To show cynicism
This piece is written, keeping Greta Thunberg in mind. I wanted to finish this article off weeks before. But time didn’t permit, and now I need to reshuffle the points presented here. While I am undoubtedly late in offering my arguments in her favor, the general topics present do matter at any point in time.
It has been grating to observe people discount her efforts. Her critics declare that she is a shill, accusing her parents of being behind all of this. Also that she is a kid who speaks more than what her age allows her to. Her words have no tangible product in the end and ring hollow.
But are any of her statements wrong?
If anyone gets popularity shoved on top of them, it attracts people who rebuff their ideas. In this case, people point out that all she did was speak a few words and got heaps upon heaps of undeserved praise, while those who are actively working to should be receiving the plaudits instead.
These denigrations fail to impress as they don’t attack the argument but the person. There are many posts that devolve all her work into a simple, “How dare you!.” In spite of her still promoting the need for action towards climate change after the UN summit and joining protests which gathered highest civilian participation due to her presence.
A simple Google search would have shown what she was able to bring forward. Dubbed “The Greta Effect,” there has been an increase in books for children about climate change, four times increase in investments for carbon-reducing projects, reduction in flight travels, etc. There is positive feedback due to her actions, which one cannot deny. There can be a point held against stating that this is nothing but a fad, and the bells and alarms will become silent after the uproar.
Her detractors proclaim that they are making objective statements, but it always seems to be accompanied by a tinge of jealousy and cynicism for the sake of it.
Like many things in history, cynicism has lost its meaning and evolved into something else. Initially, it’s purpose was to live a simple life of virtue, disposed of all desires. Its ideas were subsequently incorporated in Stoicism. The modern meaning which we know of came from the word κυνικός (kynikos), meaning ‘dog-like’ as a term used to humiliate followers of cynicism who shunned regular conventions.
Coming back to Greta, forces are opposing her due to a multitude of dull-witted reasons. One of them claims that climate change is not real and then believe what they want and belittle what they don’t want to hear.
However, there is another set of people, even more baffling. The ones who know climate change is real and danger but scoff at her. One does not have to see eye to eye in the method used to achieve a common task as long as it does not hurt both the parties.
At this point in human history, where the individual, as well as collective efforts, are imperative, fighting about what one individual is doing is short-sighted and a clear waste of time. What one achieves by spending her/his time proving that Greta Thunberg does not deserve attention is puzzling to me since it helps the world in absolutely no way.
Neither did she take part in any of the research which told that global warming is real, nor did she find out any scientific solution for it. But everyone has a role in this problem one way or another. She picked the task of making the issue public and highlighting the ones in power who were lax in their jobs. Maybe instead of criticizing and mocking her to feel a false sense of superiority over ‘destroying’ her attempts, we should focus on picking how we can contribute and support those who fight our fights.
Perhaps Greta’s and our most significant power is that we don’t need anyone to vote for us.
