A Brazilian saying, often repeated in times of crisis, states that there is good news in acute times: things can’t get any worse. But they can; in fact, if nothing is done to improve things, they are bound to get worse. The comfort zone of always blaming someone else – the other person – is a big step towards chaos. Governments have a high degree of responsibility; but so does science, academia in general, which is responsible for seeking solutions; companies have to adapt, remembering that work is done by workers, people with names, ambitions, and limitations; and citizens can always do more, for themselves and for the community, even if it’s just a culture of demanding higher standards that better guides decision-makers. In this awareness lies the first step towards making the end of each year a step forward – not two steps back.
The world is dangerous, for various reasons; but above all, because we live in a time when some are walking towards the abyss of believing that their vision – of themselves, of others, of the world – is the only one that makes sense. The idea that others must follow it, that it is legitimate to impose relative values and subjective views, is wrong. In fact, the more we do this, the more radical and dogmatic this conviction becomes, the more violent the reaction it provokes.
The dogma of reason makes no sense. Therefore, if there is no absolute truth, we are left with ethics; that is, learning to coexist with others, realizing that there is not just one truth, but several.
In the 1960s – look how long ago that was – quantum physics proved that things we still deny happen today; the level of knowledge tells us that it is impossible, although we know they exist. For example, two bodies occupying the same space, or changing their behavior simply because they are being observed. This evidence created a philosophical block: if the assumption is not verifiable, the thesis is relative; the dogma of reason makes no sense. Therefore, if there is no absolute truth, we are left with ethics; that is, learning to coexist with others, realizing that there is not just one truth, but several. These things change over time and space, according to history, context, culture, and each person’s circumstances. We often return to this perspective which, incidentally, is perhaps the worst of all – except for all the others.
Each country, each politician, each institution and company, each citizen, can do a lot for a better year, remembering that their right to believe in this and that is, at the very least, equal to the right of others not to have worlds imposed upon them that they don’t see. There must be debate, discussion, negotiation; there are values that should be universal, such as individual freedom, the right to life, non-discrimination, and many, many others. One can – and should – defend these; but not everything else. And always within the limits of common sense, with the awareness that defending these convictions does not legitimize cures that prove worse than the diseases.
Happy New Year to all; be happy; leave others space to avoid conflict.
*General Director of PLATAFORMA
