Best of Times, Worst of Times

Summer Night’s Dream
Acrylic on Canvas/ 26” by 32”/ $ 498
Is it the best or worst of times? Surely we are living through confusing times.

On December 27th, President Obama was interviewed by Prince Henry and asked what he sees for the future. He responded by saying, ” If you had to choose a moment in history in which you’d choose to be born, you’d choose today because the fact is that the world is healthier, wealthier, better educated and more tolerant, more sophisticated and less violent.” His comment made me wonder if his words rang true and thought that a bit of fact checking was appropriate at the start of a New Year.   After hours of research, a have come to realize that fact checking  gives complex results.  I will share what I discovered in the next two newsletters.  Part I follows.

Part I

Last on Obama’s list is violence which I thought was a good starting place given the events of 2017.  Articles about gangs, drug cartels, Middle Eastern wars, and gun violence led me to believe that we live in more, not less violent times. However, some studies say otherwise. According to evolutionary psychologist Nigel Barber, the world is a lot less violent than at any other time in history. It is the constant diet of media reporting that turns killers into instant celebrities, and readers into empathetic dispensers of sympathy for victims, stirring a sense of danger that is out of proportion to threat. This is one man’s view based on an evolutionary time line. However, when I explored a shorter period of time, I came across a Forbes magazine article report of the latest Global Peace index published by the Institute of Economics and Peace in June, 2017. As well as full-blooded conflicts, the index takes into account everything from the level of government weapons purchases to homicide rates, incarceration rates, perceptions of criminality, political repression and suppression of free speech.

Over the past year, 93 countries were identified as being more peaceful, while 68 were considered to be less so. Improvements occurred in countries where state sponsored terrorism declined or because of a reduction of US forces, such as in Afghanistan. A disproportionate amount violence exists in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen. Fractionalized politics over the past four years is a major reason peacefulness declined in certain countries. Internal divisiveness leading to the election of Donald Trump, the Brexit vote, terrorist atrocities in France and Belgium, increasing inequality, rising perceptions of corruption and a decline in freedom of the press are contributing factors. The Unites States fell to the 114th spot, below Rhonda, Algeria and Belarus. Yet, despite these declines, internationally, there has been improvement. The most peaceful country is Iceland with New Zealand, Portugal, Austria and Denmark not far behind. Europe is still the most peaceful part of the world claiming 8 of the top ten countries.

What about health? The World Health Organization (WHO) collects statistics for 194 countries. In 2017 it compiled information around 100 indicators such as child care, sanitation, traffic injuries, infant mortality, communicable diseases and life expectancy. Overall, adult mortality rates declined in most wealthy parts of the world. Life expectancy at age 15 increased 2 to 3 years over the last 20 years with the exception of Africa where it decreased by nearly 7 years and the United states which is down 2 years due to opioids. The major causes of deaths among adults is due to noncommunicable diseases, injuries among males, and violence due to war. Causes vary significantly by region. About half the world lacks access to health services and over 100 million people are put into extreme poverty due to health expenses. WHO President Dr. Jim Yong Kim advises that that if we are serious about improving health we must end poverty and urgently provide universal health coverage.

Obama believes that people are more tolerant. In the past year hate crimes rose significantly in the United States according to a 2016 report by the FBI. Rising Islamophobia and anti- Semitism are on the rise, not only in the U.S., but in many European countries. A Huffpost article concurs that “there are strong signs that the modern West is, indeed, becoming less tolerant.” In analyzing tolerance we have to ask, compared to what? Do we look at Spain during the Inquisition, ISIS and their many beheadings or do we compare ourselves to 50 years ago. If we consider more recent society at home, since the Civil Rights movement Americans have become more racially tolerant. People are careful about what they say publicly about Black and Asian Americans and no longer poke fun at Pollocks or the Irish. A 2015 study published in the journal of Social Forces confirms increasing tolerance towards those with differing lifestyles and views. Americans bare more willing to accept of those who divorce, unwed mothers, and the LGBTQ community. Youth continue an upward trend of accepting opinions and lifestyles that differ from their own.

A recent Pew Research study reports that Americans are also more tolerant of religious groups than just a few years ago. Even with negativity around the election, people report greater acceptance of all religious groups with Jews and Catholics receiving the warmest reactions with Muslims and atheists receiving the coolest, though neutral ratings. The concept of “other” focuses on Latino immigrants and Muslims. Hopefully that designation will not last forever for intolerance is not an option for a democratic society.

Max Fisher, professor of ethnicity, compiled a map of world tolerance that shows Anglo and Latin countries to be the most tolerant while India and Jordan are the least. Wide variations exist across Europe where immigration and national identity are major challenges. The large numbers of economic migrants that go for work to countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia are at risk, though a slight a improvement was registered. Racial tolerance is low in many Asian Countries and especially so in South Korea. Pakistan is surprisingly tolerant despite areas of sectarian violence. The United Nation reports discrimination, marginalization, injustice and violence to be the most common indicators of intolerance. Better education is needed to fight against intolerances which are recipes for conflict disaster and war. Tolerance is a “treasure that enriches us all.”
Do join me next week for Part II, a look at wealth and education.

References:

1. Wintour, P. 2017. Obama tells Prince Harry: Leaders Must Stop Corroding Civil Discourse. The Guardian. retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/27/barack-obama-tells-prince-harry-leaders-must-stop-corroding-civil-discourse

2.Barber, N. 2016. Is the Modern World More Violent. Psychology Today. retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201506/is-the-modern-world-more-violent

3. Dudley.D/ 2017. Most of the World is Becoming More Peaceful but the US and the Middle
East are Bucking that Trend. retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2017/06/01/most-of-the-world-is-becoming-more-peaceful-but-the-u-s-and-the-middle-east-are-bucking-that-trend/#3d8c3fda22e1

4. World Health Organization Web Site. 2017. retrieved from http://www.who.int/gho/en/

5. Marglin,J.2016. Are we Getting More or Less Tolerant, And Does it Matter? Huffpost. retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-marglin/are-we-getting-more-or-le_b_8833514.html

6. Perry, S. 2015. Americans have become more tolerant with each generation, Study finds. MINNPOST. retrieved from https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2015/03/americans-have-become-more-tolerant-each-generation-study-finds

7. Williams, W. 2017. Americans are becoming more tolerant of many religious groups, survey finds. The Christian Science Monitor. retrieved from
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2017/0215/Americans-are-becoming-more-tolerant-of-many-religious-groups-survey-finds

8. Fisher, M. 2013. 5 insights on the racial tolerance and ethnicity maps, from an ethnic conflict professor. The Washington Post. retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/17/5-insights-on-the-racial-tolerance-and-ethnicity-maps-from-an-ethnic-conflict-professor/?utm_term=.8a7df968ab1c

9 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2017. Learning to Live Together. UNESCO . http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/promoting-tolerance/

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