E.S.G. - in trouble

E. - we are surrounded by the impacts of climate change, we know about; the bushfires, out of season, in Los Angeles; the cyclone making its way further south than ever before targeting Brisbane; the world's oceans drowning in plastic sludge; and yet we choose to think any course correction can be deferred. We continue to pursue a path of 'drill baby drill'. Scientists have been telling us for years that it is time to change direction, but because it doesn't have immediate impacts, on the political cycle, we have continued to kick the can down the road. There appears no imperative NOW and those who can have an impact on the outcomes appear too self-serving to be willing to make the right changes. They are unwilling or unable to have any empathy for their children's inheritance. There is no-one willing to use their intellectual muscle to mount the argument that Warren Buffet habitually preaches, about prioritising the long-term value, - in this case for the world.

S. - has been entirely ignored for generations as the gap between the have's and the have not's widened to create world-wide social unrest. Economic refugees, once lauded when they were white English, Irish and European, populating the 'colonies' and seeking a better life, have been pilloried as 'other', and treated as criminals when they hail from Mexico, Syria, Africa, and Palestine. Coupled with 'democracies' that in most countries have had years of neglect and been left to decay without any 'fit for purpose' maintenance or upgrading. These have played into the hands of a few who have used these tools, once of social cohesion, to work against their original intent. They have played into right agendas and been exploited to ever widen the very gap that initiated the unrest, including MAGA interests. This has been matched by the increasing power of tech conglomerates who have taken the rhetoric of Woke to exploit it. WOKE is being weaponised to discredit empathy and instead of understanding the suffering of others, it has demonised those in need of our help, using the variety of megaphones at their disposal. Serving the least able in society serves us all and prevents the nurturing of tomorrow's terrorists.

G. - good governance is the social contract that allows us to work and play together in harmony without wars and conflicts. It lifts all boats, improving the living standards of all. With well-constructed, collectivist, and just philosophies at its core, it provides for a winning solution that improves the lives of everyone. When those in power choose to usurp this contract for their own personal and demagogic ideals, then the tools, that once worked for us all, turn into weapons against us. Without the honourable principles that are the foundation of the social contract, then good turns to evil very quickly. Governance can be dismantled or turned on itself so that those with autocratic aspirations use and misuse these tools for their own authoritarian outcomes. Chaos and unjust outcomes for all ensue, and whilst a few dominate and benefit in the short term, most suffer unnecessarily. The key to a future of good governance is that there is full accountability that ensures anyone misusing the collective rules is held to account for their actions.

At the heart of all of this is the ability to empathise. If we discredit compassion and empathy as woke, we deny our essential humanity. It is vital for us to be able to live together in harmony - and for those steeped in the world's religions, often the source of both yin and yang of good and evil, then the biblical Luke 6:31 should be a reminder - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".