Syria and Pivotal Moments in History.
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Simultaneous and unpredicted events all over the planet remind me these days of pivotal historical moments. The "revolution year" of 1848 is an example of a wave of political upheavals all over Europe.
Similarly, the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the Arab Spring in the early 2010s come to mind. These are periods when the pace of history accelerated and surprised contemporary politicians, diplomats, and journalists.
The year doesn't belong in that category yet, but today's news cycle is spinning at a dizzying pace. Significant developments coincide in countries as far apart as South Korea, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
Add to this mix of events structural changes in the power balance between countries and Trump's election in the US. Then, sprinkle this combination of ingredients for disorder with a firm dose of climate change and other aspects of the steady deterioration of our environment.
The result is a cocktail of instability. I can't predict what will happen, but it's good to remind ourselves that shaking to a cupboard full of China is usually not a good idea.
President Yoon Suk-yeol failed to implement martial law in South Korea, and then parliament failed to impeach him. This crisis has shaken the stability of one of Asia's most robust democracies.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, the ruling Georgian Dream party's decision to suspend European Union accession talks until 2028 has sparked widespread protests and a violent crackdown, raising concerns about its future geopolitical orientation between the West and Russia.
In Romania, the constitutional court has called off the presidential election. The list of last week's events is longer; in regular times, a single event like this would be the main headline news for weeks.
Syria
Keeping in mind those historical periods of significant changes in short periods, I note a pattern of dramatic events leading to other dramatic events elsewhere that nobody predicted.
The recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, attributed to the reduced support from Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah due to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, is a prime example of such a domino effect.
History has shown us that these moments of accelerated change often catch us by surprise. After the 1989 events, experts explained that such a massive system collapse was bound to happen. But they had the benefit of hindsight: nobody had predicted it.
What’s next?
This pattern of unforeseen consequences makes me worry about the near future. Which dramatic events will soon unfold that nobody has predicted yet but which experts will later analyze as the completely logical outcome of the current political situation?
Week 30
Since I started the 52-day countdown to the new year with 52 times a daily review of the news and personal memories, I increasingly notice the contrast between dramatic news events and my own life, where I try to capture the planet's beauty in my photography. After all the events of this week I just described, I'll skip the global news from week 30 and move to my photos of July 22-28.
It was beautiful summer weather, and I didn't leave my island. The photos show impressive skies, semi-feral ponies reflected in the water of small ponds, cows in a meadow, and a lane close to home with green trees; summer on the island is magic. The last picture is -again- Luna, ready to capture the dead leaf you can see on the right of the photo; she's making herself small and close to the ground to avoid detection.
Looking forward to your photos and stories in the chat.
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Deterioration -> accelerated change -> chaos -> ?
Going to look at beautiful images which make me smile 😊
Quite a volatile time - politically, environmentally, technologically, and socially. It is quite draining to try and absorb it all, hence the importance (for me) of appreciating the beauty around me and helping with local needs for respite. Obviously I am very privileged to have the option to do so, unlike those in war zones, in immigration detention centers, those suffering poverty and hunger, or simply living in places where life isn’t so “easy”. It leads me to ponder the adage “ignorance is bliss”; perhaps explains the happiness of ca 49.8% of the people who voted for president in this country.