Greta Thunberg: The Very Happy Young Girl
“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”
For those who do not know, Greta Thunberg is one of the most recently publicized people fighting climate change right now…and she happens to be a teenager.
The sixteen-year-old from Sweden made headlines when she sailed via solar-powered from Europe to New York City in order to not partake in the bad emissions that flying creates and spoke at the UN Climate Change Summit surrounded by powerful politicians. Thunberg has also already published two books, “Scenes from the Heart” published in 2018 and “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference” published in 2019.
It seems as though she’s done it all – she’s even spoken with former President Barack Obama and has helped make climate change a “trend.” But beyond her ever-impressive resume, her biggest impact on me has simply been that she is taking real action and taking “practicing what she’s preaching” to new levels. I think that’s rare to see nowadays, especially due to social media.
Thunberg is actively saying what many are thinking about politics right now. She describes current politics as a “fairytale” due to its “cuteness” and politicians' inability to act on what they say to the American population. Her unfaltering critique of the state of American politics – even after prominent politicians try schmoozing with her – is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
On her current American tour, Thunberg’s rallies, gatherings, and conversations with popular politicians all serve to demonstrate that climate change is a fact, not an arguable item and that our time is quickly running out.
However, not all politicians are lining up to meet Thunberg. Many view Trump’s latest tweets about Greta as a mockery of her anger towards political inaction and capitalist agendas. His tweet has now landed a spot in Thunberg’s Twitter bio for some time.
Many other adults on and off air have also taken it upon themselves to attack Thunberg with disparaging commentary, including calling her “mentally ill” or telling her to “go back to school.” One newscaster compared Thunberg and other fellow climate change activists to the horror movie “Children of the Corn.” Throughout it all, however, Thunberg appears unbothered and simply continues the work that she set out to do.
While addressing Congress, Thunberg presented a scientist's report on climate change instead of giving a typical speech, declaring, “I don’t want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to the scientists.”
When she’s later commended by lawmakers, she quips, “Don’t invite us here to tell us how inspiring we are without doing anything about it.”
I find it beautiful and inspiring to see someone so much younger than me creating such friction in a stagnant political system. Her actions, demands, and yearning to enact real change all shine a light on just how much youth can do to take control when no one else will help.
Thunberg has by far garnered the most attention, but there are others also serving the same cause at a young age, including Autumn Peltier, Mari Copeny, and Xiye Bastida. These young people are swapping out normal teenage activities in order to help flip a capitalistic world’s view of climate change. Time and time again, these young activists remind us that age does not have to limit one’s impact, whether that be on a local or global scale.
The activism that Thunberg and other young adults like Peltier, Copeny, and Bastida are partaking in is the gold standard of free speech, but what is it worth when neither side of the aisle are able to come together and listen to one another? Thunberg does not stand alone on this matter – the issue at hand is much larger than her and much larger than someone her age can fix, yet we keep running into setback after setback.
Greta Thunberg has and will continue to showcase what youth have in store for the future of our world. She has educated and inspired millions about the environment and climate change. But she has also called attention to another issue – what happened to our political system?
By Harper Wayne
BU Student, self-published author, and an enthusiastic thrifter with a soft spot for rainy days
Image Credit: The Daily Mail & Twitter.