Yesterday evening my son confronted me with the fact that he will not go to school today
and instead wants to take part in the worldwide students demonstration on climate change in front of the city hall. He is now in a revolting teenage age where he is beginning to think politically. I am not sure how to behave. I told him that I could not write him an apology for not attending school and that his unexcused absence at school could have consequences. I asked him why the demo had to take place within school hours and he said that if the students did it after class, it wouldn't have the desired effect. I asked him why it was important to him and why he also wanted to demonstrate and what he expected from it. He said politicians had to react and the state was responsible for ensuring that future generations would have to live with the consequences of climate change and that learning made no sense if there was no future for which learning would have been worthwhile.
I was angry. I said that it was not so easy and that we live in an external supply society from which he has profited since birth and can buy all the things he likes. I told him that if he thought environmental protection was important, he had to start with himself and that if his computer was turned on all day long and consumed electricity, he could not pretend that others were solely responsible, but that he was also a contributor who, through his use of energy, helped to damage the environment. I said he must also be careful to turn off the heating every night and that his inconsiderate use of energy would be contrary to his will to change.
He is too young to be taught and too immature to realise that his demonstration is also a tendency to adventure and to interrupt his routine life. I know and I see that he has to make his mistakes, but I don't want to be indifferent.
On the other hand, anyone who wants to claim his right to exercise his will and to proclaim his opinion must be prepared to represent what he stands for privately. I cannot yet see such a thing, this consequential thinking has yet to be developed and I am the one who can teach it to him. He is a typical teenager who has everything, who lacks nothing material and who lets himself be influenced by the media.
Though... I would have preferred it if he hadn't informed me. ... Or... maybe I am glad that he did. Not sure about that.
Since I am now in conflict and will not cover for him in front of school. If I had been surprised by this afterwards, it would have been an act of disobedience towards me as a mother, not only towards the school. But now I have to deal with this act and I am not yet sure which position to take here.
For me this is a completely new situation.
So how do I stand on this matter?
I think that my son should actually feel the consequence of his action, because otherwise his act would lose its meaning. I am not sure in what form the school will react, nor what is meant by a "sanction" there. Since he is 14, he can be held responsible for his actions.
I really can't force him to go to school.
He simply refused to do so after I told him that I think he should go to school today and postpone attending the demo until the afternoon. But he said he wouldn't do that.
I talked to him about the environment and that it was a global issue, and he shouted, "Now! Our demo is also worldwide!"
The whole thing has now also become a democratic affair.
If someone shows his will to disobey, in a democratic country like ours he cannot be forced to bow completely to the will of the state or the law. One can let a consequence follow or impose a punishment. The thing is: If my son accepts a consequence of cool head and says to himself: That's the way it is. If you violate a rule, it always has a certain consequence, then I ask myself: Isn't this rule simply a rather unimportant thing if you can meet it calmly? How "painful" must a consequence be and how little drastic should it be on the other side?
Do I think there is any connection between the demonstration, climate protection and my son's disobedience?
I admit to having difficulty making such a connection.
I see that climate protection is a matter for everyone.
However, I don't see how a demonstration would bring about a change in one's own consumer behaviour, except perhaps that there, at the demonstration itself, such things would be brought together.
Now, on the other hand, I know that my son is only just beginning to learn such things and has yet to really understand larger contexts. This does not happen overnight and takes time. I don't want to be overreacting or underrepresented.
I acknowledge that my son is interested in the concerns of the society in which he lives and that he shows a certain willingness to express his interest. As probably for all parents, I am in the situation of wondering whether his actions will harm or benefit him. What if he were completely disinterested? If he were a very good student who simply did what was expected of him? If his life was uninterrupted with events in the world and he graduated, had an education and then went on to live a life based on consumption?
Is there the right time for civil disobedience?
When does a person begin to think for himself, when does he stand against a prevailing habit?
It takes courage to skip school and not know exactly what reactions will follow. I feel between two chairs. On the one hand I am in favour of a certain resistance, on the other hand I am concerned about a tendency for my son to get in the way. Who do I represent now? Am I a representative of the school institution and of what is expected of us citizens, that there should be no exception? I myself did not develop any active resistance against school, but was a good child who wanted a good degree. My son is different.
But I have long since made my lifestyle choices for myself. After a long phase of adaptation, I had several phases in which I did not adapt to the demands of the labour market. I was often without work and during this time I oriented myself and enjoyed my freedom from working life. I could only do this because I was supported by the solidarity community. A contribution for my society is that I became a mother and a new member of the human community is educated by me and the economy is kept running by our consumption.
