A world in disunion

Those idealistic at heart may have thought that in a world connected as never before, the arrival of a common enemy of humankind would unite us as never before.

You know, like in the Independence Day movie when the aliens attack, we rally together, led, of course, by the USA, to smash those pesky extraterrestrials.

The new normal: Maintaining our distance, on a micro and macro level.

The real-life "enemy" we currently face, covid-19, isn't actually a living thing by most definitions but it attacks indiscriminately, albeit it's far more lethal on certain members of society than others.

Nonetheless, the collateral damage it is causing us, pretty much all of which is self-inflicted in a bid to check the virus' spread, is resulting in widespread harm across the globe. So if ever we should work together as a species, it would appear now is the time.

Self-isolating Uncle Sam

What is actually happening, though, is more of a retreat into our tribe.

OK, some of this is down to what are seen as necessary "wartime" measures. The free movement of people will only spread the virus and as the majority of our decision-makers are unwilling to contemplate herd immunity — there are experts who believe it to be the quickest way to defeat our fiend — it was inevitable that old borders would be re-erected, both between countries and inside national territories.

The question is, will we smoothly return to the kind of free movement we had before? If we do, it's sure to take some time. 

'The immediate fallout from this pandemic will be a facemask-wearing population in a more divided world.'

Other current manifestations of this inward retreat were obvious before coronavirus reared its crowned head.

The United States of America, for example, the country that Hollywood has been telling us for decades will lead us to salvation in the event of an existential threat, has been anything but united of late. Its internal divisions appear to have only deepened during this crisis.

What's more, and unsurprisingly considering what President Donald J. Trump has been telling us ever since he announced his attention to run for the White House, it's very much America first. Global leadership isn't a priority.

It is, to state the obvious, the USA's prerogative to pursue this course of action. I, for one, have no qualms in this regard. The problem is, its leaders don't always stick to it.

Chitaly

Then there's the European "Union". The Italians, not for the first time, have decried the lack of solidarity from EU member states. It would seem they have fair grounds for complaint. Of course, in recent years they've been getting quite cosy with the Chinese (we're terming this courting Chitaly), much to the chagrin of Europe's powerhouses France and Germany.

Speaking of the Chinese, from the outside (trying) to look in, it's a case of following the accepted script. Are they deliberately pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy? Or are we overestimating them?

Regardless, considering this coronavirus emerged from within its territory together with the general mistrust of the information emanating from there, the suspicion with which China and many of its citizens are viewed by some in the West is only going to deepen.

Thus, the immediate fallout from this pandemic looks set to be a facemask-wearing population in a more divided world coupled with greater state control and curtailment of previous "freedoms" we once enjoyed.

Government-controlled utilitarianism one could call it. We'll be told what the greatest good for the greatest number is. Exciting times lie in store.
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Whose land is it anyway?

Independence Day celebrations are novel events for us here at Wrong Way. The fact that the freedom of our own island from colonial rule has never been achieved to the majority of our past liberators’ wishes means independence is an awkward subject for us Irish. 

So instead of a national day commemorating a political foundation, we celebrate our submission to Christianity – or what is commonly referred to as St Patrick’s Day. 

In the past year, though, we’ve been able to witness at first hand a couple of nations getting all patriotic and merry to mark their birth as free countries – Chile last 18 September and more recently Colombia on 20 July. 

Independence Day celebrations in Bogotá, Colombia.

Both national days celebrate the defeat of the Spanish colonisers by, um, the previous Spanish colonisers. The kids grow up so fast, don’t they? The initial Spanish conquest was so successful that the indigenous populations they encountered were quite literally blown away by their new masters. 

These natives – well, those who remained – were reduced to mere silent and powerless spectators as the Old World invaders divvied up as their own what is Mother Nature’s earth. 

OK, there was some interbreeding between old natives and new settlers but for the indigenous that meant surrendering to the Spanish way of life – the opposite seldom occurred. Of course, this isn’t a unique story, the same happened in North America and in many colonised lands.

The lesser-spotted Kogi Indians of Colombia.

Hence, we can only imagine that these Independence Day celebrations are met with, at the very least, indifference among the indigenous. It must be like having a party in your own house that not only you do not want but the organisers didn’t even invite you or ask for your permission to hold it. And then you’re left to clean up the mess. 

For some of the old natives – particularly the tribal indigenous – the country and its borders that is Colombia or Venezuela or wherever doesn’t even exist. They live in a world – or at least tried to – without man-made borders. (For a previous article related to this topic, see Phantom Freedom at: http://bit.ly/SOQUl0.)

This whole indigenous versus Latino question is very topical in Colombia at the moment. In the country’s south-western department of Cauca, where both the indigenous populations and the outlawed Farc are at their strongest, the old natives have taken it upon themselves to defend what they see as theirs. 

They claim that the presence of the Colombian military in the area – to "pacify" the region as far as the Government’s official line goes – only attracts more Farc attacks, which have been numerous in recent times. Their lack of confidence in the state’s security to adequately protect them is deeply rooted in history. 

Meanwhile, for many Spanish Colombians living in the big cities, their belief is that the indigenous are in the pocket of the Farc – the removal of the army will only serve to strengthen the rebels, no more, no less. There could, certainly, be some truth to that. But it’s quite arrogantly dismissive of the indigenous’ own, unique concerns. 

Life before the Spaniards — the Incas Machu Picchu in Peru.

Of course, any group of people that feels it is being mistreated is quick to point to the rights it believes it is entitled to. The indigenous in these parts have a strong case going back hundreds of years in this regard. But as we all should know, with rights come responsibilities. 

Too often, different minorities are quick to demand the former, yet fail to face up to the latter. For one, if you claim you don’t recognise a certain authority or state and thus will not be bound by its rules, it’s a little bit rich to be asking for benefits and assistance from said authority or state. 

In an Irish context, the IRA and Sinn Féin know all about that. Sometimes you just have to face up to the reality of a situation, no matter how disagreeable it may be for you.

As ever in such conflicts, and as alluded to above, the lack of trust in the motives of the other side is at the heart of the problem here. 

The gun, however, has rarely provided a long-term, satisfactory, solution. These Independence Day celebrations could be seen as proof of that.