Tearing things down is easy
War in Ukraine reminds us how fragile the current world order actually is.
"Please, I really don't want you to hang my portraits on your office walls. Because a president is not an icon and not an idol. A president is not a portrait. Hang pictures of your children. And before you make any decision, look into their eyes."
Volodymyr Zelensky, during his inaugural address in 2019
“Difficulty is what wakes up the genius.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
Greetings!
This week we discuss war, peace, destruction, resilience and … coming back to our senses (hopefully).
Enjoy.
Image: © Marco Montalti | Dreamstime.com
SEEDS OF HATRED … AND HOPE: As far as the human project goes, we must always remember that times of peace have been the exception rather than the norm. How do we make it the norm? Better choices. However, this is easier said than done. People have a hard time letting go and moving on. A historian himself, Yuval Noah Harari believes that “we suffer from too much history … we must liberate ourselves from the past”. In this incredibly informative and insightful interview, the author of Sapiens and Homo Deus explains the attachment that Russia feels towards Ukraine, even if the sentiment is not entirely mutual. He also discusses the multiple ramifications of this conflict, oscillating between thoughtful analysis and sharp criticism, alternating gestures of dismay with glimpses of hope.
BACK TO BASICS: If you had the patience to sit through President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, you may have been surprised, amused or annoyed when he urged legislators to “fund the police” and “secure the border”. Oh yes, we should have some boundaries! That these lines actually made it into the SOTU speech is quite revealing, or perhaps a relief, depending on how you want to look at it. Shocking on the one hand, yet sobering on the other. Three other topics that are now top-of-mind for (almost) every American, are inflation, military defense and energy independence - which Biden also addressed, at least to some extent. For both political parties (Democrats and Republicans), the very legitimacy of the electoral process is now also a topic of discussion (errr, contention). And then there is the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was signed into law last November (for perspective, Russia’s entire GDP is about $1.4 trillion!). What this all means is that the United States has quite a bit of house cleaning and remodeling to do, because the last thing the most powerful and prosperous nation in modern history needs right now is to have its most basic foundations and essential systems “discredited”. Check out this brilliant episode of Putin It Out There.
SPEAKING OF BOUNDARIES: Once at the forefront of using medical interventions to “cure” childhood gender dysphoria, Sweden is now rethinking its approach, by drastically changing the so-called “Dutch protocol” and prioritizing psychotherapy. The country’s National Board of Health and Welfare has sounded the alarm against the practice of “gender-affirmative care” and released new guidelines that recommend doctors stop prescribing puberty blockers, or at least restrict treatment to exceptional cases. “The scientific evidence is not sufficient to assess the effects on gender dysphoria, psychosocial conditions, cognitive function, body size, body composition or metabolism of puberty blocking or cross sex-hormone treatment in children and adolescents with gender dysphoria”, concluded the Swedish Agency for Medical and Social Evaluation (SBU). Read the full story HERE.
Image: © Czarnybez | Dreamstime.com
DIVINE OR ALIEN?: How many tons of rocks had to be removed to build the Kailasanthar Temple? How long did it take? And more importantly, WHO did it?The Hindu God Shiva (Sanskrit: Auspicious One), is one of the main deities of Hinduism, worshiped as the paramount lord by the Shaivite sect of India. He is one of the most complex gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. Shiva is a member of the Hindu trinity, or Trimurti (Sanskrit: three forms), which includes Brahma, the creator (or governor) of the universe; Vishnu, the preserver (or operator); and Shiva, the one who removes whatever no longer serves a higher purpose in our lives.
FLICK OF THE WEEK: In the big scheme of things, why should we care about a bunch of 20-year-olds playing with (and very often) destroying expensive toys, in a male dominated and testosterone fueled sport that does little more than contribute to global warming? Enter Netflix’ season 4 of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”, which takes viewers behind the scenes of a different kind of warfare. Coming up March 11th.