It is not that there are more tragedies happening around us today than there were during the height of the Cold War, in fact, there are arguably less tragedies today than there were then. It’s our awareness of what’s happening around us that has changed. Through social media, satellite technology and around-the-clock news coverage, we have been deprived of the ability to ignore the world and feign ignorance.
Still, this increased awareness of ours will not translate into meaningful action to prevent and stop tragedies unless it’s coupled with a practical vision of the world we want to live in. No, this is not an argument for the introduction of a new internationalist ideology, but a call for a serious discussion involving leaders and luminaries from around the world regarding the existing international system, its glaring failure and what practical steps leaders around the world can undertake to improve it.
It’s not enough to feel frustrated, it’s not enough to feel pain. Too much frustration and pain dulls the senses and breeds indifference and amorality. Only visions can motivate, and only actions can change the world, for better or worse. Our inability to produce a viable vision for a better future is leaving the stage for the wrong sort of action to shape it.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 