Materially, we have a good life.
Hardly any wishes that remain open. But the sense for novelty, the desire for adventure and other points of view, the opposition to habits and lack of freedom are also part of life. Nobody can always be an adapted person without feeling unfaithful to himself.
I am simply surprised that such a thing happens to my son so early. Is it precisely this carefree life that leads him to disobey? Is it the abundance? I myself was not particularly given material gifts when I was a child. My parents had a total of eight heads to feed, we never had real luxury at home.
School was also a big part of my social life for me, but I never really felt a close connection to my classmates. The close friends at school were also friends with whom I had dealt since childhood and with whom I grew up together in our small town. They were relatives and communities of fate, because I am a emigrant. The children from these connections had to do with each other, but the contact to those born here did not come until much later in my professional life.
Anyway, I am waiting for things to happen
and will have one or two more conversations with my son. We will see how the teachers react to this situation. I was actually expecting a phone call, which has not been received yet.
Today is a normal working day for me. For my son this day is something special. He has a long way to go. I trust him to the extent that he will not allow himself to be carried away by heated (re)actions. He shows a certain coolness in his speeches and I can hope that he will represent his opinion with skill at school.
I told him in order to back him up I must see a certain kind of seriousness and genuine interest in this matter.
We will have further talks.
UPDATE:
Meanwhile I contacted the school and talked to the teacher. She was calm and reacted in a sensible and understandable way. She told me my position as a mother is much more difficult than hers as a teacher. We talked a while and she said that the discussion between my son and me probably wouldn't have happened when he had normally attended today's school and she thinks it's a good thing that this friction takes place between parents and children. I felt quite relieved and thought how good it is that this topic is not taken as a threat to the school but as an act of educated citizens.
I am glad that this school shows a face to that situation which is not ugly but mature.
picture source:
By PJ GeestThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape. - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77371449
While of course you are right that one has to start with him/herself, I disagree with you that this is the only level where action is required. Societies and their organized form - the states - have to impose laws, rules and regulations, otherwise individuals acting responsibly (i.e. accepting higher costs or changes in lifestyle) will always be a minority.
That's basic game theory. (check "the tragedy of the commons")
The "only level"?
I haven't expressed such an opinion here anywhere. I uncovered a contradiction in my son's reasoning. Read this article of mine about corporate responsibility. I am familiar with the tragedy of the commons, and I am a friend of "Gemeinwohlökonomie" and the movement around Christian Felbert from Austria. Another important player here is Niko Paech from Oldenburg, who has launched some quite remarkable initiatives in the city of Oldenburg.
We need such local examples. Best practice is still the biggest inspiration for change. The bosses are in the end only people who are afraid. If the people themselves behave less fearfully, but empower themselves to think and act independently, that can only be good.
We live in cellular societies that can receive a possibility of mutual contagion through modern communication channels. Read also about systemic consensus. But you have to co-operate a little and strain your head. I am a practically thinking person and for solutions to be put into practice.
Thanks for this very open article. What I see here is a son who seems to have the feeling that he can talk to you about literally everything. Even skipping school. That is amazing, isn't it?
I believe that small demonstrations might usually not have much of an effect. But this is happening on a global scale and precisely the fact that concerned students skip school for the cause has attracted global attention.
I believe most of them know how important education is - they are, after all, educated enough to understand climate change and the severe consequences it has particularly on them and their future children and grandchildren! (Also, since they understand the importance of education, I'm sure that everyone who attends the meetings out of genuine concern about our future, will catch up with all the schoolwork asap!)
Having said that, I also understand your concerns. Will your kid be a good citizen? Will he find a good job? Might he ever be unemployed?
I guess, you have to ask yourself how you would define a good citizen. For me, that would be someone who does what is best for their country and the planet and not what is best for the (current) government. Sometimes, that may be the same thing. Sometimes it may not be the same thing.
I don't know your son so I don't know why he attends Fridays for Future. Chances are, though, that he is genuinely concerned about his future. We often see teenagers as revolting hormone monsters but having worked with teenagers for over a decade, I can assure you that most of them are actually smart and, while of course they have to revolt (we did too, didn't we?), they also have a strong sense of responsibility and the need to shape a future that is worth living in. Because after all they will be adults in that future...
