Yesterday, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, addressed Congress and told legislators to get their act together on climate change. ‘I want you to listen to the scientists, and I want you to unite behind the science, and then I want you to take real action,’ she said. Last year, after the Parkland massacre, youth rallied in Washington D.C. to demand action against gun violence. So that’s what it’s come to, powerful politicians acting like spoiled children and children acting like senators.
It’s upsetting that Washington has refused to act on the gun violence epidemic, as school children see their anxiety levels rise due to fear of being shot. On the climate crisis, Congress is, at best, dragging its feet on necessary changes, and, at worst, actively fighting against attempts to save our planet from catastrophe. If the political establishment refuses to heed the warnings of the scientific community, scholars, and concerned adults across the country, then maybe children and teenagers testifying before Congress will have some impact.
In the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, a young trader asks an executive, “See, I find that everyone usually has a number [to walk away from amassing wealth], and it’s usually an exact number. So what is yours?” The executive answers, “More.” And that is precisely the obstacle in Washington that is preventing common sense gun legislation and action on the climate. We are living in a fossil fuel and war economy, where the “free market” has been deified, militarism glorified, and the most vulnerable trampled upon.
But wait, one might object. We can’t just blame the politicians. Yeah, they’re a spineless group for the most part, but what about the rest of us? Don’t we like our cars, plane trips, plastic bags, and polyester? Don’t we leave the lights on or take fifteen minute showers? Haven’t we become accustomed to a lifestyle? Will wind and solar cover all our energy needs? In the meantime, are we willing to dramatically change the way we live? “I’m sorry, I cannot accept that job. It’s a thirty-five minute commute… too many carbon emissions.” That should be the proper response if we are walking the walk. How many are really willing to speak through action in this fossil fuel economy? So it’s not just the politicians. There is enough responsibility to go around, and most people don’t care enough or can’t “walk the walk.”
The Oregon State legislature tried to pass a carbon tax and the truck drivers protested, and it didn’t pass. So what’s the answer? Self-interest abounds, it’s not just the politicians. Nevertheless, something needs to get done. Maybe if we elect Bernie Sanders, we can create a more just economic system and the American people won’t be so fearful of ending up laying on the concrete without health care if they lose their jobs; and then more of our compatriots will be willing to accept policies that are good for the wider community and world, not just their own pocketbooks. The climate crisis must be addressed boldly, but this country needs to create an economy with a socialist safety net in order to address that very problem. Otherwise, left to neoliberal capitalism, a culture of self-interest will see to it that the climate crisis progresses to climate catastrophe.