These are difficult times for humanity. Having endured the deadly wave of the covid pandemic we walked straight into Russia’s war against Ukraine. And as if that was not enough, here we are in the middle of one of the most devastating wars of recent decades in Gaza. Meanwhile the world order is tested as the antagonism between America and China enters a more confrontational phase. All that happens while we try to contain the risks from climate change, a deteriorating ecosystem, and the rise of powerful AI applications. That’s where we stand as another year is approaching.
And yet as a species, we have achieved remarkably great feats. Our greatest achievement is that although we started as a weak species in a very unfriendly natural environment, we finally managed to tame nature and thrive as the dominant species of earth. (I recently read that a study found evidence that our species had been reduced to just 1000 individuals before it managed to bounce up again.) A look at our recorded history also shows that through fits and starts we have made tremendous progress in feeding more people, educating more children, healing more sick people, discovering more and more secrets of our natural world, respecting the personal and collective rights of more people, and be connected to more people than ever before. To help us march together in the paths of peace and prosperity, of science and health, human rights, environmental sustainability, and other areas, we have also established global institutions, from the UN to the WTO. These are manifestations of our human nature at its best.
Unfortunately, at the same time, we have conducted ourselves with cruelty, intolerance, and greed against other members of our species. We have fought bloody wars, persecuted and annihilated millions of fellow humans, erased cultures and religions, enslaved people, and occupied foreign lands. That’s humankind at its worst. The last year alone, 108 million people were displaced globally due to armed conflicts and persecutions. Among them, there were 30 million refugees. The latest edition of the Global Peace Index (from the Institute of Economics and Peace) shows that last year 238,000 civilians died in global conflicts, a 96% increase over the previous year. Civilian deaths and displacements have come at a cost of $1 trillion or 13% of the global GDP. And right now, 91 countries are estimated to be involved in international conflicts compared to 58 the year before. These statistics suggest that we still are the greatest danger to our own species.
At the root of these conflicts and devastation lie the dark sides of ethno-nationalism and unchecked religious fervor. Coupled with racism, cultural biases, and greed human-against-human strife continues to take us away from the paths of progress and peaceful co-existence. Ethnicity, religion, race, and culture turn bad when they instill in us an uncompromising conviction of superiority that opens an almost dehumanizing gap between Us and Them.
There is a lot of controversy whether intrahuman violence predates the emergence of the institutions of state and organized religions some 8 to 10 thousand years ago. What is not in doubt though is the enduring power of the tribalism of Us and Them and its hold on modern humankind. On one hand, our cognitive and critical thinking powers drive us to inventions and innovations that often surpass imagination. On the other, the grip our emotions command on our behavior can turn everything to instruments of also unimaginable harm.
What is also not in doubt is how emotions can move masses of people into destructive collective behavior leaving only a few to go against the waves of aggression and domination. We are seeing this right now as the war in Gaza rages in apocalyptic fashion. Many of the cries of protests from both sides call in overt or covert terms for the elimination of the other side. What is remarkable many of these uncompromising voices come from supporters of the parties who live far beyond the theater of the war or have no familial relationship to the combatants. We should expect that such distance would produce more balanced and less emotional protests. But they don’t. That shows the power of the Us versus Them divide.
And yet, the voices of reason, of empathy, of reconciliation do exist. Out there, there are courageous and kind voices from both Israelis and Palestinians that argue for reconciliation, tolerance, and co-existence. The most uplifting article I have read so far was one by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times (11/16/2023). It tells the stories of individuals, Israelis and Palestinians, who have come to know each other and have tried for years to work together for peace, even now through these dark days when emotions run hot and visceral. These are people who have the emotional strength to bridge the gap between Us and Them. They are capable to see more of the common humanness that binds us all than the differences that divide us.
Humans, being the most prosocial animals, have the capacity for reconciliation, much more than other species. The same holds for nations. In the post War II era, France and Germany finally decided to bury the hatchet and out of this came the European unification project. America and Vietnam are now trading goods instead of bullets as some 50 years ago.
The greatest and most remarkable catalysts for reconciliation are though single individuals. These are individuals who have the gift, plus the courage, to walk us over the gap between Us and Them. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela are some of these remarkable humans. Their message was not that their side should live in peace by defeating and dominating their opponents, but rather how to live peacefully with them side by side.
If we have a chance to build a better world we better then listen to the voices of the kinder, more generous, more tolerant, more compassionate, and less greedy among us. These may also be our inner voices if we only want to listen.
That’s my new year wish. Let’s all try to bridge the gap.
Let's Reason 