Maybe you can find some common ground by establishing a rule that all the homework and schoolwork has to be done on Saturday, no matter what. And, I can only stress this once again, by appreciating how open he is about his skipping school. I know a lot of teenagers who would under absolutely no circumstances talk to their parents about such things. It looks like you can be really proud of your parenting so far. So no matter what you decide on: congratulations on such a great relationship with your kid! I'm sure you'll figure out a way of dealing with this situation, too. Have a great weekend!
Thank you very much for this dedicated comment. I am glad that such a reaction is coming.
It is not easy to deal with the situation. It is one thing to remember one's teenage years, quite another to find a position as a parent. I myself work with young adults in the social field and I am aware that most of these resistances have an honest and serious background. The fact that my son warned me in advance and that I don't have to learn about his absence from the school first is very valuable, I agree with you. My son and I have a very good relationship, although it is extremely difficult to have a relaxed conversation with him, in which he also listens to my point of view.
A good citizen, in my view, is someone who maintains a good balance between serving the community and always encourages himself to become aware that life is development and that one can be confrontational in life without becoming a nuisance to others. Someone who claims ethical values for himself and thinks to live by them.
Yes, you are right, he should make up for the missed school material. I have now decided to make a telephone call with the teacher and inform her where my son is at the moment. I think it is always good to be pro-active and not wait for others to react. It took me some time, this article and your answer helped me. Thank you very much for that!
Of course it's not easy when your ethical standards are questioned - particularly not if your own family gives you that challenge. It's hard to get people of that age to listen - particularly as a parent.
Based on your definition of a good citizen, it seems that both you and your son live up to your standards.
How did the school react? Here in Austria, the ministry ruled that students' attendance of Fridays for Future is not to be counted as an excuse for their absence. A move that, in my opinion, shows helplessness and a lack of actual willingness / the ability to start a dialogue with our youth...
It seems to me that you have made a wise decision regarding the matter in question. For the rest, I have always believed in the joint work of society-government in a coordinated way, as you mention, without a change in consumption habits it is insufficient to demand anything from the government. The responsibility is mutual. There are things that not only we can, but we must do from our range of individual action, and others that necessarily require a collective action, generally represented the figure of the government, to obtain the desired result. Cheers!
Yes, that is how I think of it, too. It's always efforts from both directions.
Of all the posts you've written, this may be my favorite. There is so much here that relates to adults, as well as children. When is courage cultivated? When does cowardice become a life habit? Does a child "behave" because he is obliged or because he has internalized values that were taught? The answer to this is one that will influence his life into adulthood.
I think you should be so pleased he talked it over with you. Of course he didn't listen, but he shared. He trusted you, and he expected you to understand, if not agree. That's a wonderful achievement, for you, as a parent. If children don't internalize our values, then they and we are lost.
And you are so right to point out that as noble as our behavior may be, the courage comes with accepting consequences. And for sure, look to himself, his own energy consumption.
I can't think of one thing you did wrong in this scenario...everything from your worry to calling the school was, in my opinion, right on target. That's just my opinion.
Congratulations on raising a son who cares about something larger than himself, and who is willing to share that concern with you.
Thank you so much. I see that you also take on the parents perspective.
Yes, it took courage from my son to give me notice that evening. He was a little clumsy about it but nevertheless managed to do it. I can still remember how it feels when one wanted to disobey and was afraid in doing so.
For a parent, things often are so much more complex and putting oneself in the shoe of a young one who thinks of the world in a more simple way it's sometimes hard to be patient as the children have a long way ahead in understanding that they know less than they think they do.
It doesn't get boring this way :)
😇
"Is there the right time for civil disobedience?" Good question. In my eyes it is not about climate matters or other political agendas that are changing at anytime, but it is about letting life teach the kids awareness of their own power.
During school time? Yes, of course. Accepting and handling negative consequences of authorities? Yes, of course. Even the discussion in public now is teaching them sooo much more than in 10 years of education in chemical formulas and mathematical curves.
Just my 2 cents. ;)
Yes, there is never only a single topic involved. It's about becoming aware of what our intentions are consisting of. Learning to write and read and to do the maths is one thing. But to develop critical thinking one has to have experiences where dilemmas occure. Educating begins there where things are not just black and white but present you the full range of possibilities.
Thanks for your 2 cents :)
This is an article about responsibility on many fronts. My opinion (for what it's worth):
Your son has no responsibility to attend school, so missing it is a non-issue. That false "obligation" was thrust upon him without his consent. He has a natural responsibility to learn and grow, but that has nothing to do with attending an institution. If he wanted a note, I'd have given it, if he didn't care, neither would I.
