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It seems odd to some of us that a question like this need even be asked at all. But the answer to the question generally depends on your own “adult’s” perspective. If your child wants to become a writer, musician or actor, you will generally have one of two responses: “Well, little Jimmy, you have my full support!” OR “Come now, little Jimmy, you need to be more pragmatic in life than that — it’s a desk job for you!”

Apparently, we treat activism the same way.

Greta Thunberg is a 16-year old activist who has amassed an enormous following of like-minded people who share her growing concerns about the fragility of the world’s environments. They’re breaking down, she says, while the adults play adult games involving money and economy, but act without real foresight of the inevitable disasters to come.

Many who don’t believe in man-made climate change have attacked her relentlessly (and by the way, as Neil deGrasse Tyson says, facts are facts whether you believe in them or not). They say she should go back to school and keep her mouth closed. They say that she’s been brainwashed by the “radical” liberal left. They say she’s an idiot. They say older people are exploiting her for political gain.

All nonsense.

She’s smarter than all of them, of course, and she’s consumed more than her fair share of information related to man-made climate change. Those who contend she has lots of good things to say, but that her facts are skewed, are perhaps even more misguided than those who attack her outright — at least the latter group proves that there are few arguments to face her wrath of words. The former group of people is blissfully and willfully ignorant, at best.

How can we ask whether or not we should provide support to child activists? Child support is almost a staple of our society — we would give everything to keep them safe — so why is it a question of whether or not we lend credence to their views or listen to their ideas? They are the future — and that means they have merit whether you like it or not.

It’s difficult to argue that people should not follow their dreams. It seems equally difficult to argue that people shouldn’t follow their hearts. Those who understand the gravity of mankind’s greatest struggle also understand that young people need to be allowed to speak their minds. This is especially true if the next generation is to be at peace with what is happening — at least they tried to stop it, which is more than anyone can say of the current generation of “adults” who deny, deny, deny.

If you haven’t heard of Greta Thunberg, then you owe it to yourself to learn her name. If you haven’t heard her speak, then you owe it to yourself — and the rest of us — to listen to her words.