Letter | To make the protests matter, young people must show up to vote this November

In the months ahead, as the immediacy of George Floyd’s death passes into history do not let it be another period of little follow-up and change.

A woman votes from a booth as her child plays with a cellphone below inside the gymnasium at the Barack Obama Prep Academy on November 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. – Americans started voting Tuesday in critical midterm elections that mark the first major voter test of Donald Trump’s controversial presidency, with control of Congress at stake. About three quarters of the 50 states in the east and center of the country were already voting as polls began opening at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) for the day-long ballot. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) Image by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

By Allan R. Hoffman June 23, 2020

Dear Editor,

I was impressed with the passion expressed by the two young authors of Noa Sokatch and Ella Rubin’s June 22 article, and applaud them for invoking tikkun olam as a guiding principle in their lives. As an octogenarian retired scientist, who believes strongly in tikkun olam, it gives me hope for the future of our country as my generation passes control to younger generations.

I offer just one bit of warning, based on living through too much during my many years. In the weeks and months ahead, as the immediacy of George Floyd’s death and other recent horific events pass into history, do not let it be another period of visible injustice, high rhetoric, and little follow up and change.

An important step in creating change is to remove President Trump from office, and this requires as many people as possible to vote in this year’s presidential election. This cranky senior citizen remembers all too well the failure of many young people to vote in 1968, in subsequent years, and even in 2016. The results were Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. I appreciate the good words in the article and the feelings behind them, but you have to vote to start to bring about real change.

Sincerely,

Allan R. Hoffman

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

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