The most important point is the misdirected outlet for his budding social interest. It is exceedingly admirable that he cares enough to protest, and equally so that you placed responsibility for the environment squarely upon him. My reply to his actions would be:
"Why on Earth would you go beg politicians to do anything? They are not there to help anyone but themselves. They're largely criminals who use and abuse others for personal gain, and if they will do this to people, why do you think they'd care about the planet? Don't look to them - it's not their responsibility to act on anyone's behalf - and certainly don't trust in them. Make the necessary changes yourself, and encourage others to do the same."
You gave him the last part, but the first part is extremely important too.
You really believe that such a speech wouldn't have hurt my son?
How would he look at me if I gave him a testimony of poverty that at the same time represented me as a victim of a society? Finally I myself went to school, adjusted myself and lived a life up to now, which can neither be told in complete resistance nor in complete adaptation? If I had spoken like you, I would have sown in my son's heart the mistrust of everything he cannot control.
At the interfaces to the areas where I am dealing with things with which I partly agree and partly disagree, how am I supposed to tell my son something with certainty that only has one effect: that he stands against those who meet him every day, since he will not succeed in meeting our Chancellor or others from the government in person? Do you not believe that he, so indoctrinated by me, will look for people whom he will make his enemies? This would not only turn those into enemies, whom he will probably never meet in person, but also those who deal with him on a daily basis.
What kind of suffering would I cause, misuse my son to bring anger and resignation upon him and at the same time make an admission of my own insignificance, not knowing that I would only bequeath what I would be ashamed of myself?
It is a fact that we do not have everything under control. It is important to distinguish where I can do something like self-efficacy and where I cannot.
I have found a good way with the teachers, not to regard them as agents of higher powers but as people who have ambivalent attitudes and try to move creatively within them. I openly said that it took me until eleven o'clock in the morning to realize how I wanted to express myself about the absence of my son and only after I thought about it, my heart had calmed down, I talked about it on the phone with my man, I sent an e-mail to the teacher asking her to call me back. I revealed that I had not yet been sure how to react.
How to deal with situations that unsettle you and where it takes hours or days to decide what the right thing to do is never easy. The "right thing" never has final statements or final solutions. We always move in a field of tension of uncertainties and decision moments. The safest option is to express yourself honestly and say, "You know what, I really haven't arrived at a position yet. How can we help our children to realize that disobedience does not mean giving a finger to the conflicts, but to engage in a lively exchange with those to whom one has just disobeyed?" It's good to find authorities in adults who are open to admit that what the students are a part of will accompany them from now on.
Don't you see the opportunity that has presented itself here between school, teachers, parents and children?
School is an institution that is seen as an authority to which one is in conflict. Precisely because it is, it is a good proxy for the government. We know that we need education and we know that much could be improved and changed. But we can only do that if we stay in touch and don't pretend that our children meet an enemy every day.
I admit that I got upset at you to formulate such a thing to my son. Certainly I will overcome it.
Go try having a lively exchange with the satanists who send your children off to war. See how receptive they are to your position. They already know what they're doing and don't care. They view you as their property, to be used however they see fit.
“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.” ― Henry Kissinger
This is the attitude of power-mongers at the highest levels of hierarchical and compartmentalized institutions (including schools), and these are the people with the influence to engineer society according to their whim. They have this power because it is granted to them by the majority of their victims, who are too good to accurately comprehend evil.
I do not mean to incite your anger, only to speak what I discern as Truth.
His teachers - whatever their intentions - are complicit in his slavery. His consent is not being respected in that environment. This is a fact. They act as authorities over him, implicitly threatening him with psychological punishment on a daily basis, and the entire institution of which they are an agent is anti-human; permitting no individuality, but holding all to an arbitrary and universal standard of behavior and education - one to which the student has no natural obligation.
If it is a public school, or if their school receives any government financing, these teachers also benefit from blood money garnered through coercive taxation. The fact that they may be nice or that they "mean well" is irrelevant to their moral standing. The road to hell is said to be paved thusly.
If this does not accurately reflect your views, I would not suggest you speak this to him, but how can you see this any other way? I do not believe he should make them his enemy, but they have certainly made themselves his enemy (in practice if not in intent). There is no virtue in hiding or obfuscating the truth in order to spare his feelings, or in attempting to cunningly direct his growth by a deceptive presentation of the facts.
There is nothing to talk about with teachers until they discontinue their association with government-imposed, compulsory educational standards. Until that time, they are agents of fascism and complicit with evil.
