Matthew Claxton muses about whether there is intelligent life out among the stars (Guest Column, May 24 Salmon Arm Observer). I sometimes wonder whether there is intelligent life here on Earth.
Humankind faces two major threats: the climate crisis and growing poverty, both in Canada and around the world. Scarce financial and human resources that are desperately needed to address these threats are being increasingly absorbed by the war in Ukraine.
The goal of the war is to “win.” But what can this mean when both parties to the conflict – the U.S. and Russia – possess nuclear weapons? Russia is committed to using its nuclear weapons if faced with an existential defeat. The U.S. is committed to responding with its own nuclear weapons.
The dangerous situation our world faces exemplifies the institutional insanity of the political classes that rule our world.
Could Putin really believe that Russia’s very existence was under such immediate threat that invasion was the answer? Could Western leaders really believe that Ukraine’s right to join NATO and reimpose its sovereignty over the Donbas and Crimea were causes worthy of jeopardizing millions of lives or risking nuclear war?
With some political will and compromise on both sides, the tragedy of the war in Ukraine was entirely preventable. Instead, as Noam Chomsky put it, we saw “criminality and stupidity on the Kremlin side, severe provocation on the U.S. side.”
Currently, we are wasting humanity’s last chance to save our climate, and the future of our children.
It’s time for Canadians to call on our federal government to work for a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine, and for multilateral diplomatic negotiations by all parties in the conflict — the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and NATO — based on the United Nations Charter, in order to ensure lasting peace and security in Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe.
Anne Morris
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