When Silence Isn’t Golden: A Call from Generation Next
by Shantell Rianne C. DizonAs a student watching the powerful address by Greta Thunberg before world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit (23 Sep 2019), I found her words piercing and uncomfortably truthful. In that speech, Greta didn’t merely ask for change—she demanded accountability. She said:
“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words… We are in the beginning of a mass extinction.”
Those words shook me. They made me realize that climate change isn’t a distant issue reserved for scientists or politicians—it’s a crisis that defines my generation’s future. The melting glaciers, stronger typhoons, rising temperatures, and vanishing species are no longer warnings; they are realities we witness every day. Yet, despite all the signs, so many still choose silence or denial.
Our generation refuses to be silent. We are the witnesses, the inheritors, and the voices of a world in danger. From small school strikes to global climate marches, young people everywhere are proving that age is not a barrier to leadership. In classrooms, communities, and online spaces, youth are using their creativity, energy, and determination to push for sustainable practices, green innovation, and environmental justice. But activism doesn’t always mean standing on a stage or holding a protest sign. It can start with daily choices—reducing plastic use, conserving energy, planting trees, joining clean-up drives, and spreading awareness. These actions, however small, are forms of resistance against the destruction of our planet. They show that we understand our responsibility to protect the Earth, not because it is convenient, but because it is necessary.
Greta Thunberg’s voice reminds us that silence, in times of crisis, is a form of consent. The world doesn’t need another generation that looks away; it needs one that speaks up, acts boldly, and chooses hope over apathy. We are that generation—the generation that listens, learns, and leads.
The time to act is not tomorrow. It is now.
“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words… We are in the beginning of a mass extinction.”
But activism doesn’t always mean standing on a stage or holding a protest sign. It can start with daily choices—reducing plastic use, conserving energy, planting trees, joining clean-up drives, and spreading awareness. These actions, however small, are forms of resistance against the destruction of our planet. They show that we understand our responsibility to protect the Earth, not because it is convenient, but because it is necessary.
Greta Thunberg’s voice reminds us that silence, in times of crisis, is a form of consent. The world doesn’t need another generation that looks away; it needs one that speaks up, acts boldly, and chooses hope over apathy. We are that generation—the generation that listens, learns, and leads.
The time to act is not tomorrow. It is now.
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