A love of vote

At the beginning of June, as I was blowing out another candle in the middle of the European election campaign, one of my parents gave me a very nice gift: his voting slip. I felt that he was putting aside his initial impulse, his bitterness and even his disgust for politics to give it a new chance through me: “You tell me who you choose. So that this vote will be useful to your daughters.” I had already heard of grandparents who make this gift, and I was very touched to experience it in turn. Yes, at a time of climate upheaval, voting can be an act of love between generations. Because deprived of the right to choose today’s leaders, the youngest have no political influence over their future. Populist parties make us believe that there is no major ecological crisis, that environmental standards should be thrown into the gutter and that the small problems we encounter (extreme events, ocean acidification, etc.) can be resolved by painless measures for our way of life. Eco-friendly actions – like those I propose twice a month on this page – are rewarding to carry out but, alone, they will not change the root of the problem: our laws and regulations are not yet adapted to the new climate regime that is looming. So, even if it is not very polite, I dare to ask you here with seriousness and audacity: the next time you go to the polls, imagine the world you would like to leave to the children you love. And let yourself be surprised!