‘Your Generation Is Our Last Hope’
It’s time to ditch the ‘our kids’ messaging in climate discourse
At a local climate rally that coincided with the global climate strikes of September 2019, an older climate activist took to the stage to say a few words. She ended her speech with a message to younger activists, “Your generation is our last hope!”
As she walked off the stage, a young woman took her place at the podium. The woman spoke at length about a number of issues, including her decision not to have children (it wouldn’t be morally right, she said), about biodiversity loss, concentration of wealth, political corruption, resource depletion, and so much more. While she didn’t mention all of the other challenges we face today (housing affordability, wage stagnation, socioeconomic inequality, moral decay, social strife, etc.) they remained top of mind as I watched this stirring speech. After the speeches, the crowd erupted in cheers.
While both speeches were equally somber in their content, they were markedly different in approach. The first speaker seemed to have resigned herself to passivity, framing her messaging entirely around how the youth will help turn things around, seemingly unaware that she, too, still has time to take action. The second speech was far more substantial and action-driven— the young activist spoke…
