A Child's Plea to Adults: If you don't know how to fix it, pls don't break it!

This is a speech made by a 13-year old Canadian, Severn Suzuki of Environmental Children's Organization @ the UN Earth Summit in 1992. 17 years later, people have forgotten. They ALWAYS do.

This is a very timely & thought-provoking message and I can't help but think about Holden Caulfield, the main character in the book Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger, 1951). A disillusioned & confused teenager who is entering the coming of age, Holden dreams of only one thing, and quoting an old poem by Robert Burns, he sings, "If a body catch a body comin' through the rye..." Quite pathetic but true- when we become adults, we lose something very essential. We become hypocrites. As we grow up (ironic huh), it seemed like we've undergone a 'processing' from the rye, which results in a manufactured, destructive mankind.


Anyway, back to the video. A memorable quote from Severn's speech:

"At school…, you teach us how to behave in the world, you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share not be greedy… Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us NOT to do???




My message: Children, remain in the rye (if there is a clean one left).