Youth rejuvenate our democracy

There’s nothing but inspiration to be drawn from the stunning movement by the nation’s youth to marshal forces around the issue of gun control.

Agree with them or not on their core argument, it’s been a hopeful experience to witness the entry of thousands of teenagers, on the threshold of adulthood, into the world of civic engagement.

Wednesday marked one month since the horrific mass shooting of 17 people — 14 students and three adult staff members — at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

The trauma on that community was brutal but left a critical impression: Resolve to make a change. Students there and their families couldn’t bear the thought of this happening to anyone else, but, crucially, they refused to accept that nothing could be done about it.

They communicated that conviction with lightning speed, in interviews broadcast on every screen, and with an eloquence and maturity that was immediately impressive to adults, many of whom had to put aside their own cynical doubts.

Most importantly, their passion resonated with high school teens across the country, even those living about as far away as they could be, in Hawaii. Island students joined their peers on Wednesday, for a national walkout from classes lasting one minute for each of those killed in Parkland.

Many schools expanded the memorial tribute also to those who have died in similar massacres, at schools and other “soft” targets, since the 1999 killings of 13 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.

There were some school districts that did not endorse the walkout — and even in those that did, not all students embraced the gun-control mission or felt sufficiently passionate about the message to walk out. In Hawaii and elsewhere, some opted to stay at their desks.

It spoke well of the newly minted student activists that they took this divergence with equanimity. Everyone has a right to respectful disagreement, and it’s encouraging that, judging by the peaceful tenor of the student gatherings nationwide, the participants understand that.

This demonstration, and the “March for Our Lives” to follow March 24 in Washington, D.C., is a clarion call for gun regulation — but it’s much more.

If there’s any good that comes of the heartbreaking loss to 17 families, and to many more still grieving victims of past shootings, it’s that this episode struck at the consciousness of a generation, millions strong. The result could be a re-energized democracy among those poised to take their places in it.

It sprang up organically, in some ways reminiscent of the antiwar protests of the baby boomers, who resisted the call to join a fight in Vietnam that they believed was unjust.

The silver lining then, as now, is that these soon-to-be-adults could amplify that energy with political action. Today’s #NeverAgain movement has organization, and a seemingly endless supply of articulate advocates, amplified by social media as well as traditional channels to spread the word.

It would be a wasted opportunity if organizers didn’t get large numbers of this age cohort registered to vote, or prepared to do so in another year or two. They’ve already changed some hearts and minds, just through the strength of their rhetoric.

But if they want real change, they’re going to have to prove they mean business. And in the political world, this means voting and remaining civically engaged.

The best outcome, for themselves and for the whole country, would be if they continue to believe in their own potential for inspiring and effecting change, on multiple fronts. The inspiration part, clearly, they’ve already mastered.