A request to our governments!

Dear governments all over the world,

as you typically love to come up with ten-point plans (or replace 10 by any other positive number N) and we are currently facing a shift to the right all over the world, I encourage you to tell us the N most important points that need to be tackled by humans to face the dangers of tomorrow.

I am speaking not about social equality, hunger etc. which are definitively important.

I am speaking about chances for societies, problems on which people can work together. I think mainly that technical innovations can stabilize societies and form solidarity within and across countries – because then one can be proud of the actual achievements of the people and not on some history, militarily strength etc. Technical innovations are real and touchable and therefore can be tackled!

Let’s formulate it differently: I strongly believe that the right-shift tendencies are a direct result of the lack of perspectives or hopelessness of so many people on this planet. One of the reasons is this ghost of climate change and poisoned nature that is around everywhere. Another reason is this feeling that a small number of very powerful people is actually controlling to many things somewhere in the background. This diffuse feeling is fought by creating clear enemies that can be fought against. Some decide to take the western nations to be the enemies, some decide to take the Arabic world, some take the capitalists or refugees, some the communists, others the elite etc. pp. The common thing about all of those people is that they feel so powerless and that they feel like they can not do something against this rising shadow. News are reporting horror stories each day. Lies are spread without control. It just does not feel safe. In this atmosphere of diffuse fear the populists have an easy time to point towards clear enemy stereotypes and get people voting them.

So good so far. This is nothing new. My actual assumption is, that people want to know what truly needs to be done. Governments should tell the voters what are the things that need to be done. What are the basic things that need to be done – technically? On what can be worked on? Again, technically – NOT SOCIALLY! People are bored of flowery words about fighting poverty and these things. Why do governments not clearly state some realistic goals on which we all together can work on – aims with which we can identify!?Think about the flight to the moon. The STGs by the UN are not clear enough, they are too many and partly not realistic as such. I would like to have similar goals but more concrete.

„We need accus with a capacity of XXX. The transportation in Germany (replace by any other country) has to be transformed to be solely based on renewable energy till year XXX.“

„We need the capacities to do seawater desalination on this and that scale.“

„We need fast internet (more than X Mbit/s) all over the country/countries. Internet has to be independent for each country and secure.“

„We need to find a technology that is able to feed people. How to grow food in a sustainable way?“

etc.

I do not know the crucial technological steps but I think it might be something going in that direction. Of course it should be formulated way more concrete. The governments are the ones which responsibility, resources and power it is to name these points!

If it is not a cultural change of making all of us to be hippies and green party voters the only way human can tackle the upcoming problems is technology and science. And those two things are indeed areas on which people can be proud – even the ones that are not directly involved. Everybody can feel part of it. The astronauts flying to the moon also needed bread from the bakery and people cutting their hair.

I’m sure most disappointed people who now vote for populists just want to be proud of their country and their people. Just give them another reason than strength of the executive or military! Let this reason be something clever! Think of Germans being proud of engineering, proud of renewable energies, proud of a good education system in the past. And now? Think of the Scandinavian countries where people seem to be proud of their great modern achievements. It only needs to be communicated in the right way.

So please, lovely governments, remember the flight to the moon and forget wars and enemies. Let society grow back together. Name the things! We – your voters- long to it!

Sincerely,

Your querdanker