We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with.
Interpretation
We must acknowledge the challenges left by previous generations and take responsibility for addressing them.
In this quote, Greta Thunberg urges us to recognize the impact of past generations on our current environmental and societal challenges. She emphasizes the necessity of understanding the legacies we inherit, which often include serious issues like climate change and pollution, and highlights the responsibility of the younger generation to confront these problems and work towards a more sustainable future.
In practice
During a climate action rally, this quote can emphasize the importance of intergenerational responsibility.
We are not going to be satisfied by politicians saying 'we support you' and then walking away. We won't be satisfied until they meet our demands and act. That's why simply taking a selfie or posting support on Twitter isn't enough. That's why we have to keep striking.
When I was maybe eight or nine years old, I first learned about the climate crisis in school. My teachers taught me about it and we saw films and pictures of plastic in the ocean and extreme weather events. Those pictures were just stuck in my head; I thought, there is no point in anything.
I have been on the road and visited numerous places and met people from all over the globe. I can say that it looks nearly the same everywhere I have been: The climate crisis is ignored by people in charge, despite the science being crystal clear.
I want the politicians to prioritise the climate question, focus on the climate and treat it like a crisis.
It felt like I was the only one who cared about the climate and the ecological crisis. My parents didn't care about it, my classmates didn't care about it, my relatives didn't care about this. I mean nobody I knew cared about this and I felt like I was the only one.
The thing that's made me open my eyes to what was happening to the environment and climate was films and documentaries.
Once you do away with the idea of people as fixed, static entities, then you see that people can change, and there is hope.
The world, as we know it, is coming to an end. The world as the center of the universe, the world divided from the heavens, the world bound by horizons in which love is reserved for members of the in-group: that is the world that is passing away. Apocalypse does not point to a fiery Armageddon but to the fact that our ignorance and complacency are coming to an end.
There is an air of unreality in debating these arcane points when the world is changing in such dramatic ways right in front of our eyes because of global warming.
We must not only imagine a better future for women, children, and persecuted minorities; we must work consistently to make it happen - prioritizing humanity, not war.
My generation was the turning point. Women older than us didn't expect to have jobs or careers; those younger did. But we were where it was changing - which is interesting but uncomfortable.
I see the energy of young people as a real force for positive change.
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