Sept. 1—What kind of world would it be if heads of state loved their nation and its people as much as parents loved a child?
The work, the planning, the concentration, the joy—all the elements that go into working for a future, one that mortals can only directly experience in part.
On August 24, on the third day of the BRICS conference in South Africa, an old trade union organizer, President Lula da Silva of Brazil, watched the successful landing, with his colleague the proud and happy Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, of the Chandrayaan-3 on a never-explored region of the Moon, at its South Pole. Among other things, the questions about what mankind could and should be doing on that body arise, along with the mind-boggling possibility as to what mankind could and should be doing with the solar system, the galaxy and beyond. The Creator made a magnificently splendid world, and once taken in, it changes a person. What humans are capable of, what they should be doing, and what has been standing in their way, are questions that are, so to speak, put on the table.
Five days later, on August 29, Lula, in his weekly address to the nation, recounted what he’d learned from India’s accomplishment—the massive investment in the minds of the future, to create “many, many, many, many … geniuses.” Then yesterday, Lula playfully posted a one-minute video of the BRICS elder statesmen that captured, in their almost dance-like body movements, the exuberance of the historic moment.
Instead of political hustlers who make used car salesmen look good, what if citizens saw heads of state who loved them?
Even so, it is a bumpy road ahead to make such a possibility, not the exception, but the rule. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today explained to students preparing to enter Russia’s diplomatic corps the peculiar character of their professional responsibilities. His analysis featured the problem of the obsession of the unipolar world to preserve their unholy “right” to live off of the exploitation of weaker nations, an obsession that will only bring themselves down. But for now, the obsession will cause disruptions and special turmoil for the period ahead. And the diplomatic corps of the period ahead had to understand and absorb this peculiar moment in history, to steer us through the turbulence.
One can read in this briefing that: COVID-19 is on the rise again; British ideologues argue for starting up Afghanistan’s heroin production again; a regime in Kiev is having “Hitler-in-the-bunker” thoughts; the proud, productive nation of Germany has gone off the rails; venal political witchhunts run wild in Pakistan and Argentina; provocations are being whipped up on the border of a Belarus equipped with nuclear warheads—there’s enough to convince anyone that the odds are against the human race.
But if one is capable of loving a child, or of being struck by awe at the Heavens and what that implies about mankind’s unique genius, it is time to make some history. The upcoming Schiller Institute conference is next week, on September 9. Just move as fast as the 77-year-old Lula did last week: “Let us Join Hands with the Global Majority To Create a New Chapter in World History!”
