Making Our Voices Heard | Luis Pereira | TEDxPascoCountySchools

Sometimes we may take for granted our right to speak up. What happens when we allow our voices to be heard?

Luis Pereira is an 11th grade student at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Pasco County Florida.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

I moved from Venezuela
with my family about three months ago.

And in my first day in Wiregrass,

my history teacher asked us,
a really simple question.

"How many of you have ever
sent a letter, or an email,

or even called your local
representative or senator?"

For a second, everyone stayed silent.

Then someone stood up and said,
"I had never done that,

because it won't make a difference;
they won't hear that."

I was really shocked
when I heard that answer,

but everyone seems to agree with it,

like it was a perfectly
rational explanation.

I wanted to think that it wasn't
a common feeling

among American teens
and American youths,

but the thing is that it is a fact
that most American teens

do not understand the power
their voice and their opinions can have.

In the 2014 mid-term elections,

only 22% of 18 to 29 years old, voted.

Only 22%; 21.5%, if you want to be exact.

In my country, we will never
lose an election.

You will see 80% , 90% turnout.

People wake up,
go to vote, then go home.

I think that's the rational thing to do.

Furthermore, when you look
at political interest among millennials,

which are people from 18 to 29 years old,

right now in 2016,

you see that only 26% consider
politics and government

one of their top three interests.

What does this tell me?

Most American teens do not worry
about what happens in their country.

And just by extension, I see that most
Americans do not realise the power

their actions and opinions can have.

You may say, "Who are you to criticize me?

Why are you saying this to me?"

Let me start by saying that
in many countries around the world,

you risk your life just
by standing up for your beliefs.

You don't have the power to say,
"Hey, I don't agree with this,"

or "I don't like this.".

This is something really close to my heart

because in 2014,
I was part of the protest

that took place in Venezuela.

We went out and we protested
against the dictatorial government

that has kept scarcity,
crime, and inflation

at the highest rates
in the history of our country.

We fought, with banners like this one.

We just wanted to make voices heard,
to actually say what we believed in.

And we faced off against police,
against the military,

just to stand up for our beliefs.

And this was the government's response;

more than 42 people dead; 20 of them
were less than 18 years old.

More than 5,000 injured,
3,000 were jailed,

and more than three million blacklisted,
including me and my family.

This is the reason why I left my country,
I left everything behind.

We left our family, our friends,
and we came here,

and we're living under these conditions.

We agreed to do this, and we accept this,

because here, we have something
that we've never had in our lives.

We have freedom.

The freedom to stand up
for what we believe in,

and to actually demand our rights.

Our family here
has turned their back on us,

we have trouble getting
the money to pay bills,

but we will fight to stay here
because we want to be free.

This is just my opinion on why I have

the responsibility to tell you

that you can make a change
in your country, in your community.

During the 1960s civil rights
movement, the words of a man

helped shape the identity of a nation.

"I have a dream" became a mantra
for everyone around the world

who wanted to change
his reality for the better.

Small actions like a woman who refused
to give up her seat on the bus,

helped form a movement

that changed the identity,
the whole identity, the whole society

in America for the better.

So please don't say that your actions
are too little too late.

Everything that you can do
to change society,

to change the world, will matter.

Never, never give up.

And always think positively.

You can go as far as your dreams take you.

And remember that every revolution,
all around the world,

starts with a single person.

And I believe that everyone in this room
has the power to be that person.

Thank you very much.