Take Our Futures Back!
Harsh Truths, Stolen Futures and Elephants
Today we will travel through multiple Presents:
⏳Our times left
🐘The 3 Elephants in the room [in foresight and my head]
🥷Take our Futures back!
OUR TIMES LEFT
We are usually busy traveling through time, to possible Futures and back, looking for pathways and insights that will help us make the best decisions today.
But when was the last time you stepped back to look at your won time? And I don't mean, your Futures [like we did last time]. I mean to your whole lifetime. Your time left!
IF WE ARE LUCKY WE'VE GOT 80 SUMMERS. THAT'S IT.
That shows how our whole life can fit on a pretty small piece of paper depending on our perspective. Just this visual can be enough for hours of thought, but let's bring in another level of data on top, shall we?
Is it just me or it started to get warm in here?
THE ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM ↓ 🐘🐘🐘
WE ARE SYSTEMATICALLY FAILING! 🐘
That is the first thing we must acknowledge to change course. We can't keep on being blindfolded by delusional promises of hope, like carbon capture, nuclear fusion, decoupling, or green growth. All of which, have been shown not to work or just not to be enough to scratch the surface. While the culprits of promoting these collective delusions keep banking on increasing fossil fuel emissions.
There are no Futures detached from the consequences of the active damage we keep inflicting on our ecosystems. You can get a better grasp of it on the video ↓
The most realistic paths to reversing global warming even with significant action will breach the 1.5°C threshold for at least a couple of decades before we can hope to return to pre-industrial temperature levels. That is with a lot of action!
“At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.”
― Chico Mendes
If such actions are not taken, we will have a huge slice of our planet that will become uninhabitable in 30 years. If we don't act.
Here lies the critical problem. We are actually acting in the wrong direction.
Global warming and its causes are accelerating exponentially. International agreements and corporate pledges are failing. In fact, a 2021 report by Climate Action Tracker found that of the 40 countries they assessed, only the Gambia's climate commitments were compatible with the 1.5°C target.
This is not ‘Climate Anxiety’ it is 'Climate Awareness'!
And it is terrifying! Global Leaders and Corporations keep doubling down on the destruction of Earth's systems.
“Environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening.”
― Chico Mendes
We all want to remain hopeful, but the truth is we're late. We can still bend the curve and reverse the damage but only by drastic changes and enormous efforts.
How can we push corporations and governments to act?
SYSTEMATIC OPPRESSION 🐘
Well, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of pressuring the Government would be to organize and protest. Peaceful protests and boycotts have paid off a lot in the past, and have been the greatest trump card of citizens in Western Democracies — the gold standard of liberty and freedom.
Once you can't protest against the Government, you are not free. You live in a Dictatorship, or so I've been taught. Is this still the case?1
These are Futures being stolen right in front of our eyes!
According to a report by Global Witness, 227 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2020 alone, making it the deadliest year on record for people defending their homes, land, and livelihoods.
Those fighting the good fight to protect our planet's well-being are being silenced and oppressed. Those selfless enough to study, act, and protest in the best interest of all are faced with brutality and 5 years of jail.
5 years taken from them.
5 summers behind bars. Because they organized to peacefully protest?
Meanwhile how many arrests were made on the UK's racist riots?
GENOCIDES, PLURAL 🐘
How can we even speak of Decolonial Futures when we are seeing the genocide of civilians live? War crimes being committed and condemned by the International Court of Justice. Settler violence in the West Bank, while Palestinian land is sold as private property in the US… And that is not all.
I can't believe what my eyes see but even worse is what my ears don’t hear.
THE SILENCE IS TERRIFYING
First they came for the comunists, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a comunist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
— Martin Niemöller
🇵🇸PALESTINE
We're witnessing a live ethnic cleansing campaign. Something I thought was bound to the past and history books.
“the genocide in Gaza is the most extreme stage of a long-standing settler colonial process of erasure of the native Palestinians,” — Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories.
🇸🇩SUDAN
Approximately 10 million people have been forcibly displaced in Sudan since the war broke out, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). —Aljazeera
“We literally don’t know how many people have died—possibly to a factor of 10 or 15. The number was earlier 15,000 to 30,000. Some think it’s at 150,000,” —Special envoy, Tom Perriello
🇨🇳CHINA
Reports of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, with an estimated 1 million people detained in "re-education" camps, according to human rights organizations.
The Chinese government’s revised regulations, earlier this year, in Xinjiang tightened the control over the religious practices of the predominantly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs, according to Human Rights Watch.
TAKE OUR FUTURES BACK!
Decolonizing the future starts now. If we don't acknowledge the harsh reality in front of us, we'll never create real transformative change. We'll just be practicing privileged intellectual escapism.
As architects of tomorrow, we bear a profound responsibility. Our visions of the future are not mere intellectual exercises—they are catalysts for change, inherently political and deeply influential.
Consider the transformative power of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. It didn't just describe a future; it ignited a movement. This is the potential we hold in our hands. This is what we should strive for.
Our challenge isn't a crisis of imagination, but a crisis of action.
In the face of scientific evidence pointing towards ecological collapse, we must craft futures that are not only inspiring but also just, equitable, and achievable.
We need to dive deeper, beyond surface-level analysis. We must grapple with uncomfortable truths and embrace constructive conflict. By asking hard questions and fostering open dialogues, we can shape futures that resonate with millions and inspire tangible change. We need to have the tough conversations.
Remember, the futures we envision today will shape the actions of tomorrow. Let's create visions so compelling, so inclusive, and so urgent that inaction becomes impossible. This is our call to arms—to imagine radically and act decisively for a sustainable world that benefits all.
This issue has been tough, so to end in a high note as a prelude to the next issue.
I'll share a quote from Cacique and Indigenous leader Uraan Suruí on the Long Game meet-up last week ↓
“There is a saying in Brazil that goes like this:
“It is too much land for a few Indians.”
but the question we should be asking is:
How come just a few Indians can protect so much forest land.”
— Uraan Suruí, Cacique
See you in the Future!
