Let us salute our youthful inspirers
DON’T anyone dare grumble about the youth of today or write them off en masse as snowflakes or spongers. Look instead with humility at three amazing young people all of whom could teach the rest of us a thing or two about life, love and passion for a cause.
First, the young woman who just two years ago was a mere schoolgirl in Sweden but whose disgust at a complacent generation of politicians drove her to start a global movement.
Greta Thunberg, at just
16, has become an icon for change, and her unstinting courage in standing on an international stage has earned her the admiration of world leaders and activists, many of whom have been tirelessly banging the eco drum for years but have never managed to move and inspire in the way young Greta has. From a protest outside her own school every Friday afternoon, she’s launched a grassroots campaign that has become an international movement to hold governments to account over climate policy. It’s also exposed her to the cruel scrutiny of Twitter trolls and the embittered ramblings of those who seem to feel threatened by her sheer nerve. Take Donald Trump. He’s clearly annoyed that she pipped him to the post for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year accolade. Instead of congratulating her, he tweeted “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill.” Talk about patronising.
To which she responded with a social media message of her own, changing the personal biography on her Twitter account to read: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
She’s an extraordinary example of the “best of us”. That phrase of course was also used to describe the heroes who brought down the London Bridge terrorist – and one of his victims, the young man who had sought to rehabilitate him, 25-yearold Jack Merritt. His is another face beaming out from our front pages, exuding hope and whose determination to build a fairer system has surely made us all think, could we be doing a better job treating ex-prisoners?
Lastly, do you remember the ice bucket challenge of 2014, a craze that saw the likes of David Beckham and even George W Bush have freezing buckets of iced water thrown on them to raise money for research into motor neurone disease?
The campaign raised some £88million. Sadly, last week the young man who started it all, 34-year-old Pete Frates, succumbed to the disease. Once again, a bright, inspirational face that showed us the best side of humanity. His family said he never complained about his illness; “instead, he saw it as an opportunity to give hope to other patients and their families”. Well, he has certainly done just that. His amazing campaign has already led to a major breakthrough in motor neurone disease research.
After the discord of the election, it’s good to look at some of the best of the next generation. Don’t tell me there aren’t good, great young people making their mark in this world. Our challenge may be to shut up and let them have their say – and listen to them. I for one feel humbled by their example.