Opinion: Join us in Gen Z’s fight for democracy

In this op-ed, Drew Spiegel, the Pennsylvania State Lead for the Tour to Save Democracy, discusses supporting Gen Z’s fight for democracy by advocating for common sense gun reform and participating in the Tour to Save Democracy to register and mobilize voters in critical swing districts.

Earlier this month, the US celebrated its 248th birthday with fireworks, parades, and our usual extravagant displays of patriotism. However, for me and my community, celebrating the 4th is more complicated than for most.

Two years ago, I was next in line to begin marching in the Highland Park Independence Day Parade when gunfire erupted, killing seven and injuring 48 more. The nightmare scenario that I had been forced to prepare for in school my entire life suddenly became a reality.

The shooter legally purchased a firearm that shot over seventy rounds of ammunition in under a minute. My community was left shattered and the lives of thousands, including myself, were forever altered. A day to commemorate freedom instead became a horrific tragedy.

What happened in Highland Park is a small part of a much bigger problem. This past 4th of July holiday weekend in Chicago, over 100 people were shot, 19 fatally. In 2023, over 40,000 people were killed with a firearm. My generation has grown up in a world where this is the norm. After all, gun violence is the number one cause of death for young people in America.

Gun violence tarnished a day that, for most of my life, I have eagerly looked forward to. Since the shooting, my mixed and convoluted feelings towards the 4th made the day isolating. How do I reconcile a day of patriotism with a day of mourning? How do I reconcile celebrating America with acknowledging that we are a country that has largely enabled its gun violence crisis?

This year was different. Even among those unassociated with the shooting, those around me seemed to share an anxious dread as we approached the 4th. Their reasoning was clear: Americans, especially those a part of marginalized communities, can feel their rights and freedoms are under attack. The looming threat of Donald Trump’s far-right agenda that imperils the fundamental tenets of our democracy made it hard to celebrate the 4th of July.

Donald Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, coupled with a Supreme Court that recklessly empowers him, are rightly terrifying. Republicans in Congress have shown no intention of stopping Trump from using hate and fear to tear down American institutions. Instead, they push for far-right legislation that sows division and serves extremists. They refuse to pass common sense gun reform. They refuse to take action on abortion rights. They refuse to save our planet.  The result of their inaction is tragedies like Highland Park. 

Common sense gun reform, reproductive rights, climate reform, and economic justice are all on the line this election cycle. Sitting on the sidelines is not an option as long as extremism is on the playing field. 

That is why I, alongside several other Gen-Z activists and organizers, have embarked on the Tour to Save Democracy: a bus tour across the country to try to flip vulnerable Republican seats blue. If we can flip the House of Representatives to Democratic control and keep our current majority in the Senate, then we can finally turn our ideas into action and our movements into policy.

We are stopping at nearly 20 purple congressional districts to rally for Democrats who will actually fight for our future. While most of these seats are held by Republicans, these are toss-up races and anyone’s for the taking. With Republicans only holding a slim majority in the House, our goal of flipping the House blue is possible.

But it is not inevitable. We need support and energy in each district we visit, and that comes from local grassroots efforts.

On July 28th, we will be in Pennsylvania’s 7th District to support Rep. Susan Wild’s reelection campaign. In 2022, she won by only two percentage points—that is less than 6,000 votes. This district is one that Republicans are eying on flipping themselves, making her reelection critical in order for Democrats to flip the House and advance a progressive agenda. 

If you are in or nearby the district, we invite you to the rally on the 28th. But no matter where you are, spreading awareness about the stakes of the elections next November is crucial to getting out the vote and progressing our country.

 We have not just a moral obligation, but a uniquely American obligation to fight for our democracy. It is American tradition to fight for equality, justice, and freedom for all—these are the very principles that have made the US, despite all of its immense deficiencies, a remarkable experiment of democracy.

Next year, on July 4th 2025, let us not look back at today and feel remorse over neglecting our patriotic duty to defend our democracy. Patriotism must not be a one day celebration, but a powerful, constant duty that we live out every day. 

Signup for our stop in PA-07 here: https://www.mobilize.us/wildforcongress/event/651131/