According to my record, today hits the 400 day mark since the Russia invaded Ukraine last February. Four hundred days is a long time. For some it’s eternity. Others may have forgotten about it due to our short attention span.
On a nearer topic, yesterday’s school shooting in Nashville marks the 89th school shootings this year in the US. Consider today is 28 March, that’s more than one shooting per school-day discounting the holidays. Not hard to imaging we will have another record year at this rate, unfortunately.
Should I include other topics such as Covid pandemic, climate change, or other trends? Not necessary. I think you got the picture. Even though the examples given illustrate the terrible states we face, that is an inaccurate picture. A more balanced view, according to Dr. Max Roser is as follows:
The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.
In fact, all three statements are true.
Case in point – technology has improved our life expectancy, catapulted our economic development, and reduced poverty around the world. The world today is indeed much better. What makes a difference is the last sentence: The world can be much better.
Wouldn’t it be more useful for public debates and policies to be based on data instead of emotions?
Running with Buddha 