Blessed are the children
By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
It was an amazing site witnessed last Friday by the world’s adults when nearly four million children , including many in North Texas, gathered in cities, suburban and rural areas and in villages to express their outrage that elected officials and policy makers are doing very little to reverse a changing climate which is a direct threat to them.
The young people, many of them taking a day off from school, spoke to the world in one clear voice, declaring that their futures, their ability to earn income and to live decent and productive lives is in doubt and that doing was nothing was unacceptable to them.
In cities such Cape Town, Berlin, New York, Kampala, New Delhi, Melbourne, Houston and Dallas they demanded a future in which they and their families would be unharmed by poisonous air quality, raging storms and changing weather patterns that have recently resulted in death and destruction.
In speech after speech they declared that they were frightened about their futures, and reminded those who listened that they would soon be of voting age, and that they would remember those who were indifferent to them, and their demands.
In Houston where Tropical Storm Imelda recently flooded homes and destroyed property, students marched and chanted in loud voices, “Our streets flood, so we flood the streets.”
Many of these same students witnessed the viciousness of Hurricane Harvey just two years ago which brought their city and the region to a life- threatening standstill.
They joined their fellow students in their outrage because they have seen the danger and witnessed the burdens that changing climates can bring.
Like their fellow students and many others they are tired of those who refuse to take the actions that the world’s leading scientists describe as necessary.
In the House of Representatives we have passed legislation designed to stop the rise of dangerous green-house gas emissions whose presence in our atmosphere leads to the warming of our planet.
The Republican controlled Senate has refused to consider the legislation, alining itself with President Trump and his administration.
The children are being purposeful, and we should be very proud of them.
They bring great meaning to the words that are found in 3 John 1:4 which reads, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
