Say you’re shopping in your neighbourhood grocery store. A woman enters along with her young toddler. She makes the mistake of walking past the candy section. The child grabs a huge candy bar and puts it in the cart.
The mother takes the candy bar and puts it back. “You just had one earlier today. It’s too much sugar. It will make you sick.”
The child tries to grab the candy again, and the mother stops him. The child starts to cry: “I want it, I want it.” He stamps his feet, pounds his fists on his mother’s hip, and wails.
In the above scenario, which of those two would you say was the responsible adult?
The child wants instant gratification, regardless of the consequences. The mother can look ahead into the future and see those consequences, and takes prudent action to prevent them from happening.
The Bigger Picture
Let’s apply this scenario to the current environmental controversy. One group wants to rip up the planet without any restrictions in order to make money now, without thought of the consequences. Another wants to maintain a sustainable environment, understanding that while there might be immediate benefits to the plunder, the long-range consequences will be dire. They can look ahead into the future and see those consequences, and want to take prudent action to prevent them from happening.
Which of those two groups would you say were being responsible adults?
And yet those carving up the planet try to paint themselves as being sensible, ‘common-sense’ adults, while they paint environmentalists as dreamers and flakes. In fact, the exact opposite is true.
The environmentalists are the adults in the room. The planet plunderers are the spoiled and selfish little children, seeking instant gratification and ignoring the catastrophic consequences of their actions.
Unfortunately, those spoiled little children have a lot of money. They have the ability to characterize their actions in the news, on TV, and on social media as the exact opposite of what they really are. And unfortunately, many people have bought into this blatant lie.
When it comes to decisions about the future of our planet, we need to recognize who are really the adults and who are the children, and act accordingly.
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