It is very, very sad that young climate activists are being victimized at an incipient stage of the movement in India. This is one of the relatively new movements and there are understandably some uncertainties regarding the exact course of action and the stand to be taken on certain issues, but one thing which is absolutely certain is that this is one of the most relevant movements of our times which deals with an issue of very critical importance for the future of humankind.
It is by now clear that climate change and some related environmental problems have reached a stage where these badly threaten the basic life nurturing conditions of earth. In other words the future of the generations to come is very badly and seriously threatened by these problems. There is more than enough scientific evidence to establish this basic fact. So what should the young people do? Should they merely sit idly doing nothing and allow their future to be endangered so gravely? No. The bravest among them have said clearly. We are going to do something now to protect our future.
This is wisdom. This is courage. This should be encouraged. But some of those who allowed the dangerous problems to continue for so long unchecked are not happy. They have taken to victimizing this movement’s activists. This is happening at an incipient stage of the movement. This is sad and tragic. No nation can afford to victimize the bravest of its young people, those who also have the vision and the understanding to know well what climate change and related problems are doing to our world. They are not just our bravest, they are also the most wise.
Fridays for Future is just one of the several inspiring initiatives of the movement . These activists have been called and rewarded as the Champions of Earth ( Inspiration and Action) by the United Nations, honored by its flagship environmental honor. This is in recognition of the fact that this is an important beginning that the new generation , the generation still in school, is making in terms of saving their endangered future.
When millions of young people come forward to save their future, they will of course save their future , but in addition they will also help the elderly people of the world to live their old age in more safety. The present generation did not do enough to give the young a safe future, but the young climate activists and those in Fridays for Future are working also to give their parents and perhaps even grandparents a safer old age. Disha has said that she was drawn to climate activism because she was distressed by the hardships her grandparents as farmers were experiencing from increasingly adverse weather conditions likely to be caused by climate change.
Those who are coming to climate and environment activism with such noble sentiments should be encouraged and rewarded , not victimized and imprisoned. Let it be known loud and clear that the movements for protecting earth and checking climate change are inherently movements of peace. They cannot be otherwise. Such movements have nothing to do with violence or sectarianism or secessionism or sedition or khalistanism of any variety. So many people, including parents of brave students participating in environmental movements, are bewildered about recent allegations to this effect. Let us follow here the version of the happenings given by a national hero Julio Ribeiro. As everyone knows already, this great cop, together with his other brave colleagues in the police, won great fame for curbing the terribly violent sectarian Khalistani movement at great risk to his life and so can be expected to be very well-informed about Khalistani mischief-makers.. As he has written in his column in the Tribune, at the most what happened was that some Khalistani group, having an attractive name which cleverly concealed its real identity, deceived an innocent young environmental activist to do some work with it for a short while. When an otherwise noble , young, innocent activist is deceived in this way, then the role of government is surely to inform and warn the activist about the real identity of the dubious person who is trying to misuse the innocent activist. The activist upon being informed and warned should give up all contact with this dubious person and his organization. This is the way as it should be, and a relatively small, unintentional mistake should end here, instead of being blown into a big issue and case.
The broader issue here is that the movement of young people to protect environment and check climate change is a highly relevant and very much needed movement of great potential for saving environment. It is in its early stage, particularly in India. This movement should not be given a bad name and entirely unfair allegations should not be imposed and inflicted on it just because of the possibility that an entirely unintentional mistake may have taken place. The elderly leaders of the country should bless the young people who are coming forward to save the future, not victimize them, and those already victimized should receive immediate relief by action at higher level to correct the serious mistake.
These young people are the future, they are the ones who will save the future.
Bharat Dogra is a veteran journalist and author. His recent books include ‘Protecting Earth for Children’ and ‘Survival Crisis—Planet in Peril, People’s Movements the Only Way Forward.’
Human survival on this planet has now become a battle between two systems of thought and governance; one the American based on vestiges of Western Neo-Liberalism and the other the Chinese under President Xi Jinping based on a restating of Marxist Socialism. The implications for the future of human civilization are profound. In competition with the American are 1.388 billion Chinese citizens as well as those citizens in silk-road nations outside of China. As this is occurring, globally American power and by extension its “Western” value system is diminishing. However, internally the American originating belief in its value system – so defined within the nation as “Freedom” remains strong.
Not only China
But most of the other nations around the world
Now see America in a state of political and societal confusion, a nation engulfed in stew of lies and deceit; all being powered by an unrelenting flow of false information empowered by an unrestrained media and internet.
A nation with gaping inequality, a nation dangerously politically divided, a nation overpowered in large part by a secular theology, that secularity embraced within Evangelical Christianity, its most powerful religious order.
And a nation recently under the control of a psycho who dispatched a mob to ransack the Capitol in hopes of overturning his loss in an election.
What is all this saying to the other nations in the world?
What is it saying to China?
It is saying that large segments of the population are without social coherence. Far-Right antidemocratic extremists are in control of parts of the American society. It is saying that the future of America is uncertain. America has lost direction.
There is a stark contrast between the American version of society as it was established at its founding and that version in recent history. Something changed in the aftermath of the Second World War and then the post – Cold War era after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
All of this raises the questions: Why is America unable to adjust to this change? Why has rational thought become redundant? Why is America unable to draw the line among its citizens between constructive Free Speech and extreme opinions that foster violent action?
The answers are being exposed by a restating of Marxist Socialism under Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. It is the message of this essay.
The implications for the future of American are profound. In ideological competition are 1.388 billion Chinese citizens as well as those in the so called “Belt and Road Initiative” nations.
As this battle of ideas is unfolding, America and by extension its unrelenting flow of liberalism and resultant Neo-Liberal value system is being seen throughout the world – both East and West – as being in a state of diminishing relevance.
One reason is that the American gives full rein to the dark neurotic psychotic me/me/mine side of the human impulse. Those who adhere become blinded to the suffering of the downtrodden. An offshoot is that personal influence through wealth is given the highest priority. Autocratic power becomes the rule.
China would appear to be moving toward a counteraction to this American/Western societal dysfunction. For example it has been able to control the coronavirus crisis as well as take necessary climate emergency initiatives; also it has been able to contain the threat of internal terrorism; religious, psychotic and other. The list goes on.
The following Countercurrents essays attempt to explain why China, if it succeeds in its experiment, may have a better chance of becoming the template for a new and creatively cohesive global human civilization – a reordering of the world. Its success however remains conditional – only if it succeeds in controlling the “dark side” of human nature now so prevalent in the West and long in evidence throughout its own history.
It should be noted here that China is having some success; not so easy with over 1.3 billion people!
The essay by Irwin Jerome about the state of confusion that exists in Texas and the inability for such an American “Democratic” society to correct the problems that its Freedoms have over the years engendered is not just about Texas. It is an illustration of American dysfunction. (I lived in Texas as a senior officer in the largest bank. I have travelled extensively throughout the country. I know)
https://countercurrents.org/2017/12/07/the-end-of-american-exceptionalism/
David Anderson brings together a wide range of interests in his writings, namely; theology, history, evolutionary anthropology, philosophy, geopolitics, and economics. He has written four books. The fourth (Below) is about a necessary geopolitical, social, religious, economic paradigm shift for human survival.
OVERCOMING the THREAT to Our FUTURE
http://inquiryabraham.com/new-book.html
The U.S. President Joe Biden has declared that America is back. He was addressing a session of the Munich Security Conference from the White House Friday.
Biden said: And I’m a man of my word — America is back. I speak to you today as president of the United States at the very start of my administration, and I’m sending a clear message to the world: America is back, the trans-Atlantic alliance is back, and we are not looking backward. We are looking forward together. The global dynamics have shifted. New crises demand our attention. We cannot focus only on the competition among countries that threaten to divide the world or only on global challenges that threaten to sink us all together if we fail to cooperate. We must do both, working in lockstep with our allies and partners. So let me erase any lingering doubt. The United States will work closely with our European Union partners and the capitals across the continent.
He used his first public encounter with U.S.’s European allies to describe a new struggle.
His stressed reinvigorating alliances.
But there was pushback, notably from the French president Emmanuel Macron, who in his address made an impassioned defense of his concept of “strategic autonomy” from the U.S.
The French President made the case that Europe can no longer be overly dependent on the U.S. as it focuses more of its attention on Asia, especially China.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s message was “Our interests will not always converge.”
The German Chancellor appeared to be a reference to Germany’s ambivalence about confronting China — a major market for its automobiles and other high-end German products — and to the continuing battle with the U.S. over the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Russia.
It was the three leaders’ first virtual encounter.
The U.S. President Biden used the moment to warn about the need for a common strategy in pushing back at an Internet-fueled narrative, promoted by both Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China, that the chaos surrounding the U.S. election was another sign of democratic weakness and decline.
Biden tried to recall the first principles that led to the Atlantic alliance and the creation of NATO in 1949, near the beginning of the Cold War.
Biden cast the U.S. as ready to assume its responsibilities as the linchpin of the alliance. “We will keep the faith” with the obligation, he said, adding, “an attack on one is an attack on all.”
Biden also pressed Europe to think about challenges in a new way — different from the Cold War, even if the two biggest geostrategic adversaries seem familiar. “We must prepare together for long-term strategic competition with China,” he said, naming “cyberspace, artificial intelligence and biotechnology” as the new territory for competition.
He argued for pushing back against Russia. He called Putin by his last name, with no title attached.
The President avoided delving in to the difficult question of how to make Russia pay a price without escalating the confrontation.
A senior White House cyberofficial told reporters this week that the scope and depth of the Russian intrusion was still under study, and officials are clearly struggling to come up with options to fulfill Biden’s commitment to make Putin pay a price for the attack.
