Dear Quinn,
Remember when we visited Alaska, and we pointed and awed as we passed by the giant glaciers? Remember the rush of excitement we felt as we pointed off into the water to gasp as the whales’ backs popping up onto the waters surface? We tried to explain to you just how big they were and how we don’t get to see those kinds of animals in Illinois. But you didn’t care because you were only worried about the here and now.
Well I’m also worried about the here and now, because the here and now is facing some issues that will linger into your adult life if they are not addressed now. There’s forests being cut down, global temperatures are increasing, land degradation, and so much more that is threatening our Earth every single day. Those glaciers we marveled at are melting and I’m so sorry that these things are happening because you deserve better, we all deserve better. I’m sorry that these corporations and systems in place have forced us into believing that this is natural or inevitable change when in reality they are only concerned with the dollars they make. I wanted to be able to go back up there, and see those glaciers, to see those whales, to see the beauty of our Mother Earth and all that it provides, because you deserve a planet that is revered and protected not degraded and violated.
You deserve a future where community efforts are validated and admired over corporate interests. Where social success coincides with environmental prosperity and the world understands its connectivity and the ways in which our actions affect each other. I want you to live in a world where your characteristics won’t determine the outcome of your life and your voice is heard no matter the issue at hand.
That is why I am promising to fight for that world that you and your kids will live in. I promise to educate others on these issues before its too late, and stop the flow of hateful rhetoric that places blame on marginalized individuals. I promise that I will support companies and businesses that take the pledge for sustainability. And I promise, that I will work tirelessly to promote a vision of this world that is suitable for my beautiful niece to grow up in.
Love,
Auntie Jai
