“ The second approach is evolutionary - that world federalism will develop organically, as a natural growth, as we get connected by the Internet, as global satellites let us see and experience other cultures in their immediacy, as international space cooperation blossoms, and even as the Law of the Sea institutions begin to take hold and show us that we can govern a commons area of humankind in a rational manner. ”

“ It is out of great concern for the future of our organization that I share my thoughts on WFA's vision and today's youth. For the purposes of this essay, I am using a loose definition of the word "youth" which includes people in the early thirties and younger. For reasons discussed below, I believe that the younger generation will be more drawn to WFA's incremental agenda, i.e. focusing on achievable, concrete goals, in keeping with our vision of world peace through global governance, rather than a focus on the immediate establishment of global government. ”

“ He and Truman displayed incredible leadership throughout WWII, mobilizing a country to stop the most terrifying acts of aggression and horror in history.
As a generation, we have nearly the opposite experience. Our generation does not trust government. ”

“ Contrary to popular opinion, today's youth is full of aware, ambitious, clever, and concerned people. According to Time magazine, we are more involved in our campuses and communities than our parents were by a significant margin, although you won't see us having sit-ins or mass demonstrations. We are also the first generation to have the world "global" be a natural part of our vocabulary. ”

“ WFA has begun to steer its course to concentrate on achievable goals, relevant issues, and concrete courses of action, as per the 'Vision for Global Change'. This is a wise move. It both gets results and widens our audience. I propose that we keep moving in this direction if we truly want to attract more young people. In addition to the recent lack of focus on recruiting youth, our problem lies largely in that our message is often not in the right format or the right terms, and therefore not compelling enough to hit home with globally minded young persons. ”

“ We want to change the world, not today, not tomorrow, but eventually in solid pragmatic steps. The establishment of a world government is something which we see as a process, not an event. This strict "incremental" approach is not only politically practical, but also greatly widens our support base and can bridge the intergenerational gap. ”

“ A Freshman-year coordinator at the University of South Carolina states "Young people today are not as struck by life's fragility. They're not thinking about thermonuclear Armageddon." Likewise, young people do not feel like there is a glaring need for immediately establishing world government, although they would concede that there is a need for global governance. Young people don't go for "grand schemes" or simple solutions, indeed, "grandiose is out, pragmatic is in" according to Time. ”

“ This message marginalizes young people, and increases the generational gap among our membership. We don't want WFA to be perceived as a "has-been" organization, we want it to be an organization which is growing in its membership and influence, and has yet to see its best days.
Annual events can serve as a great incentive for young people to get involved. If they were made more appealing to young individuals, we would see an increase in youth activity and excitement. Parallel events for youth members, such as dinners and social outings, will encourage greater participation in annual events. ”

“ There are two approaches, broadly, to world federalism - revolutionary, and evolutionary. Those who believe that we should go for "the whole enchilada", that an assembly to write a world constitution should be our next step, are revolutionists à la Tom Paine in 1776. ”

“ Central to this issue is the fact that young people have difficulty relating to the idea that the immediate establishment of world government is necessary. After WWII, the dropping of the bomb signaled to many that the world's destiny was wavering in the balance, and we needed a world government established immediately to prevent global annihilation. Times are different now. Although still a concern, thermonuclear Armageddon is not perceived as an imminent threat to our generation, and thus the need for establishing world government to contain this threat is not felt. ”

“ We strongly believe that WFA's future rests upon greater involvement of young people. At present, a strong majority of our membership is over the age of 60, and the small amount of youth participation in WFA is indicative of impending organizational crisis -- as we have thus far failed to cross the generational gap to ensure the strong leadership and broad participation needed to carry WFA into the 21st century. Not only is youth participation necessary for WFA's future, but it is also imperative to inform WFA's course in the present. ”

“ With this as our experience, how can we convince young people that a world government would be a good thing?
My answer is to stress function over form. Gen-X is less interested in, and in fact is turned off by "institutions" and grand plans. "Today's twentysomethings may be cynical about institutions, but they remain remarkably optimistic as individuals" concludes Time's article on Gen-X. We are more into function. WFA should approach our youth recruitment talking about "tackling world problems at the appropriate level" and "governance." ”

“ Even in our towns and cities we see government which not not work. We have all gotten headaches from dealing with the Postal Service, traffic ticket administrations, roads falling apart, corruption, and have witnessed a consistent pattern of government services failing the public. ”

“ All young people are aware of global problems, and we suggest selling the idea of world federalism and global governance by identifying their concerns about global problems, and explaining how WFA addresses these problems by positing solutions at the only level at which they can be appropriately addressed. ”

“ We grew up in a period with one instance of government malfeasance and ineptitude after another, from Watergate to Iran-Contra to the explosion of the Challenger to Whitewater. We believe that government can't be trusted to do anything right. ”

“ FDR's charisma and bold actions pulled an entire nation out of a debilitating depression by devising projects on a national scale by day, and comforting the population with words and wisdom over the radio at night. ”

“ WFA's guiding principles, along with most of our leadership, arose from a very different point in American and world history. The words and approach to solving global problems which were put forth at that time reflect a view of the world which young people do not identify with, although they may share WFA's basic principles. Yet, these perspectives on global problem-solving endure to the detriment of building youth membership. ”

“ What makes WFA unique to young people is that we propose "global solutions to global problems" on a variety of issues such as the environment, human rights violations, and the prevention of violent conflict. Young people can identify with our ideals easier this way than they can by trying to envision grandiose world institutions. ”

“ Young people also need to be better indoctrinated to WFA. Often there is no succinct definition of global governance or federalism presented to young newcomers. For example, more background about the US's transition from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution could be given, making parallels between our domestic model and the world. The universality of the principles of democracy, rights and liberties should be stressed. ”

“ Section II. Recruitment
Our initial approach to young people is most important. We must use vocabulary in our brochures and personal contacts that is both accessible and understandable to young persons, keeping in mind the approach suggested in the previous section. We must not try to get into the heads of young people with cheap gimmicks. Young people today are skeptical of sales-pitch type speeches about how "virtuous" our philosophy is or jingles about world law. They prefer people who speak straight to them, not as some cultural group to be courted and recruited. ”

“ Young people use the Internet and e-mail extensively. The WFA web page is already bringing young people into our organization. Improvements that could be made include a distinct youth section and prominent advertising of our internship opportunities on the first page. Increased advertising of our organization through search-engines and listservs will demonstrate the modernity of our goals. ”

“ Greater effort should be taken to keep in touch with us. Develop a reliable method of keeping track of young members who graduate college, move across the country and begin new stages in their lives. Close personal contact can help us keep our mailing lists from becoming outdated, and encourage chapters to welcome members who are moving into their areas from other parts of the country. Perhaps the frequency of the newsletter can be increased so we are always aware that the organization is accomplishing its goals. ”

“ We have signed Amnesty International Christmas Cards for prisoners in Peru, and can still recall the images of starving Ethiopian children during 1984's Live Aid concert. With this vast potential of worldly young citizens, why have we been unable to attract them in significant number to WFA? ”

“ A former VISTA volunteer explains "in the old days, politicians at least pretended to have principles. Now they're not ashamed to switch values just to get elected. Every time we hear of a new scandal, we're like 'Yup!' she says with a shrug. ”

“ These concerns have been raised numerous times, and we believe that we have a solution. We are the largest youth constituency in WFA in many years, and as a group stand behind the suggestions in this document. ”