We live in a deeply fractured society where it feels like a new, unfruitful debate fills our conversation daily. Whether it be related to class, religion, or politics, young people today feel the burden of reaching across these divides to connect with those whose identities feel dissimilar from our own. Beyond the new headlines, these divisions can be felt within our own communities. Within this isolation, we have inherited a world that is divisive and isolated, and yet we are told that young people are the hope of the future. If that is true, then the question becomes: how can young people bridge the gap between the divided world we inherited and a united fraternity we envision?
For me, the answer begins with creativity. Personally, I have used photography to share my story and to see my life through a camera lens. However, I had never used photography to cross divides and rather just used it to explain the feelings and stories I was familiar with. It wasn’t until I had travelled beyond the United States that I understood what a photo could communicate across linguistic and cultural differences. While a photo itself can share a story of culture and community, it is often what comes before the photo that tells the story. A conversation with strangers or a visit to a new place are what make a photo meaningful. In the same way, fraternity is created through intention and human connection.
I came to see that fraternity is not just found in the image itself but in the exchange, the dialogue, and the willingness to see each other’s perspective. This lesson is amplified when thinking about the greatest communication tool young people have access to: social media. While social media has been a large tool in furthering divisions across groups, it feels like it is the best method to communicate and share our lives with one another.
To truly advance human fraternity, we must take intentional steps to close the divides we have inherited. This begins with practicing active listening. We have to put ourselves in the shoes of someone whose life differs from our own to understand their lived experiences. The first step can be to use social media for impact and cultural exchange rather than using them as platforms to spread outrage and exclusion. For me, social media is unfruitful unless it is a platform which amplifies voices that often go unheard and displays stories we do not encounter on a daily basis.
Beyond our screens, it means that we must show up for one another by joining interfaith or intercultural dialogues, volunteering to aid communities beyond our own, and educating ourselves through discussion. Advancing fraternity means rejecting indifference, especially on social media. When we see discrimination or exclusion, we can’t scroll past or talk about it amongst ourselves. We must speak up, organize, and embody what it means to live in fraternity with one another. And if the future is ours, then it is our responsibility to walk towards it with openness and in ways that we have never done before.
