Dr Laila Alghalban
How can we navigate such an increasingly horrific, crazy, brutal world? At an accelerating pace, the world around us and in us changes; everything keeps falling apart and rearranges in a new, irrational way.
Humanity is undergoing an ethical, intellectual, technological, economic and even emotional seismic shake-up. Humans are grappling with what could be an “evolutionary process”, a new phase, where technology, which gingerly becomes part of our biological make-up, impacts what we eat, practise, think, and feel.
As Keir Starmer puts it: “The world as we knew it has gone.” Scrolling through your news feed, you would definitely be disturbed by the news. Here are some.
The sweet, celebratory marketing of despair
The mounting applications for Medical Assistance in Dying (Maid) and the swift acceptance of the institutions concerned to go ahead with the procedure are alarming, robbing people of hope and making it easier to give up and end life than to help them live better. Maid is being marketed as the best, celebratory way to leave.
It has become a lucrative industry, gaining more publicity. Over two consecutive days, one has come across many articles and reports on the issue, probably for more public discussion and normalisation, leading to further legalisation and social acceptance. One of the doctors involved in the procedure expresses their happiness for having the opportunity to assist hundreds of people to die, instead of helping them to live and manage their illnesses.
Maid and euthanasia have been a controversial issue for decades. The problem is that they become an industry which lures many people who are not terminally ill who buy the glamorous helo of human autonomy and liberty in making decisions on our bodies and lives. That is not hyperbole, it is a reality.
‘The art of the steal’
The tariffs war the US launched is putting the world on edge despite the 90-day suspension of tariffs on all countries except for China, who react with retaliatory tariffs. The hunger for economic hegemony and dominance at any cost as well as the obsession with the growth of the American economy would leave behind lots of vulnerable peoples who have been victims of globalisation and International Trade Agreements getting poorer.
The war between the world’s economic and political heavyweights would have severe consequences for poor countries, the global economy, and the environment.
The trade war would push people to lose savings and leave their homeland, undermine sustainable future, and threaten world’s peace. Ironically, many economists argue that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are used as a negotiating tool to reach deals on his own terms. Interestingly, the president has been given new titles such as “The Master of Chaos” and “ The Master of Distraction”. He is probably distracting attention from his plans for Gaza, Canada, Panama, and Greenland.
Rewriting history!
Mentioning the genocide of the Native Americans in American history books has been a taboo. Anglo-Americans keep erasing or whitewashing the dark side of their settler colonialism.
US history curriculum, and unfortunately many American history courses overseas, usually start when the colonists (pilgrims) reached the New World.
Paradoxically, one of native American peoples called the People of the First Light lent the newcomers a hand, saved them from adversity, and help them navigate that new world and adapt to it.
History books taught at American schools portrayed the pilgrims as noble heroes who tried to help primitive, uncivilised, stupid, gullible, monstrous, lazy, criminal ‘Indians’.
This nurtures what is called ‘colonial mentality’ that instills loving the white peoples and internalises negative self-esteem in the colonised. In fact, it’s blaming the vulnerable for being vulnerable, the poor for being poor, and the colonised for being colonised.
Fortunately, roots of awareness of the unjust atrocities and genocide Native Americans were subjected to have recently grown deeper and stronger in the minds and conscience of many people in America and worldwide. Thanks to the real-time genocide unfolding in front of our eyes in Gaza.
The unprecedented horror of genocide and mass displacement brought to minds similar horrific tragedies to vulnerable people worldwide and across history; tragedies many people used to cast doubt on their very existence.
Gaza’s calamity amid international silence and complicity magnifies the very evil instinct for killing innocent people and stealing their lands as long as the perpetrators are sure that they will never be held accountable for their crimes.
Speaking truth to power
Paradoxically, President Trump has issued an order to reshape the Smithsonian institution and museums of the marginalised communities in America, accusing them of nurturing anti- American ideologies that make Americans feel ashamed of their history.
The question is which history? Is it the history of the white European settlers who nearly wiped out a whole nation and enslaved Afroamericans? Is white America is the only version of the nation, ignoring the existence and the contributions of native Americans and coloured Americans in making America such a super power?
In fact, American history is full of shameful acts and there wouldn’t be any good in ignoring such atrocities. On the contrary, speaking truth would help historical wounds close and scars heal.
In fact, human history teems with similar tragedies. A case in point is the Anglo-Saxon invaders who displaced and massacred the indigenous Britons. Another one is the East Asian invaders who displaced and massacred the indigenous Ainu people in Japan. The list would go on and on.
The question is: Can we fix things in such a troubled world and save core human values before it is too late?!
By Dr Laila Alghalban
Professor of Linguistics
Faculty of Arts
Kafr el-Sheikh University
Email: [email protected]
