First of all, I’m not right. Or wrong. But I do think that even in times of
crisis it’s important to discuss, to laugh, to cry and never to fall into the
trap and believe that there’s only one truth in public discourse.
Monoculture in public debate is as dangerous as it is in
farming.
The higher short-term yield comes with a long-term price to be paid, which is
polluting our commons. Rather than looking for diverse solutions — even those
that might be right in front of us — we adhere to one way, one language, one
mind. History should have taught us a lesson or two by now. Greta
Thunberg
and Extinction
Rebellion
don’t agree — or act — according to the political agenda on climate change but
want us to wake up and realise we need to move faster.
Patriotism versus democracy
As more and more countries fall in line and adopt the same procedures to tackle
Corona, whether right or wrong, the public debate is lacking diversity — and
you’re labelled as un-Danish, un-American, etc if you don’t join the parade and
clap your hands like a brain-washed North Korean.
I see a lot of stones being thrown these days. Public outcry. People looking at
each other on the street as if a fellow human being taking a stroll is a zombie
with bubonic plague. People are collectively turning into Stasi agents, spying
on each other’s behaviours online and offline. A Facebook post that doesn’t fall
in line with establishment thinking receives hate-like comments or is labelled
as ‘fake’ or ‘unpatriotic.’
Don’t throw stones; be kind
When it comes to Coronavirus, the climate emergency or any other disaster, we
shouldn’t throw stones — but give people a hand (that has been washed with soap
for at least twenty seconds). We shouldn’t antagonize; rather, we should
empathise. Let’s say you were good at math at school — you wouldn’t point
fingers and ridicule your fellow students who weren’t as good as you, would you?
You would offer to help. I observe too many stone throwers and too few people
willing to empathise, listen and actually do something.
Oh, let’s take COVID and young people. Sigh. I witness again and again people
condemning youngsters throwing a party, playing football with their friends or
celebrating a birthday party. They’re quickly branded as dumb, anti-social or
lacking parental supervision. I can hazard a guess that you’ve been young at
some point as well, right? When you’re young, you have an anti-establishment
mindset; you don’t like to be told what to do. Do you think alienating them will
help achieve the wanted results? Put yourself in young people’s overpriced
sneakers, please.
We don’t all have to agree
Even in a crisis there’s no excuse for not exercising those neurons in the
frontal cortex or pumping a little extra blood into your heart. It’s in crisis
situations like these that our hard-fought democratic values, our human rights
and our freedom of speech are especially vulnerable to attacks, ridicule and
ignorance. What exactly is it to be ‘socially-minded,’ ‘community-spirited’ or
outright patriotic? Are you to define that? Is that social conscience simply for
those who happen to have the same passport? Or when we’re dealing with a global
crisis, will our empathy become unrelated to the colour or origin of that
passport?
If we learn to see beyond the tips of our noses and adopt a global empathy, we'll be able to tackle this virus — and the even bigger crisis of the climate
emergency. Only history will be able to judge if the response to the Coronavirus
— or the so-far lacklustre response to the climate crisis — was the right
choice. I’m not a Dane, I’m not a European — I’m an inhabitant of this Earth,
like every one of you. That comes with a certain responsibility to our fellow
humans and a responsibility to our fragile eco-system we all depend on. Please,
we don’t all have to agree. But as long as I’m on this Earth, I’ll defend my
right and my fellow Earthlings’ right to speak up.
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Thomas Kolster is an internationally recognised marketing & sustainability expert, author and keynote speaker, and founder of the global Goodvertising movement that’s inspired a shift in advertising for the better.
Published Apr 17, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST