I like Greta Thunberg. She’s exactly what a young person
should be – passionate and interested in trying to make the world a better
place. As I’ve mentioned in my posting “The Problem with Adults,” she’s done
something cool – she’s pissed off some of the most powerful people in the
world. I mean, I can’t even get hauled up to the Istana for a scolding from the
Prime Minister of little Singapore and yet, at the age of 16, this girl has
managed to get a stage at the UN and gotten not just the US President talking about
her but also the Australian Prime Minister. I mean, what else makes you a “somebody”
than having the most powerful people talk about you.
I think that much my admiration for little Greta comes from
the fact that I live in Singapore, where our youth are depressing. The only
thing our young people do is to try to be more “establishment” than the actual “establishment.”
What does it say about a system where the old farts are more interested in
changing the world? While other kids clamored to join Greta on her marches,
ours stayed in the classroom and left the marching to ….wait for it……our
Minister for Transport, Mr. Khaw Boon Wan (Singapore is threatened by rising
sea-levels).
OK, let’s be clear, I’m not against the established order.
In Singapore, the established order has done is a good job in delivering basic
services. There is clean water for all, food in our belies and a roof over the
head for most of us. Majority of Singaporeans live damn well. So, anyone
reading this might ask why I keep writing what I do and complaining about this thing
called freedom of thought instead of just buckling under the system and excepting
my fate.
The answer is simple – we live in a changing world where
established paradigms get shattered on an hourly basis. While there is an
important place in the world for conventional people, the status quo around the
world needs to be challenged. We need more little Greta’s who care enough about
something and who get themselves onto the world stage and who are willing to be
rude to the most powerful people in the world.
The established order can make you feel comfortable.
However, as it is often said, being comfortable can be very bad for you. Sure,
little children should be in school and they should not be rude about the
established order. Society punishes those who step out of line.
I think of a meme going around the internet from an “old-person”
mocking little Greta. It was along the lines of making the kids cycle since
they want to not use fossil fuels (no car) and turning down the radiator because
that would cause global warming. Well, there’s the thing, if all world’s kids
back then didn’t get passionate about things back in the old days, we’d probably
still be ridding on the horse drawn carriage – our minds would be unable to accept
anything beyond that.
Little Greta is not wrong to tell us to look at the science
on climate change. Nobody is saying we should stop driving. What we should be saying
is that we know the planet is being screwed, we know using fossil fuels is part
of the issue, so let’s dare to imagine alternatives to fossil fuels and work
towards it. We’ve done it before, so why can’t we do it now.
Appeal
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