Survival manual in times of war – 11/22/2023 – Jorge Abrahão

When faced with the enormous human capacity to promote violence, the Enlightenment vision that still inhabits us loses strength and runs the risk of being erased. So, in the pendulum of illusions, skepticism steals the space from utopias, momentarily saddening life.

The ability of political leaders to promote and stimulate wars, to put economic interests ahead of those essential to life, to manipulate information to distort the truth, to act more for their own benefit than for the common interest, undermines the hope of facing the enormous challenges facing humanity, such as: hunger and poverty, climate change and the improvement of democracy, among others.

Today, in the world, there are simultaneously eight wars and dozens of armed conflicts, which proves our inability to avoid them through diplomacy, this “science” that focuses on achieving with words what we cannot achieve with force.

While almost a billion people go hungry, rivers of money are spent on producing the latest cell phone model, the new electric car, the computer or personal accessories that take advantage of our emotional weaknesses and existential voids to fill us with products in the dark. fridays of life. As never before, childhood games and competitions remain alive, revamped for adult life, highlighting the infantilization of part of society: real estate banking becomes a speculative bet on the stock markets, aiming for quick enrichment; “War” is the basis that fuels disputes for power in the business world and between countries: winning and liquidating the opponent is the goal.

We therefore live at a time when the scales of disbelief in humanity come to the fore and we are putting our ability to resist individually and collectively to the test.

If there is an encouragement, it is that, if we were able to build this reality that takes us to survival risks, we also, supposedly, have the capacity to promote the necessary changes: will and courage are required. However, it is important to be aware that the few who hold power in the world have disproportionate strength and, with their stupid strokes and decisions, often destroy, in the blink of an eye, years, decades, centuries of cultural wealth and knowledge. : the massacre of indigenous people in the Americas, the slavery of black Africans and the impoverishment of the majority of the population are prime examples of the brutality and ignorance that permeates the times.

Given this, what energy should each of us dedicate to this disproportionate dispute with the all-powerful people of politics and business?

I have seen people close to me, loved ones, become ill due to the load of negative information from wars, global warming, calamities and social injustices, the risks to democracy that we, in disbelief, experience.

What is left for us to do in the face of this reality? How can we maintain mental health, emotional balance and a vision of the future that fuels our actions? One way is to balance the resistance necessary to face these collective challenges with issues essential to our lives.

In this dance of contradictory stimuli, we must seek a balance that allows us to maintain mental health and existential vigor. It remains, therefore, to think about the decisions that we still have control over. Invest in quality relationships with family and friends; explore all possibilities of affection; unlock important dialogues that superficiality has not allowed; detach as much as possible from material issues; seek art teaching; be enchanted by cultural diversity; get drunk on the wonders of music; learn from the provocations of literature and cinema; frequent public spaces, where diversity teaches us to respect others; and dialogue with nature, contemplating it and integrating with it.

We have a lot to learn from these inspiring actions that can contribute to the formation of resistance that protects us from human insanity.

If history has shown that we are more seduced by repeating mistakes than learning from them, we can only cling to the alternatives that we still have control over because we need to be whole and complete to take advantage of any gap that allows us to promote transformations.

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