He is being victimized, as an ongoing condition, and purposefully so by those who make these decisions on the highest level. How you cope with that fact is up to you, and you may do so without anger (although anger is not an invalid emotion in the face of injustice). You may certainly council him in sound coping practices, but the truth stands and should be acknowledged, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.
Likewise, his petitioning those who act in an inherently immoral capacity - those in government - is ill-advised under any circumstances. They have no rightful authority, and to ask them for anything is only to support the lie that they do. Go petition the offenders directly, asking them to stop polluting.
Do not ask for a man to make "law", as if such a thing were even possible. God (or whatever the source of the universe) has the unique power to make valid Law, not man, and man's law is either in accord with it and thus redundant and unnecessary, or out of accord with it and thus illegitimate.
P.S.
I already answered that:
No, they did not make them his enemy. There is a HUGE difference between practice and intent. They do their best to serve their students as people of integrity with their own minds and hearts, openly showing their criticisms towards government and working actively for bettering and supporting their students school life.
I totally can make up the difference between evil intent and good intent. Which is in the case of my son and all his co-students a matter of great importance.
We had a teacher of which I found he was a person with little integrity and big ego and with whom I got into several arguments until he bettered himself and stopped using me and my son as a box of sorrows. More important was that my son was witnessing me standing up for him.
My son is a smart kid - whatever he might encounter in the future, he already learned up from elementary school that his parents cannot protect him from all what the world is presenting him. Children don't need to be presented those facts, they very well experience them on their own. But they do NOT need adults who put raw things onto them which they are not old enough for.
I must ask you at this point if it might have been the case that adults imposed on you their unvarnished truth and burdened you as a child with carrying and passing on their own anger and resignation. I need not an answer bu only want to pass this question to you.
Stay well.
What if there was a war, and no one showed up?
What if there was a compulsory indoctrination camp and no teachers showed up? You see the point. They are complicit. The institution exists because they accept those jobs. Same with police, same with military.
I was raised "protected" from harsh realities as much as possible. For this reason, it took years of immense effort and confusion to figure out what was going on. As you said, they experience it - you cannot protect them. So in trying to achieve the impossible, you withhold accurate explanation, and so they have the experience without being armed with the knowledge to process it accurately.
All those days of being miserable because I didn't understand why I had to wake up when I was tired; why I had to leave when I wanted to stay home; why I had to learn about things I didn't care about; and why I couldn't learn about things I did care about. The thousands of instances of unnecessary stress over exams, unfinished homework, reports and projects due, how my parents would react to my grades or slight disobedience at school. And no satisfying answer for why any of this was happening.
THIS IS ABUSE
And keep in mind, I had the best possible school experience: A or B+ student throughout; learning came easy. Very popular; had lots of fun with friends. Very respectful; teachers liked me and went easy on me.
Children are people - they can "handle" reality if it's presented to them appropriately. What they can't handle is living in a fantasy then having reality come crashing down upon them at the age of reason; or being presented with experiences without any means of understanding them. I believe our society bears this out sufficiently - a world of disenchanted, morose people, living lives of quiet desperation, subconsciously missing Santa Claus and the other rosey deceptions of childhood.
Just calling it like I see it. I get that these people are deceived, not malicious, but this does not make them moral actors. There's a difference between being a nice and being good person. They don't care to figure out what morality fundamentally IS, and have accepted the perspective of their culture without due investigation. This is a failing of their natural responsibility as a potentially intelligent being, and their negligence is causing harm to others. I don't see any way around this conclusion.
Well, that's what you mean! I started asking the "what if" questions about twenty years ago and as much as I tried to solve the problems of the world in my head, as much as I thought everyone had to boycott what is generally perceived as powerful, I always got into a mental misery because I came to a dead end. Doesn't that sound familiar to you?
You can trust that I am in a homeostatic exchange with my son that contains so much more than text lines could ever express.
The time of confusion and searching is a normal thing and so is the questioning of the status quo. Every young person goes through this. At some point it is appropriate to move into more moderate waters and consider other alternatives, including growing up.
You cannot look into the minds and hearts of other people and therefore cannot make them equally unworthy because of their professional or other affiliations. You are not walking in their shoes, you need not be their judge.
You are now an adult and no longer a child. Everything that was withheld from you or that was not made known to you has now become your own task. If you find that your parents and teachers have educated and raised you wrongly, it is now up to you to develop as you see fit.
I do not know if you are a father yourself. But if so, then you will know that in being with the child you as a parent are also in a dynamic relationship that involves a continuous learning process. Not only children develop with their parents but also parents develop with their children. On this way of maturing all people make mistakes and they do a lot right. They are morally fallible and they are good people. There is no real end to this, except when everyone in the family is dead. You too.
