2016 – a better year than 2015?

Since I wrote about 2015 the same pattern has continued. Good news mix with bad. Unfortunately it often feels like the latter would dominate. 

Donald Trump to me is bad news. God forbid he becomes the Republican presidential candidate, and I cannot even bear to think the thought of him as the next president. How is it even possible that we are contemplating the option? Incomprehensible.

In Finland the nationalistic, right wing organisation Soldiers of Odin have formed groups to patrol the streets of different towns in Finland, because they want to “increase peoples feeling of security”. Insecurity is, according to the groups, caused by the influx of people from different cultures to Finland, i.e. the asylum seekers. And above all they want to defend the security of women. And what does our government say? In practice, nothing.

Has everyone forgotten that this is how Hitlers rise to power started in Germany?

More bad news.

Folketinget in Denmark just approved a new law allowing police to seize refugee’s assets.

Sweden will expel 80.000 asylum seekers.

Poland has put their public service media under government control, following tightly in the footsteps of Hungary. 

And so on…..

Some positive signs.

There are so many stories about how ordinary people reach out to help and support, so many who do not accept, and who do something about it. The story of Nagu in southern Finland, the people of Lesbos, and countless other similar stories. There is Canada, with a new government and new ways of thinking. There is the new beginning for Iran, there is the, after all, very encouraging climate accord reached in Paris. Yes, I know it is going to be difficult to live up to the promises and achieve the goals, but still.

However, the big and disturbing question is – what on earth is happening with us? How did we get into this situation of confrontation, of seeing everything in black and white, of slipping away from what it is to be human?

I think one of the answers can be found in what Georg Henrik von Wright formulated many many years ago in his book Myten om framsteget (The Myth of Progress). It is almost scary to read today, so accurate was his prediction more than 20 years ago.

His essential message is that as long as the myth of progress, or rather, growth, remains the goal and the dominating ideology, not to be questioned, then decisions to ensure the continued growth of companies and their international competitiveness will always override any decisions to ensure sustainable growth. There will always be a conflict between two ways of looking at the world.

His views can be applied to nature and to ecology, but also to humanity as a whole.

If he is right, and I think he is, we should start digging deep, into the very foundations for our thinking, we whould start asking the really hard questions. Are we ready to do that? Do we have a choice?