LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor:  

This is in response to the Letter to the editor by Frederick J. Dechow, Ph.D., titled Education v. Indoctrination.  Greta Thunberg has his attention.  He seems to think she is an ignorant, hysterical child.  However, the Swedish Parliament, the European Parliament, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the United States Congress, the United Nations, the Pope and many others find her quite credible.  She is not saying that all of climate change is “man made,” just that man’s activities have sped up this natural process to an alarming degree and that we have a short period of time to address the situation.  World renowned climate scientists have been reporting the dilemma for the past twenty years and they say that Ms. Thunberg’s efforts are helping significantly to bring a much needed awareness to a matter of critical concern.  Go to the internet to learn what we, as individuals can do to help, get it here:  https://www.oeclassic.com/ and to learn what actions by industry and government should be supported.  

While there, you may also check the veracity of the claim that the student protests left great amounts of trash in their wake.  Many major fact checking sites assert that the photographs attributed to the student protests were taken in advance of the events, of other events and in disparate locations. While Mr. Dechow is concerned with education as opposed to indoctrination, it is clear that these are subjective terms. If it falls within your specific belief system, it is education, and if it makes you uncomfortable, it is indoctrination, no matter how sound.  

Another concern seems to be the fear of wealth being confiscated (taxing the wealthy and eliminating corporate tax evasion) and resources being denied (maybe he means the fossil fuel extraction industries) as related to the “Enviro-Nazis” (divisive much?) who are attempting to accomplish something toward the well-being of man-kind.  Fortunately, in these modern times, children who are taught critical thinking skills are not so vulnerable to being indoctrinated with dangerous ideas. They are smart and they have access to many resources including parents, much-appreciated teachers, voters and school boards helping them become responsible adults who will soon be running the world, hopefully, better than our current bunch.  

I do not have a Ph.D., but I have grandchildren and the hope that they will be able to live in a world where they can have grandchildren.  I am proud of these young people as they accept responsibility for their future. I am proud of the 40,000 young people who marched on September 20th in France, the 2,600 in Ukraine, the 5,000 in South Africa, the 10,000 in Turkey, the 5,000 in Japan, the 100,000 in London, the 330,000 in Australia, the 250,000 in New York City, and the 1.4 million in Germany.  It seems that their parents, teachers, school board members and voters think the climate crisis is real and that there are things we can do to mitigate the damage.  

Respectfully, 

Wilda Moses, Grandmother