July 12—The first science images produced by the James Webb Space Telescope shine light on the universe’s past, and illuminate mankind’s future. The images themselves point to new discoveries to be made, and to a new capability for posing questions. The tenacity, curiosity, and drive of those who brought the project to its completion reflect a truly human mode of collaboration — of relating to others in terms of jointly achieving a mission of discovery and exploration, of social organization for the purpose of advancing humanity’s universal knowledge.
Such a breakthrough — led by the United States, a country which is otherwise being used to such destructive effect globally — is a piece of good news that will come to be the rule, rather than the exception, when the geopolitical logic of war, subjugation, and social strife is replaced, globally, with a new paradigm of political, economic, and social relations among people and nations. This change is urgently needed!
While NATO leadership continues to express its commitment to military practices designed to impose a heavy cost on Russia (while actually imposing a heavier cost on Europe, and the world as a whole), while pushing, at the same time, to counter or hinder China’s rise, most of the world is no longer under its spell.
The teetering finances and economies of NATO-land reveal an attempted unipolar bloc that has no carrots, and only a decreasing supply of (extremely expensive) sticks. Outside of NATO, the Five Eyes, and such close allies as Japan, there is essentially no support for destroying the world in order to send a “message” to Russia. And it is impossible not to see the enormous, blatant hypocrisy practiced by those who denounce Russian aggression while supporting Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen, the theft of Afghanistan’s financial reserves, and the use of “green” excuses to carry out continued colonial anti-development policies.
The absurdity of the world’s present condition is seen as a vignette in a ludicrous public service announcement by New York City, which explains, over the course of a minute and a half, what to do in the event of a nuclear attack with the same matter-of-fact breezy tone of voice as you’d expect in a video about taking several deep breaths to deal with stress, or a guide to registering for a library card.
What is required is a commitment to prevent nuclear war, by replacing the paradigm that could bring it about, with a vision of the future that places our destiny in the heavens.
