If children are too young to smoke, drink or even tan, then they are too young to be used as political pawns
In 1212, it is said, a crusade set off from Western Europe for the Holy Land, numbering in the tens of thousands, with the intention of converting Muslims to Christianity; a theme that was pretty popular back in the day. The troupe, egged on by pious adults, was made up primarily of children, and led by a young boy from Cologne, Nicholas, and a French 12-year-old from Cloyes called Stephen. The ‘Children’s Crusade’ didn’t have much in the way of concrete policy, beyond the promise of the two boys (who claimed to have received visions from God) that preaching alone would be enough to change the world.
What happened next is not entirely clear. Some of the children died in transit. Others returned home when the going got tough. A number are also thought to have been tricked by merchants in Italy, who sailed them to north Africa where they were sold into slavery. Either way, the movement, which had grown powerful on the apparent saintliness of two children, failed.
By and large, placing trust in children is rarely rewarded. You ought to know — if you can’t remember quite how manipulative and, at the same time, extraordinarily naive you were as a child, then one can only assume the trauma you suffered as a result has forced your subconscious to redact all memory of it. This is recognised in our legal system. Until you reach a certain age, you are not afforded the same rights and responsibilities as others, as it is generally agreed, the majority are incapable of fully comprehending or utilising them.
But increasingly, our society is placing rather a lot of emphasis on youth. Less ‘think of the children,’ more ‘what do the children think?’
It is interesting, given our propensity to descend into infantile shouting and insults, that we find young people quite so enthralling. Shamima Begum, of erstwhile caliphate fame, was painted as the very depiction of evil, irredeemable in the eyes of many, despite her age. In the same way, the likes of Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousafzai are lionised and can do no wrong, with every critique of their positions greeted with the charge of cruel bullying.
Yet at the same time, children are not considered old enough to drink or smoke. They are limited in their ability to earn, learn to drive, get tattoos, piercings, fight, even tan. And, of course, vote, (though even when this comes under consideration, it is never with the caveat that they are suddenly mature enough to be allowed to choose to do any of the above). Children are innocent enough to not know what to do with their own bodies, but are more than capable of being pawns in the complex political realms of those who are meant to have their best interests at heart.
Pawns are exactly what these children are, and it is a dire reflection of our political class. For so long, now, politicians have used anything to escape the responsibilities of their offices — blaming Europe for decisions, blaming migrants for strains on services, blaming systematic cultural and economic destruction for a wrecked economy. Always, there is something else responsible for things happening. And now, it’s children. Children are the reason why Brexit must be reversed. Children are the reason the NHS must not be touched. Children are the reason the internet must be policed. Children are the reason censorship and political correctness must be endorsed. Children are the reason climate change must take centre stage.
For as long as politicians continue to use others as shields or vehicles for their own agendas, politics will never become the mature realm we so desperately need it to be. Nothing is really changing. Nobody has really ‘woken up’. The system is simply reverting back to its tried and tested playbook of self-preservation — find something, or someone, to distract us from its failings. Greta Thunberg is a child with an opinion. It may be the right one, or it may be the wrong one. That’s not the scandal, nor is the scandal an article by Brendan O’Neill criticising her. The real outrage is the phalanx of inept politicians sitting beside her, grinning gormlessly, without the backbone to make the sort of impact 16 year olds and columnists now take it upon themselves to have.
