Responsible for the Nation

Working to convince young people to translate their interest in leadership into advocacy will be a challenge, but a challenge I intend to live up to. Before they will show a passion for changing the health landscape in their communities they'll need a standard of judgment to assess the worthiness of their communities "health institutions" and health leaders (informal and formal). Thus, when I approach a group of young people I will need to be able to offer them a critical lens through which they can make those judgements. Grading their communities food, for example, should not be based on their opinions but instead on a factual criteria. For instance, a corner store with at least 65% of their store space devoted to junk food is considered a "junk store". Of course, as their critical thinking faculties mature, and they know what they are looking for, they can develop their own criteria based on that which they know of their communities' offerings. Much like a professor will curve a test, these young people can more effectively judge potential targets for advocacy.

This kind of thinking though will not begin until the youth sees a reason to care. They must see the connection between the poor health, the families suffering, the lack of control inside of communities, and the policies guiding food procurement and preparation. The individual must become responsible for the nation before the nation will become responsible for the individual.