Our problem is we fear courage. We want it to work for us. Never hurt us. And only ever conform to our desires and hopes for the world.
“There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures today. Because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.”
—Greta Thunberg at the UN Climate Action summit
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist. She is 16 years-old and captivates like no-one else.
So it would be easy to see her work in those terms.
Yes, she is young and full of integrity. But that isn’t why crowds gathered on the shore to await her arrival. Or why they hang on her every word.
It isn’t purely the integrity of her witness, her age, sex, or home of origin which explain it.
People turn to her because of courage.
But courage alone doesn’t tell the whole story.
She is courageous. And we are cowards.
We are too immature to handle courage. Courage reminds us of fear, so we spit it out.
We selfishly demand any act of courage be paired with hope. And not Christian hope, mind you. You know, that kind which demands our participation. No, a different kind of hope. The kind which only ever makes us feel good. Never uncomfortable.
We are chronically immature.
No, we don’t do true courage. We demand every courageous act which even slightly critiques the status quo do five things:
- gently explain the problem,
- give us all the answers,
- make sure the powerful don’t have to sacrifice a thing,
- promise us everything will be OK, and
- tell us how pretty we are. Or something. Leave us feeling good.
It’s like John the Baptist speaking to the crowds in the wilderness and then catching and fanning all of them as they faint with the vapors. I’m not sure how he manages to catch everybody, but somehow…
Greta doesn’t give us a copout. She doesn’t soft-pedal the truth. Yet she is speaking the words billions of people are longing to hear.
“For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away, and come here saying that you are doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.”
This is courage.
Not the safe kind which never insults the powerful. But the real stuff. More like the woman who persists in shaming the man until he acts. The courage of Kin-dom work.
“You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us I say we will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.”
Prophets do supply an answer. We just don’t like it.
Change. Do Better.
Check out her speech at the UN Climate Action summit.