Let’s stipulate that the planet is in peril because of man-made warming. (Sidebar: Why aren’t feminists crying foul over this term and demanding it be called All Gender Warming?) If you think today’s youths are going to “save the planet” you’re sadly mistaken.
Environmental Playacting
Youth will save the planet, according to the elite narrative about global warming. It was young voters who were “asking the tough questions” and holding “Democrats’ feet to the fire” at last week’s Democratic climate-change pontificon, reported the New York Times. A high school student challenged Julian Castro about his previous support for fracking and demanded to know why “should we trust you . . . to transition our economy to renewables?” Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar was grilled by a Columbia University student about her possible fealty to the beef and dairy industries. A Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University berated Joe Biden for allowing a natural gas company executive to host a fundraiser for him; fossil-fuel companies are committing “crimes against humanity,” announced this shoo-in for a prestigious professorship.
The claim about youth’s transformative commitment to radical environmental change is—based on informal observation—bunk. The cardinal rule when it comes to environmental virtue-signaling is that people give up what they’re willing to give up. Young people are no different. If being environmentally sound required sacrificing anything that a self-described environmental warrior actually valued, the conversation would quickly change to a different topic. One’s own habits are necessary; it’s everyone else’s that need to change.
The left built this. Now it bites them in the ass.
The only way they will change things is if they can do it from their phones.
It is all about perception. They have been conditioned to respond to how they are perceived and it matters not how they elicit that response.
They are getting to the point of helpless. We used to take on kids in the summer when we were doing big commercial build outs. They were mostly used as haulers and demo helpers. The majority of them couldn’t read a tape measure and few wanted to learn. Their work ethic was poor for the most part and attendance was very sporadic. The ones that showed and wanted to learn all became employed carpenters or selected other trades. I’ve run into some have their own business.
Didn’t a whole bunch of dumbass hippie youts try to levitate the Pentagon back in the early 70’s. Look how well that turned out. The snowflakes have got nothing on the dumbass baby boomers except that they learned to well from my generations mistakes and want to emulate us in stupidity.
The leaders of the left never cease to amaze and titillate themselves as they move critical masses of morons seamlessly from one three ring circlejerk to the next. They don’t like it when someone points out what a bunch of hooey the whole charade is
Do what you can to help develop youth into responsible, hard-working contributors to society. I have accompanied church youth on weeklong service projects 10 out of the past 15 years, and they use all sorts of power tools and work well beyond what is asked of them. Plenty of other ways they can develop and contribute too.
These are the same youths that have been coddled, spoon fed, pampered and spoiled all of their young indolent lives! When a real disaster strikes, like a depression, world war, or extended famine, then we will see how brave, resilient, hard working, and sacrificial they are
Success breeds apathy and laziness in successive generations.
They resent and rebel against those who provided them a life they did nothing to deserve.
Toenex, the only way they will change things is if they can find someone else to pay for it. Or vote someone else’s money away.
Any time a democrat says anything, you can assume they are lying. They just make sh*t up. If they say the young people are the ones asking the tough questions, you can safely bet they haven’t actually talked to any young people, except ones who were prepped for a photo op. And any young people who know it’s a huge scam are automatically dismissed.
So many astute observations, here. Different Tim — one of my nephews was one of those kids who started out as unskilled jobsite labor. He’s in his 40’s now and owns his own construction business.
We should be careful not to broad brush an entire generation, though. We have a lot of youts serving in uniform far from home and kids possess something common to every human spirit — the desire to do something meaningful and the satisfaction of doing their own work. It may not be apparent, but it’s there. Unfortunately, we have too many examples of easy money to be made from drug dealing, and the pro sports/garage tech start-up model. Back in the day, everyone wanted to play the bass guitar in the next break-out band or find the perfect penny stock that would change their fortunes. Remember those gooofy pyramid parties of the early ’80’s. Lot’s of generally sane people thought their odds would land them in the money, too.
I wouldn’t discourage a kid from trying to change something that needs to be changed. Those of us on the downhill slope from 50 can help them channel that wonderful youthful energy if we take the time to talk with them.
To be honest, driving down the freeway with the car windows down probably puts more of a load on the engine (thereby increasing fuel consumption) than does using The AC.
Thank you Abigail.
I look at these Video Warriors and I don’t see my own children, who learned work and paycheck as early as possible and are both successful in their chosen fields.
Both have useless University degrees they agree have nothing to do with their current success, and readily share that with the younger generation.
Find something you love, work at it, learn, grow, and you will be successful. Maybe not rich, but happy, which is worth more than money.
IMO youth have valuable questions at times. Because I’m getting older and have lost some of the flexibility in my gray matter I used to have.
Answers, they have not. Because they haven’t developed the decades of hindsight and painful lessons I have.
So, listen to them to see if an aspect of a problem hasn’t occurred to you, but never allow them to make policy.