a chance to turn what you’ve been trying to explain to parents, or teachers, or even friends, into a concrete suggestion for us to share with other readers (who may even be your parents, teachers, and friends). 

Fill out the form below with your two best ideas. We will go through them and invite a few of you to join us for a longer conversation. But rest assured, we will read all of your responses. And who knows, someone who actually has some power may be inspired by what you suggested and put this thought into action. You never know.

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

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