As it seems, in ten years at most, the car ferry for the island of Mljet, if Mljet even exists then, will not depart from Papratno, but from the travel dock in Jablanica.  The construction works are ongoing for the installation of digitalised lighthouses near Komadinovo vrelo and under “Gojko”. Stemming from the same reason – radical melting of the glaciers and the increased level of the see – the central terminal for the dispatch of the computer parts in China will have to be built inside the new distribution centre – Port for the freight transport “National hero Hasan Zahirovic Laca” in Hadzici.

And instead of being worried about the fact that our planet is breaking down, the greater part of the population used this opportunity to get into a discussion around one girl. The sixteen-year-old Swede, teen climate activist, Greta Thunberg, became a subject of a global discussion, but, unfortunately also of mockery. She tried to address the issue of pollution, climate changes and potential scenarios of the spreading of the Adriatic coast to the upper Herzegovina, and even lower Bosnia. This story is, however, hardly getting any attention, because there was one more intricate subject to discuss – Greta herself.  The great advantage of social networks is the fact that in one day, any problem can become the global discussion number one.  The downside to this advantage is that people very fast pollute the discussion and catch on to something marginal, but seemingly interesting to them.  The focus hardly ever remains on the initial subject.

What is more important: Greta or the planet?

The similar fate also occurred with the topic we are writing about here. Climate changes as the subject of discussion had no chance with the more intricate matter which is precisely the girl itself, her condition, parents, and her speech. The speech during the UN Climate Summit in New York may have been emphatic, but just as much as the topic and the devastating state we have found ourselves in deserve.

It would be interesting to remind ourselves about the first media alarms dedicated to the climate changes.  In the eve of the new millennia, while we still did not possess social networks and had insight into comments on portals; newspapers and televisions were swarming with warnings about the upcoming collapse of the planet, and that in 2070s the situation regarding the fresh water will become alarming. When we were hit with the first tsunami in several years, it was clear that we cannot talk about the ensuing seventies, but about the present state and time. From then on, floods, hurricanes and all kinds of destructions roam all around the Earth. No one is left untouched. But the biggest problem is Greta. Here we are faced with a complex network of arguments, above which some need to be considered.

There are two main arguments: Is this a topic one sixteen-yea-old should be dealing with, and is this an exemplary case of the manipulation with the person who allegedly has an Asperger’s? We cannot provide the same answer to both of the questions… If we talk about her age, the discussion should go in this direction – this is one of the most important, if not the most important question of today, therefore, why would not sixteen-year-olds be included in this discussion?  Do not attempt to make a universal law out of the fact that you were not able to tie your shoes when you were sixteen. Therefore, the said issue is more to be attributed to the one objecting, and this person itself will, may the Lord be blessed, last at most twenty or thirty years from now on. This is a problem for sixteen-year-olds. The other argument goes in line with the successful comparisons with the fascist system, where children and youth were successfully used for the propaganda purposes. These parallels cannot be easily abandoned, because we cannot account for every public appearance of a child, from case to case. But there is something else – we can with certainty say that this is not a propaganda issue, but a burning question of the survival of the whole humanity.

But can Greta be a victim of the manipulation: Of her own parents, marketing masters, or, if we think for a bit like eternally agile conspiracy theorists, she may be a victim of the “world elite” that is to be blamed for this condition, and now they want to distract us from the real problems with the girl? Of course, it may be, but then what? The fact that this may be a potential manipulation does not minimise the strength of the subject she spoke about, nor the probable pureness of her intention. Nevertheless, someone on the Facebook nicely commented: “It is better to be manipulated rather that indoctrinated child”. And for decades now, in the former as well as in the current system, we have been raising systemically indoctrinated generations, so there is no reason for excitement.

At the end remains one of the most important arguments: What to do with the Asperger’s? Completely nothing. Do not forget that we live in an intellectual atmosphere where it is completely normal to accuse another political opponent for “autism” or some other similar condition. Our sensibility is collectively very low, and people fail to recognise the lack of it as well its importance, every attempt to insist on it is often laughed about as over-reacting and being too “politically correct”. And now suddenly everyone is being sensitive when it comes to the girl’s condition. Does this “condition of hers” prevent her from participating in the public debate?

Welcome to the hell

People do whatever is in their power to systematically destroy the planet Earth, both on global and local plan. Take a look around yourselves and see how much ecological footprint do we leave behind ourselves on the daily basis. Greta’s speech, with all its flaws and taking into consideration the abovementioned arguments, should be used for these crucial reassessments.

Unfortunately, things have gone south. The fight against ignorance is useless, this was said in one book not so worthy of mentioning. With such conclusion we are on the brink of a new scientific postulate, the First law of the social networks: If the discussion about some serious issue goes in the right direction, it is only a question of a second when the trolls, haters and other internet creatures will appear and release their own spin. And then, farewell intellect.