On Peace and War....

On Peace and War

War is personal to me, my grandparents died on WWII, they were captured by the Nazis for helping Italians when my mother was a toddler. Across the Atlantic, my other grandfather fought a dictator when he was a teenager... Somehow their suffering found its way to imprint my genes. I do not like violence, and I do not like war. I do not justify war.

Moral Objection

I am so strongly opposed to war than I almost failed a citizenship test when I was asked if I would bear arms for one of my adopted countries and I said no. Categorically. Then I wrote a declaration of my strong conviction that I would not use arms on the basis of moral objections.

Moral Outrage

It was a conversation with Andy Brogan and Joery Torfs from Society2045 who brought to my attention the need to feel and express Moral Outrage. We were talking about building a society where we don't burn people in corporations. I am Outraged about Wealth Inequality, and one of my life long goals has been to create wealth and distribute it more appropriately (that is why I have the best career for that: investing).

It is the same Moral Outrage that catapults people in all directions to solve issues they are passionate about.

When in Doubt, Take Action

... but talks are not enough for me, even if I don't have a detailed plan, I spring to action - this is why private investing in emerging companies works so well for me, and why I can be very efficient at that. It is however disheartening not to be able to take action that leads to a transformation. As society, we are patching systems like using antipyretics to cure infections. It helps but it does not cure.

Human Connections

On its book: The Half has Never Been Told, Edward Baptist says that politicians in the US justified slavery because "People have always used some form of coercion and cruelty towards others (humans)." At the same time, I appreciate compassion as one of the primary emotions in humans. How compassion and cruelty relate is still a mystery to me. What I have found is that some cultures have this extraordinary sense of compassion and put it to action. I am outraged and inspired by the humongous support to Ukrainians showed in my Linkedin and Twitter feed.

Ukraine, HongKong, Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Myanmar, Yemen, South Sudan

How we relate to some of the most recent humanitarian crisis. Every time, such crisis evolves, I lose a bit of faith and feel more helpless. And every time a crisis happens, I tend to jump to action.

Changing Perspectives - a Dilemma

Dilemmas are situations with irreconcilable differences and high emotional stakes. On many occasions I've changed my mind, and this is not the time and space to dive into them. But War, oh War. My objection to war is shifting. I deeply admire the resilience of the Ukrainian government. And much of the focus on help is on how to support civilians. I am inspired by organized groups in neighboring countries, specially Bulgaria and Poland, setting up centers to receive immigrants. What a contrast to the crisis in Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, etc. But then... I wonder if it is time for me to change my views on War... whilst I watch in disbelief...

Thanks for Reading - Comments Welcome