Otherwise, I really have no idea what you are talking about when you wish for the elimination of all the institutions and systems that have evolved over the millennia of human history up to here, and which contain a complexity that is beyond any simple view and solution. By pretending to be able to provide a simple solution to what you identify as a problem, you can only fail and feel powerless and angry. I don't know if you know anything about systemics, but I recommend that you dig into it.
Some of the notions people have have grown over centuries. They take just as long to disappear as they appeared. Everything is a process and not a sudden phenomenon. You wish for relief and satisfaction during your lifetime and a better world around you. In my view of the world it won't happen the way I want it to be in total. I can take influence on what is possible, there I can change things. Going into the dialogue with the present institutions, not turning my back on them and ridiculing the people I cannot pick as servants of deception.
I come from a refugee family, my parents have experienced imprisonment, hunger and war. They were born into a time that included great unrest and movements that could come back at any time. They have experienced forty years of unrest and then forty years of stability (at least my mother, who became 86).
I can now waste my life and live in fear and anger. But I can also try to appreciate the life given to me.
I must admit that you give me the creeps with insisting on morality and truth.
Well, is there such thing as Truth? Are there things that exist in this physical realm, events that have actually taken place, natural processes in play? What's wrong with speaking of them as such? This is the realm of science and philosophy.
Is there such thing as morality? Behaviors which will produce results more or less conducive to man's thriving? Does not every living thing have conditions that serve them better or worse? What's wrong with stating that this phenomenon exists? Why would these concepts generate discomfort?
It is wrong to tell a family that if their child does not conform to the arbitrary educational standards of a select group of strangers, their children will be stolen from them. This is not subject for rational debate - it is definitively so. It's a threat of terrible violence, and anyone who participates in keeping that system in place is complicit in that evil. What is untrue about these statements?
It seems you want to say that everything is up in the air; that we all need to compromise with each other because everyone's opinion is equally valid. No, a person who has the opinion that the sky is a black-and-white checkerboard is not on equal footing with a person who says it is blue. One person is correct and the other is wrong. To act as if the first person's opinion should be respected serves no one, not even them.
There is a very simple solution: Stop committing and/or advocating evil. Each of us can only do this for ourselves. As it regards others, all we can do is implore them to stop. This is what I do by sharing relevant knowledge that I have discovered, and I don't see why that's a problem. I'm not cutting anyone out of the loop, and I invite any and all to challenge my ideas with rational rebuttal. But I'm not going to pretend that there's no such thing as right or wrong relative to the truth of this reality, or to the subset of that truth called morality.
I understand that I will not likely see meaningful change in my lifetime, but I feel it a duty to speak Truth as I am able to demonstrate it, and to hold others to the same standard. This is the natural responsibility of every intelligent being. Just as you have responsibility to do no harm with your hands, you have that same responsibility to do no harm with you mind. People who think wrongly, act wrongly; so we must encourage everyone to bring their thoughts into alignment with reality, not just act from capricious, unfounded opinions.
You may take exception with my attitude, but if the ideas I present are true, then we have a responsibility to heed them.
So you made up your mind.
This idea that action should be left to individuals is naive to the reality of the societies we live in. One person can do everything within their power, but if no one else is doing anything then it is utterly pointless. Climate change can only be tackled at the national and international level.
And regarding the school strike, I applaud students for standing up for the most serious event facing humanity. Remember, nothing changes without people standing up for what's right in the face of an apathetic and/or compliant society. If they don't stand up for their future, they aren't going to have much of a future.
Nowhere here is naivety at play. Starting to protect the environment yourself is the first step towards raising awareness of an issue that affects the whole world. It has a very practical, lifelike reference when I educate my son not to waste energy or talk to him about his contradictions.
I have, for example, given up flying since 2011. It really could have been very nice holidays overseas and not to regard such a trip as a renunciation, but as a gain is a quantum leap in thought. I made this decision out of a conviction after listening to the German economist Niko Paech and finding that he was right about a lot of things.
The students also have my applause. I see a lot of courageous and proactive people who are committed to environmental interests and cooperation. They are in a minority, but sometimes they make a difference for the majority. A change is always of a gradual nature, we will only be able to solve the problems of earthly resources and consumption globally. But politicians and corporations are also led by people who want to take an example from their own people or from their employees. The wind blows not only from top to bottom but in all directions.
Congratulations @erh.germany! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPVote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!