On January 1st of 2022, I still held an optimistic conviction that universal Peace and Prosperity for all beings on our planet were not distant aspirations but achievable realities. Fast forward to January 1st, 2024, and the landscape appears starkly different, my conviction still optimistic but expectations of timelines shifted further in the future. The unforeseen events, notably Russia’s actions in its pursuit of extra territory, have shifted the narrative. Russia attacking a sovereign country for the sole purpose of acquiring extra land that historically hasn’t even ever been under the direct control of Russia wasn’t on my bingo card. Before I continue let’s be clear that the Soviet Union is not Russia, as Russia was part of the USSR but the USSR was never only Russia.
The annexation of Ukrainian lands raises profound questions about democratic principles and the global ramifications of such actions. As I reflect on the unfolding events, it’s essential to always keep in mind the differentiation between the Soviet Union and present-day Russia, acknowledging the complexities of historical contexts and their impact on geopolitics.
The geopolitical chessboard has seen unsettling moves, challenging the very foundations of trust and international cooperation. The invasion of Ukraine and its repercussions have led me to question not only the actions of specific leaders but the broader implications for the global community. In this blog, I delve into the dynamics of power, the fragility of democratic principles, and the uneasy balance between territorial ambitions and the quest for lasting peace.
Regarding what I’ve said at the end of the first paragraph, Crimea perhaps could be seen as a gray zone, but only if you are taking a short historical viewpoint and are in favor of autocratic ruled countries. If you truly stand behind democratic principles you could never argue in favor of Russia taking over Crimea and holding on to it without (severe) consequences and penalties until they hand back governance of the Crimea area to the Ukrainian government.
Everything that happened in February 2022 and that’s continuing to happen to the Ukrainian people is evidence that Putin is running a terrorist state and that Russia can never be taken serious as a trustworthy partner as long as Putin and his cronies are in charge.
Does this mean that I lost faith in the global community ever be able to achieve Peace and Prosperity for all living creatures on this beautiful and majestic planet? This can only be answered with a resounding no, because even though we as the living collective of Homo Sapiens Sapiens need to prepare ourselves for more wars to come, I wholeheartedly feel that the global collective will not tolerate injustice and the mass killings of innocent people. Because of democratic principles engrained and protected in many countries around the world that are already holding governments accountable for their (in-)actions, communities can already work together more effectively to drive change. Individuals can become evil assholes, the collective of humans however is inherently benign.
To fight for freedom is never accepting injustice, while accepting freedom is realizing that our sense of injustice is never a justification for causing (mental and/or physical) pain to one other human being, much less killing someone when your own life was never in danger of physical harm.
This of course also counts for Israel trying to justify the killing of innocent Palestinians civilians for the brutal attack that terrorist leaders committed with the false mandate of the Palestinian people living in Gaza. Killing innocent people as retribution for the atrocities of others only makes you as wrong as the people who committed atrocities again you (your country). Current leaders in Israel who are masking their vengeful atrocities under the guise of national security are lying to their people, because in the end, the good-will that they are collectively loosing will only hurt them even more long term. Same as with the illegal and often violent occupation and settlement expansion of Palestinian lands, these practices may give the people of Israel pride of their achievements but in the end they cannot find Peace without stopping their expansionistic greed for others’ people lands.
When taking all macro governmental developments happening around the world, as disappointed as one can be that there are people still choosing violence over mutually beneficial coexistence with each other, seeing that we’re still in essence living-beings driven by our primal instincts and desires, one can only stay positive and hope that the collective will put a stop to all this violence for once and for all, sooner than later.
When it comes to how fast we will get to global Peace, first, history needs to dictate if Russia was a catalyst for the current war in the Palestinian-Israeli region and the many other possible wars that could start because the leaders in those countries feel emboldened to take possession of land to further expand their territories. You can already see that the leader-friends of Putin, for example in Venezuela and China, are already taking steps to forcefully take control of sovereign lands in possession of people governed by democratically elected governmental systems. It is obviously in the best interest of the friends of Putin that either the war in Ukraine that Russia started goes as long as it can, or for Russia to win the war and keep the stolen sovereign land of the Ukrainian people.
Here in the Netherlands voters decided last year to give a political party with alleged ties to Russia and whose political leader is opposed to military aid to Ukraine. I believe that when you ask people who voted for this party the majority will tell you that they don’t believe that they will actually cut aid to Ukraine [and thus help Russia win the war], they only voted for them because of other concerns on their mind. Time will now tell who the Netherlands will support in the war Russia started in Ukraine going forward. One thing we can all be certain is that if Russia wins in Ukraine, not only we can be assured that Russia will not stop with their expansionistic desire but other countries like China will also start killing innocent people just to be able to control more land.
Achieving Peace is not solely dependent on Ukraine winning, but Russia winning will make achieving Peace much more harder to do. Same as with the fact that achieving Peace is not solely dependent on us succeeding in reducing our effect on climate change, but without reduction of our climate footprint on this planet, achieving Peace becomes so much harder.
While watching fireworks on the balcony at a cousins’ home a started realizing that I was enjoying watching and especially hearing the sounds of colorful bombs going off, while perhaps at that same moment people in Ukraine and Gaza are hearing those same or (much) harder sounds but then also needing to see how other people die or get injured or see their properties get (severely) damaged. Even though it pains me that I cannot do anything to immediately make all countries stop killing innocent people, I do my best to focus on the things that I can do to help the collective achieve Peace and Prosperity for all living things on this planet. I’m not arrogant to think that without me the collective has no chance of achieving this goal, but I do know that without me (and my companies) also trying will make us achieving Peace and Prosperity that much harder to achieve too.
Striving for peace and prosperity demands unwavering commitment, resilience, and the refusal to succumb to doubt. The journey might be challenging, but the pursuit of these noble goals is inherently worthwhile. I truly believe that the only regret one might harbor at life’s end is not in trying, for the pursuit itself is a testament to our shared humanity. The only regret you will find at the end of your life is when you didn’t try, not that you tried but couldn’t succeed! So, let’s dedicate ourselves to this collective endeavor, knowing that achieving Peace and Prosperity is not a final destination but a crucial checkpoint in our shared journey. Love life, spread kindness, and enjoy the journey.
Let’s all hope for a year that we can all be proud of in the way how we managed to survive it, and perhaps even how we improved our lives and the lives of people around us.
