April 17, 2022

Day 11.

Perhaps I should not wait until right before bed to write these. The reason? I’m usually at my weakest before I rest.

Today was a great day with great weather, but I feel my mood slipping. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in a good mood for the past few days and didn’t do anything with it. But what could I have done, I wonder.

It would be nice to have a group of people to do activities with. Preferably something active, like sports or hiking. Wherever I end up, I definitely want to establish a social circle of active people.

Of course I’ve been keeping up to date with Ukraine. What happens affects me and my wife. It’s shocking how the two narratives contrast each other — both sides share positive news that they’re winning. I suppose it’s to keep morale high for the people who’ve chosen sides and want to see their side win.

I think to myself: is it normal for people to abandon logic in conflict? Or am I also not being reasonable? Perhaps it’s part of the human condition to align yourself with one side of a conflict and become ignorant to the other side’s perspective.

This is unfortunate. As someone who’s worked in marketing for several years, I think I’m able to do a good job at putting my own needs aside and trying to understand what’s important for the other person.

For example, in copywriting, it’s not about how amazing your business is — it’s about what your business can do for the customer. Don’t talk about how cool your product is — let your customer know how the product makes their life better.

When what’s happening in Ukraine started, I read Putin’s transcripts of his speech because I wanted to understand his reasoning. It wasn’t about if I did or didn’t agree with him; it was about knowing what was important for him. I think it helped me get a better grasp of the situation.

The majority of the west didn’t take this step. I’ve seen many comments from people who parrot what the news says. And when they’re confronted with something that says otherwise, they don’t want to believe it.

It gets worse when someone you disagree with for an entirely different issue also disagrees with your narrative. This just makes the division worse. For example, when someone who believes inflation is caused by “billionaires not paying taxes” encounters someone else who believes inflation is from printing an obscene amount of money, these two narratives conflict even more drastically when one’s a Democrat and the other’s a Republican.

There is this “us vs. them” side of humanity that makes use think we need an enemy. Maybe it’s for the thrill of winning or perhaps it’s because we’re bored when we don’t have someone, or something, to fight. Will society always be this way? The past is laden with wars. Will the future be the same?

I’m an optimistic person, but I can’t help but feel pessimistic about this issue. I dream of peace and working together to achieve common goals, such as solving diseases, space exploration, and world hunger. Problems that once solved, our species can be proud of.

I’ll remain hopeful. I know that by doing so, and being in that state of mine, I’ll be able to do a better job at contributing something positive to the world.

Peace.
Raymond Duke