Pull the brakes
Issue 90 - 1 March 2022 (7-min read)
If you had asked me two weeks ago if we will be on the verge of a world war come March, I would have probably called you an alarmist. Not because I had faith in Russian president Vladimir Putin to do the right thing but because of who the messenger was. America announcing that a foreign leader is preparing an attack is kind of like the boy who cried wolf. After one too many times, you learn to take it with a grain of salt.
Yet, here we are. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 21, initially on a peacekeeping mission, but the charade didn’t last long. By February 24, Russian military was bombing major Ukrainian cities and the attacks continue as I write this.
This week in The Global Tiller, we focus on one aspect of this major global event: how are we getting information about what’s going on in Ukraine and how is the media shaping our reactions. How can we pull the brakes on this fast descent into war hysteria and pause to reflect on what this war will do to us long after the dust settles.
To quote comedian John Oliver, you are either avoiding any and all news about Ukraine because it is stressing you out, or you are persistently following each and every update because of the exact same reason. If you find yourself to be in the latter group, like myself, you may have noticed just how quickly the media whipped out its war coverage handbook. Almost like this was its opportunity to shine, after scrambling to cover a pandemic where there are neither battlefields nor frontlines.
With foreign correspondents descending on different parts of Ukraine, pretty soon our television screens were filled with breathless reporters talking over blasts, sharing minute-by-minute advances of Russian artillery. I don’t mean to sound condescending, these are well-meaning individuals who are doing noble work. It’s thanks to reporters on ground that we know civilians are being targeted and that Russia could be committing war crimes.
But what is also happening is what American linguist and thinker Noam Chomsky calls "manufacturing consent" — a propaganda model followed by mass media to manufacture public consent by presenting news distorted through its own editorial filters. In simpler words, mass media is a product of its corporate owners, the corporations that advertise on it, the countries it operates in, the overall sentiments in the society, etc. Add to this the immediacy surrounding live television, or the short attention spans of social media, and you have unlimited news content with little room for subtlety and complexity.
It is important to be aware how the media shapes our thinking around different topics, but it is especially crucial in times of war, when emotions are running high and rational thinking seems scarce. The viral video of Ukrainian coast guards swearing at the Russian military before the latter bombed them for refusing to surrender was hailed by everyone — and rightly so, it demonstrated the bravery of the small against the mighty.
Yet no media verified this information before broadcasting it and hardly any of them gave coverage when the facts emerged that, in fact, the coast guards surrendered and were taken into Russian custody. The Guardian’s initial story is still up on its website and has not been updated with the new information. The facts do not take away from the bravery of the Ukrainian coast guards but the first version was a made-for-Hollywood moment that no media could resist.
This may seem like a small mistake amid a crisis that’s escalating as we speak but these small stories are contributing to a larger narrative. And it is these mistakes that illustrate that we are not pausing to take a breath to think before we hit 'publish', or go live. Why else would we witness multiple journalists saying the quiet part out loud: expressing their sheer disbelief over war in the 'civilised’ world or refugees now having blond hair and blue eyes?
Undoubtedly, it is beyond belief what’s happening in Ukraine and it is awful that the Russian invasion is expected to create seven million refugees. But it is still a good idea to ask yourself why you are feeling that outrage and disbelief. Is it because the victims have Instagram accounts and watch Netflix, as this Telegraph columnist seems to believe, or is it because human suffering is wrong, no matter which continent and no matter which eye colour.
It’s hard to say how this crisis will unfold but Putin putting his nuclear force on alert and the growing calls to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine signal the need for a rapid de-escalation. Now is the time to pull the brakes and reflect on what war will do to us.
Until next week, take care and stay safe.
Hira - Editor - The Global Tiller
The fallout
The ripple effects of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine are going to be felt worldwide, the most concerning being its effect on the prices of food staples.
… and now what?
As the war rages in Ukraine for almost a week now, more and more people have started to pick their side: the Ukrainian flag tinting Facebook profile pictures and landmark buildings alike. You can see a collective of people standing up for one side, and some for the other.
But these displays of support also give me a weird feeling like this is some kind of a sports game: pick your team and go cheer for it. Put on some patriotic make-up and rage with the crowd against the other team, players and supporters alike. And as this show of support, the crowd wave in the global stadium, is going on, it seems like more and more people are willing for the “big game” to play on. Volunteers are flying in from different countries to enter the arena battlefield and the rhetoric is all about taking down the other side.
Is this the result of a media frenzy we’re living in where every newsworthy situation becomes a perverse entertainment? Or is this just the persistence of our typical attitude: strengthening our sense of belonging by opposing others, whoever the other may be? I’d say its the second hypothesis. Throughout history, systems of governance, including nation states, have perpetuated this strategy of creating a collective narrative by pointing at the common enemy. Let’s be together because others are against us. That’s certainly what Putin is telling his people, but what are we telling ourselves?
We are living in times where challenges are no longer limited to one side, or even one country. Scientists told us only yesterday that we’re dangerously close to the ultimate tipping point of saving our planet from irreversible damage. In this context, jingoism is no longer relevant, if even acceptable.
Most people in the world are standing for peace, for collaboration, for unity, for finally working together to guarantee our long-term survival. Yet they are being led by leaders from the ancient age, who are perpetuating divisions to solidify their power. Standing at the end of their never-ending tables, they impose their world views, perpetuate old narratives that hardly make sense to any one living in present times.
So what if, instead of falling down the path of old habits, we try to uphold our values and ask our leaders, all of them, to stand up to them. If you favour peace, then don’t even think about sending troops. Find other means to solve this nonsensical conflict. If you favour global cooperation then become a party to the International Criminal Court, strengthen the UN. If you’re acknowledging the need for a long-term strategy, stop focusing on geopolitical games and give as much power to fighting climate change as you do to your polluting army. How about transforming your old military alliance into a Ministry for the Future, as imagined by Kim Stanley Robinson?
We don’t have time to wait for others to do it first. The old excuse of "that one did worse" is no longer acceptable. If you claim to have your values and your ideals, live by them without having others call you out for not practicing them. Instead of being riled up like sports fans, maybe we also need to do our duty of holding them accountable.
Realpolitik is a thing of the past. Value-based and existential leadership is the way forward. We’re living an era-defining moment these days. Let’s see if it would be a bygone era, or a new-dawn one.
Philippe - Founder & CEO - Pacific Ventury