Macron has made a habit of criticizing the NATO alliance as nearing “brain death” and no longer “pertinent” since the disappearance of the Warsaw Pact, that captured attention. Macron wants NATO to act as more of a political body, a place where European members have equivalent status to the U.S. and are less subject to the U.S. tendency to dominate decision-making.
A Europe better able to defend itself, and more autonomous, would make NATO “even stronger than before,” Macron insisted. He said Europe should be “much more in charge of its own security,” increasing its commitments to spending on defense to “rebalance” the trans-Atlantic relationship.
Dialogue with Russia
Macron also urged that the renovation of NATO’s security abilities should involve “a dialogue with Russia.” Macron spoke about the importance of dialogue with Moscow, saying that Russia is a part of Europe that cannot simply be shunned.
Given Biden’s firm tone on confronting President Vladimir V. Putin and restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine, this apparently softer French line on relations with Russia suggested possible future tensions.
Macron, speaking in English to answer a question, also argued that Europe could not count on the U.S. as much as it had in past decades. “We must take more of the burden of our own protection,” he said.
New realities
Macron made it clear that the postwar U.S.-dominated world order needs to yield to new realities.
Macron is determined to increase the EU’s technological capacities so that it can become less dependent on U.S. and Chinese supply chains.
A sovereign Europe
Macron, who faces a presidential election next year, has made the need for “a sovereign Europe” a core theme.
While France, like other European allies, has been delighted to see the end of the Trump era and has welcomed Biden, it has concluded that complete trust in the reliability of the U.S. is no longer a viable strategic option.
Biden, in contrast, wants to deepen those supply chains — of both hardware and software — among like-minded Western allies in an effort to lessen Chinese influence. He is preparing to propose a new joint project for European and U.S. technology companies in areas like semiconductors and the kinds of software.
China, a necessary partner
Merkel dwelled on dealing with China, which she said was “perhaps more complicated,” given its dual role as competitor and necessary partner for the West. “In recent years, China has gained global clout, and as trans-Atlantic partners and democracies, we must do something to counter this,” Merkel said.
“Russia continually entangles European Union members in hybrid conflicts,” she said. “Consequently, it is important that we come up with a trans-Atlantic agenda toward Russia that makes cooperative offers on the one hand, but on the other very clearly names the differences.”
No longer willing to simply follow the U.S.
Merkel made it clear that even though she welcomed President Biden’s overtures, Germany is no longer willing to simply follow the U.S. on the world stage.
The German chancellor stressed that words alone will not be sufficient. “It’s only actually good if you follow through,” Merkel said.
Calls to better regulate internet giants
The EU has largely set the regulatory framework for the chaos of the internet.
On Friday, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, called for the U.S. to join Europe “in creating a digital economy rule book valid worldwide, a set of rules based on our values.”
Ms. von der Leyen, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, cited the storming of the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 as “a turning point for our discussion of the impact social media has on our democracies.”
It was only a “short step from crude conspiracy theories to the death of police officers,” she said.
Regulating the power of big tech companies would be “an important step” in stopping political violence, she insisted, adding: “We want clear requirements that internet firms take responsibility for the content they distribute, promote and remove.”
Decisions must not be left to “the boardrooms of Silicon Valley
Decisions on content must not be left to computer programs or to “the boardrooms of Silicon Valley,” she said. They must be made by democratically elected legislators, an argument France has consistently made.
Investment agreement with China
On Dec. 30, just weeks before the inauguration, the EU clinched an important investment agreement with China, only days after a tweet by Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, asking for “early consultations” with Europe on China and seeming to caution against a quick deal.
Europe’s own course
Even as the U.S. resets under new White House leadership, Europe is charting its own course on Russia and China in ways that do not necessarily align with Biden’s goals, posing a challenge as the new U.S. president sets out to rebuild a post-Trump alliance with the continent.
Biden promised that the U.S. would again “shoulder our responsibility of leadership.”
But if by “leadership” Biden means a return to the traditional U.S. assumption — we decide and you follow — many Europeans feel that world is gone, and that Europe must not behave like America’s junior wingman in fights defined by Washington.
Demonstrated by the EU’s trade deal with China, and conciliatory talk about Moscow from leaders like Macron and Germany’s likely next chancellor, Armin Laschet, Europe has its own set of interests and ideas about how to manage the U.S.’s two main rivals, ones that will complicate Biden’s diplomacy.
“Biden is signaling an incredibly hawkish approach to Russia, lumping it in with China, and defining a new global Cold War against authoritarianism,” said Jeremy Shapiro, the research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
That makes many European leaders nervous, he said. And other regional experts said they had seen fewer signs of overt enthusiasm from the continent than Biden administration officials might have hoped for.
Hey guys, we’re back
“There was always a clear eyed recognition that we weren’t just going to be able to show up and say, ‘Hey guys, we’re back!’” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, who was in line to become the National Security Council director for Russia but who did not take the job for personal reasons.
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