IS GRETA THUNBERG FOR REAL?

IS GRETA THUNBERG FOR REAL?

I don’t know if I am becoming the world’s biggest skeptic or more of a senile senior? ( No response is necessary!) I have been examining the work of 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, and a lot of questions have been plaguing my shrinking mind.

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish teenage environmental activist on climate change, whose campaigning has gained international recognition. She began by holding her own protests on the steps of the Swedish parliament and her perseverance has exploded into a global movement encouraging students worldwide to conduct similar demonstrations. She has spoken at a climate conference in Poland and addressed the United Nations where she rebuked world leaders for their failure to significantly address climate change issues. She is currently traveling North American delivering her message.

I am very supportive of her message and her perspicacity, but I have a lot of troubling thoughts. Greta is a very young girl who appears very intelligent but has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, OCD, and selective mutism. In spite of some of her health issues,  she appears to be very committed and driven. I sometimes wonder is she self-driven or is someone else in the driver’s seat. I have no proof of my latter question, but it is very hard for me to believe that a sixteen-year-old is that mature and focussed without some external guidance.

Her mother has also been a long-time environmental activist and is on the verge of soon publishing a new book on the issues. Greta’s emergence on the international scene will certainly elevate the interest and profit in her mother’s book. Am I just skeptical or senile? Her mother’s involvement in environmental issues has no doubt helped nurture Greta’s interest and that is not a crime, but is there a slight self-serving motive also at play?

Greta’s father and grandfather were both actors and involved in theatre. Has the thespian influence of her father somehow helped shape her very sharply worded and blunt criticism on the floor of the United Nations? Greta’s speech was without a doubt a very passionate, attention-getting “performance”. Am I just suspicious or senile?

The role of a globe-trotting champion, fighting to prevent further deterioration of our planet, cannot be an inexpensive endeavour. I have not found any source of extraordinary financial support that would allow her to travel extensively, or live abroad as she appears to be doing. I am sure there are some supporters who assist with expenses, but again I have an unfounded speculation that there is something or someone behind the scenes that we do not know about. Skeptic or senile?

In her very short activist career (less than a year), Greta was unsuccessfully nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. I certainly concur with the decision based upon the actual changes that she has initiated and how her cause has contributed in any way to enhancing global peace. The Financial Post (Sept 25) also questions how “a 16-year-old teenager who has mastered the art of regurgitating political slogans and simplistic world views is offered up as an intellectual leader, a wise prophet who possesses such sweeping knowledge and understanding of the world of science, politics, and economics that she can lecture world leaders — and be nominated for a Nobel Prize”.

Without a doubt, Greta is a very extraordinary young lady, who certainly has achieved global attention and recognition in the area of climate change. It is a significant step, but can it overcome all of the political and corporate agendas that will place power and profit above environmental causes? I will just have to wait and wonder. How about you?