South Sudan has been experiencing more flooding and more drought. Both extremes in the same year. The South Sudanese did not cause this catastrophe that is befalling them. We, in the Global North, did with our carbon emissions. More detail in Ricky Lanusse’s article.
My apologies: the above link will probably not work unless you are a Medium member.
I’ll just cite some of Ricky’s direct words here:
The Global South has become collateral in the world’s climate hypocrisy. From South Sudan to Bangladesh to the Amazon, the nations most vulnerable to climate impacts are often the ones whose voices are marginalized in global negotiations. But let’s be clear: this crisis is not inevitable, nor is it unstoppable. The fate of the Global South is not sealed.
But it’s the Global North that holds the power to effect real change but continues to delay, to stall, to engage in endless, empty negotiations while the climate crisis escalates. These are the same countries that built their prosperity on centuries of carbon emissions — the same nations now watching these disasters from the sidelines and offering only empty gestures when it comes to global climate aid.
If the climate is more variable and more extreme, South Sudan is going to lose much of its agricultural capacity. A serious population decline is likely. One way or another.
So what can we do?
I’ll provide a list of traditional ways to help South Sudan:
· Protest to politicians to do more about climate change.
· Vote for politicians who seem to be doing more about climate change.
· Donate to agencies trying to rectify effects of climate change in South Sudan.
· Be welcoming to South Sudanese refugees coming or wanting to come to our country
Sounds kind of like empty action, doesn’t it? Well, maybe in absence of no action, these actions are better than nothing. But still, are you really satisfied you are doing all you can? Especially if you are not inconvenienced by climate change — yet.
I’m going to provide an unconventional action you can take.
First, a bit of history
In 1688, the British finished their civil war. The result was that the monarchy and aristocracy ceded a lot of power to a more functional parliament. While this democracy still had its flaws, this change in governance vaulted Britain to be a world leader in so many ways.
In 1789, the United States wrote their first constitution. Again, I could write about the many flaws that came with this document. But this change in governance vaulted the United States to being a world leader as well.
Democracy at that time was an experimental concept. Theory, but no practical examples. Many thinkers thought British and American democracies would never work; in their minds, it was only a matter of time before these societies reverted back to some kind of oligarchy. You see, human history was always about how a powerful small group dominated their subjects.
But something magical was happening. When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the USA in the 1830s, he noticed a new societal energy not seen in Europe: many ordinary people were driven to accomplish rather than to subsist.
He wrote Democracy in America, which informed Europeans of a new, possible societal order. Democracy was no longer theoretical: it was, relatively speaking, a well-functioning social engineering tool.
Societal thinkers were watching and learning from the American experiment. Perhaps the best example was the former Spanish colonies in the New World. Taking the example of the new USA, most of these new nations adopted a national constitution that was similar to the American constitution. They believed their constitutions would help bring peace and prosperity.
Even though Britain did not buy into the republic idea, it did informally adopt some of the new democratic approaches of the Americans. When Canada became independent in 1867, we got the British model. But we looked south for the spirit of democracy.
After WW2, Americans taught democracy to their vanquished foes: Germany and Japan. No, these countries did not copy the US Constitution. But they did learn the spirit of democracy. Within a generation, they rose above the devastation of their countries’ ruin.
The collapse of the Iron Curtain proved that Western democracy was destined to triumph over oligarchy. Political philosophers were predicting the end of oligarchies. Liberal democracies were the only good way to govern.
While Poland and Czechoslovakia managed the transition from communism to democracy quite well, we cannot say the same for Yugoslavia. Political parties formed around ethnic groups. The resulting civil war was stopped mostly by carving Yugoslavia into six or so new countries.
Democracy did not take hold in Iraq.
Russia abandoned democratic ideals. Democracy was on the surface but never instilled.
South Sudan was given a democracy when it became independent in 2011. Yet, like much of Africa, it never became a well-functioning democracy.
Western democracy used to inspire the world. It has lost its influence.
So what can you do?
If you are reading this article, you have the opportunity to read it. Think about that.
The people in South Sudan do not have this opportunity. The people in Gaza do not. The Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, and Yazidis in Iraq do not. The Russian people are truly lost. Not only are so many people living in such trauma that they cannot investigate my work, they likely do not have education or culture to understand it.
But you do. You have the education. You have the experience. You have the comfort.
I am an inventor of an alternative democracy. Here is my very short essay on this topic.
We are a culture that looks for negativity before positivity. So it is easy to poke holes in this 318-word document. If you reject the ideas outright on this 60-second read, then there must be some other source which you and the rest of the world can be inspired and learn from. Like how the 19th-century American democracy inspired the world. If not my work, please tell me where that inspiration is.
If you don’t see any inspiration and you want the world to better itself, then does it not seem logical that you should spend three hours to investigate my work properly?
After all, you will probably spend three hours on Medium this week, writing and reading. Could you not give the same time to an out-of-box idea?
The years 1688 and 1789 had some out-of-the-box ideas for the times. These ideas have outlived their naysayers.
I’m giving you the opportunity to be that inspiration. My alternative democracy only asks for 10 hours a month of volunteer time.
When you are spending those 10 hours, you are getting practical experience in TDG governance. You and your fellow TDG builders are building a new culture. You will be finding the more capable political leaders. You will be giving those leaders the tools to make better societal decisions. You might even be one of those leaders!
Your work will be the example for others around the world to follow.
Published on Medium 2024
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