Time magazine’s Person of the Year is Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who is the youngest recipient of the award in its 92-year history.
To be named the world’s most influential person at such a young age is quite the accomplishment, meaningless as the award might be.
The award, originally dubbed the Man (or Woman) of the Year, began as a process of determining “the person or group of people who most influenced the news and the world — for better or for worse — during the past year.” But one glance at the past few years’ recipients proves it has turned into a subjective, arbitrary virtue signal that, more often than not, is intended to make some kind of political statement.
Take, for example, last year’s Person of the Year. It was the media — namely Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was brutally murdered by the Saudi Arabian government, and other persecuted journalists who were collectively called “the guardians of truth.”
Compared to others on the 2018 shortlist — Donald Trump, Christine Blasey Ford, and Robert Mueller — Khashoggi’s global influence seems non-existent. But Time didn’t give Khashoggi and the rest of the press the title to acknowledge his impact. They did it to offer a not-very-subtle rebuke to Trump, who regularly disparages the media. Because somehow, Trump’s unkind words lead foreign governments to … yeah, it sounds even weaker when you start to voice the idea out loud.
Thunberg, best known for her amusingly embarrassing and hyperbolic address to an adoring UN crowd (“How dare you!”), was chosen for much the same reason. She’s certainly dominated headlines, but even Thunberg will be the first to say that she’s had little effect. “We have been striking now for over a year, and still basically nothing has happened,” she said last week.
Again, actual results matter little to Time. What does matter is Thunberg’s message — a message the magazine stopped short of endorsing. “She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said.
If, for any reason at all, Thunberg deserves recognition because of the way she has motivated young people to speak up and advocate for change. I’m not sure that warrants a Person of the Year title, but then again, what should?
