Putin's invasion of Ukraine is like the early stages of the eruption of a super volcano - but unlike a catastrophic geophysical jolt, this geopolitical one can be constrained, if everyone helps.
Feb 24, 2023·edited Feb 24, 2023Liked by Andy @Revkin
Thanks Andy, there is tons of great info and insight in this post! It's appropriate that you address this topic, as people like Putin pose a serious environmental threat.
You write, "Ultimately, perhaps, we can all start to tip the balance not just toward stanching conflict and violence but toward fostering the conditions in society that sustain peace."
One way to approach your ambitious stated goal is to think as simply, directly and boldly as we can. For example, there was peace in Europe until a year ago, when a single violent man destroyed that peace. A single violent man. This isn't complicated! There's no need for nuance and sophistication here. Putin is doing us a favor by providing a simple, clear, unambiguous, real world example of what the primary obstacle to global peace really is. Violent men.
The direct simplicity of this insight is very helpful, because it tells us what we need to do to "foster the conditions in society that sustain peace". We need to remove the primary source of violence at every level of society, violent men. We need to think boldly on behalf of peace, real peace, historic peace, and have more confidence that we can accomplish such a goal. Violent men are not invincible, as they are only a tiny fraction of the human population.
We need to realize that we don't actually have a choice in the matter, because if we allow violent men to walk among us and be further empowered by an accelerating knowledge explosion, they will inevitably crash the modern world sooner or later. Putin could do so this afternoon if he so chooses.
Yes, agreed, getting rid of violent men is a huge challenge. So are a lot of things.
Climate change is a huge challenge too, but we aren't throwing our hands up in the air and giving up, right? We're planning migrations to Mars, we're working day and night to cure cancer, we're unlocking the secrets of DNA, we invented computers, the Internet, and now AI. All this and so much more is also very challenging, but we're putting our heads together and figuring it out. So let us please stop saying there's nothing we can do about violent men.
We should support the people of Ukraine in any way we can. Absolutely. Whatever it takes. For as long as it takes. But Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg. If we don't meet the challenge presented by violent men there will be many more such conflicts to come, and such horror shows will keep on coming, more and more, bigger and bigger.
Putin is teaching us what the problem is. Let's learn the lesson and act on it, while there is still time to do so.
Thanks Andy, there is tons of great info and insight in this post! It's appropriate that you address this topic, as people like Putin pose a serious environmental threat.
You write, "Ultimately, perhaps, we can all start to tip the balance not just toward stanching conflict and violence but toward fostering the conditions in society that sustain peace."
One way to approach your ambitious stated goal is to think as simply, directly and boldly as we can. For example, there was peace in Europe until a year ago, when a single violent man destroyed that peace. A single violent man. This isn't complicated! There's no need for nuance and sophistication here. Putin is doing us a favor by providing a simple, clear, unambiguous, real world example of what the primary obstacle to global peace really is. Violent men.
The direct simplicity of this insight is very helpful, because it tells us what we need to do to "foster the conditions in society that sustain peace". We need to remove the primary source of violence at every level of society, violent men. We need to think boldly on behalf of peace, real peace, historic peace, and have more confidence that we can accomplish such a goal. Violent men are not invincible, as they are only a tiny fraction of the human population.
We need to realize that we don't actually have a choice in the matter, because if we allow violent men to walk among us and be further empowered by an accelerating knowledge explosion, they will inevitably crash the modern world sooner or later. Putin could do so this afternoon if he so chooses.
Yes, agreed, getting rid of violent men is a huge challenge. So are a lot of things.
Climate change is a huge challenge too, but we aren't throwing our hands up in the air and giving up, right? We're planning migrations to Mars, we're working day and night to cure cancer, we're unlocking the secrets of DNA, we invented computers, the Internet, and now AI. All this and so much more is also very challenging, but we're putting our heads together and figuring it out. So let us please stop saying there's nothing we can do about violent men.
We should support the people of Ukraine in any way we can. Absolutely. Whatever it takes. For as long as it takes. But Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg. If we don't meet the challenge presented by violent men there will be many more such conflicts to come, and such horror shows will keep on coming, more and more, bigger and bigger.
Putin is teaching us what the problem is. Let's learn the lesson and act on it, while there is still time to do so.