State of the World (March) - Thoughts from Niels

Portrait of Niels Lan Doky in Budapest by Attila Kleb form the recent tour of Europe with Jazz/Takes Supergroup feat. Bill Evans, Darryl Jonas & Harvey Mason

It’s the first Sunday of the month, and my monthly commitment to spend this one day a month to gather an overview of the state of the world, most often seems hard to find time for in this ever increasing acceleration of everyone’s hamster wheel in most parts of the world. But that fact alone is a key element. The world no longer seems to have the time and space to think anymore, let alone to make good decisions and conduct sound planning. So I have decided to TAKE the time and see if I can gather some fuel to make better choices and decisions.

As I am writing this, our capital here in Denmark is still in the Top 2 (this year surpassed by Vienna)  on the list of the world’s most liveable cities according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey, based on culture and environment, education, health care, infrastructure, and stability. Many of the world’s most liveable cities in this year’s edition are in western Europe. CNN Travel hasals pronounced Copenhagen to be “Europe’s capital of cool” in December 2021 and Denmark is still in the Top 2 on list of the World’s Happiest Nations 2023 survey, based on gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.

So on a quiet Sunday morning like today here in Elsinore, Denmark - with the sun shining from a clear sky and its rays reflecting beautifully on the gentle waves of the sea, everything seems serene. Not least compared to other parts of the world that I have traveled to extensively this past year, some of which feel like war zones in comparison. So from my Danish perspective today all is fine.

However, as I read the news, a very different picture forms, suggesting the rational conclusion that our little oasis here might be imperiled. A quick glance: 

The war in Ukraine is now over a year old with no end in sight.  Putin’s war is failing and it looks like he does not care and wants to take everyone down with him, including his own people. Ukraine seems to prefer victory at all costs even if the price to pay turns out to be a total destruction of their country, with extensive bloodshed on both sides in the process. Finland is now joining NATO. There are growing fears about an imperiled nuclear plant in Ukraine and a call from European leaders to fight disinformation. Chinese arms could revive Russia’s failing war and the geopolitical super power tension between the US and China is rising. The China-US contest is entering a new and more dangerous phase. America’s commercial sanctions on China could get much worse and Chinese officials rage at what they see as American bullying. Taiwan is the big elephant in the room. If China were to invade the island, and America were to defend it, a war could escalate quickly. America and China share a common interest in avoiding a third world war. Somehow, the two rival superpowers must find a way to live together less dangerously. In America, a former president is facing criminal charges for the first time, and mass shooting #130 in the US this year alone just occurred in a school in Nashville. The number of singles is growing at an exponential rate around the world, mating and household formation is declining at a critical rate. Experts correlate the increase in crime and antisocial behavior with the growing loneliness, social isolation and lack of love. For the first time in 25 years, poverty is increasing around the world. This means millions more children are going hungry. A proposed solution to tax the mega-rich could supposedly lift 2 billion people out of poverty. Will the 20 wealthiest countries agree to implement that? On another note, Earth is likely to cross a critical global warming threshold within the next decade unless drastic changes are made, a major U.N. report said. The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, says it is still possible to hold global warming to relatively safe levels, but doing so will require global cooperation, billions of dollars and big changes.

Overall It’s not looking good and there are certainly all the reasons you can imagine to worry about what world we are in the process of handing over to the next generations, including the one we are raising right now, which to a large extent is taught to not only accept but also to replicate the enormous mistakes made by the generations before them. 

However, we live in a crucial and pivotable era, where our choices and actions as a species will determine whether we will soon disintegrate, self-destruct and/or permanently destroy our habitat - or come to our senses in time and find the courage and will to take the bold action that is inevitably required to save what’s left of this beautiful garden of Eden that we lived in for millions of years. 

I do believe in the good of mankind. The glass is always half full, never half empty for me. That’s why I also long for more positive stories in our negativity-driven news media industry. To counterbalance people’s perception of reality or and to inspire people to see that the glass is in fact half full - because it still is. I do believe that optimism and imagination are important drivers in all human achievements. To quote Einstein “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. I imagine a future world for my children and grandchildren that is based primarily on love, harmony and cooperation. And on a daily basis I try to act as if that world already exists. In my mind it does. All of human history’s great creators and innovators have already proven that you can conceive and create abundantly from the seeds of your limitless imagination. 

Mother Teresa was once asked to join an anti-war demonstration, but she immediately declined. When asked why, she simply replied that if the same organizers would organize a pro-peace demonstration instead, then she would join for sure. Think about that for a moment, and use it as a metaphor for other positive/negative dualisms. It’s about looking up and ahead, for the new, the unknown, towards progress, improvement, remedy, solutions -  and not about looking back and condemning damage already done or lamenting about errors already committed. We live in a field of endless possibilities and we have more skills and experience than ever before. Can we solve this? Yes, absolutely for sure. Will we solve it? I have no idea. But we will know the outcome in this lifetime. 

Niels Lan Doky

Elsinore, Denmark
Sunday April 2nd, 2023