20/20 vision: the world in 2020?

August 28, 2020

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character."
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood." (Martin Luther King Jr, on August 28, 1963)

The world has abolished discrimination, not by decree but because people grew tired of racist statements, actions and behaviours.
Ghettos were destroyed; black young men no longer constitute the majority in state prisons and, seeing a black CEO in Europe, or a black President in the United States no longer surprises people.
I proudly look around and think to myself “Wow! Martin Luther King’s dream has not only come true but also expanded…who would’ve thought that one day Portugal would have a Jewish president? Who would’ve guessed that the biggest corporation, in this country, would belong to a black lady?”
I pick up a newspaper and learn that genetic diseases are waning due to so many ethnic mixtures.
57 years after the “I have a dream” speech, people who don’t engage in inter-racial marriages are looked at askance (this can be viewed as a regression, but we know how humans are: once they overcome an obstacle, they’ll build two more afterwards…).


November 11, 2020

"Be reminded"
“I want war. To me all means will be right. My motto is not «Don't, whatever you do, annoy the enemy». My motto is «Destroy him by all and any means». I am the one who will wage the war!”
“I have not come into this world to make men better, but to make use of their weaknesses.” (Adolf Hitler)

Neo-Nazi groups are illegal (they became illegal after a synchronised demonstration [in January 5, 2019; to mark the 100th Anniversary of the foundation of the Nazi party – Nationalsozialismus] in Paris, Lisbon, Rome, Berlin, New York and Moscow, which resulted in extreme violence between them and pro-mixed groups).
Governments, from around the world, hold a special meeting, in Gstaadt, and agree that these groups are a threat to national security. As such a bill will be passed declaring that Neo-Nazi activities will be considered an act of war, to be tried in a marshal court and punishable by Death penalty.
I finish reading this on the Internet and immediately order the TV to display the news channel. Interestingly enough, I watch a British black lady (from a Human Rights NGO) saying, “I’ve come to the sad conclusion that governments have learned nothing! People have died defending the freedom of speech. These groups aren’t traitors; they’re just expressing their ideas. And plus by listening to their idiosyncratic thoughts we may, actually, learn something about human nature!”
In shock, I nod, and tell my kids “The world has gone mad! Every time we seem to be progressing…there’s always a regression lurking! It’s the cosmic law operating, I guess…”

December 1, 2020

“African leaders realise that they are totally dependent on the whim of pharmaceutical companies outside their countries.” (Dr. Mohga Kamal Smith, Health policy adviser at Oxfam)

Sub-Saharan African governments invest the proceeds of their natural resources on their National Health Systems (by building water treatment stations, sewage systems and by producing vaccines).
To tackle aids deaths they also build labs to produce antiretroviral drugs (thus decreasing its cost and, increasing the percentage of HIV infected that have access to ARD), and to decrease the number of HIV infected people governments continue to invest on the successful Abstinence-until-marriage and Fidelity program.
Africa is starting to shape up…

The world in 2020? Much more interesting and challenging, I’d say…

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