The world watches in appalled silence as international law erodes and populists rise—power-gripping authoritarians determined to rewrite history, quite literally. More worryingly, however, is the fact that ordinary people seem powerless in the face of this unfolding madness.

By madness, I mean the shifting of power, business tycoons openly meddling in other countries’ politics and claiming a say in them, the role of AI in faking reality and zombifying people, and the radicalization of societies everywhere.

A few days ago, during a phone call with my parents, my father told me: “We are next on Putin’s [expansionist] list.” And only a few days had to pass before we once again experienced the same dread we felt at the start of the war—three years ago, when Putin launched his full-scale invasion of our neighbor, Ukraine. The public humiliation of Mr. Zelensky in Washington by Donald Trump and his bootlickers felt like a slap in the face of the free world. You cannot end a war by giving the aggressor what he wants.

Since February 24, 2022, something has died in us—the zest for life as we once knew it, the belief in a lasting peace that would allow former Soviet states to focus on development and their people’s well-being. The future can no longer be trusted. 

I refrain from commenting on Trump’s actions at home, as I have little to no insight into how Americans view their newly elected president. But I do condemn his belief that “Putin will keep his promise,” because the “old man in his bunker” has never ceased to break his word—responding instead with further aggression. A man who envisions himself as Stalin’s successor has neither mercy nor the slightest intention of making peace.

As for the fake news and the business tycoons that do not show the slightest interest in protecting their users from fake news and (dis)information bubbles, there is a saying — time will come for all of us to pay the bill of what we thought were the broad possibilities opened by social media.

We are likely not that far from the idea depicted by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, regarding history as a resource to be reinvented. With this, and lack of fact-checking, the human mind is dangerously susceptible to manipulation.

We must all understand that the world we once knew has undergone major turning points—technologically, socially, and politically. It will take time to reach a new stillpoint, but until then, nothing is certain, and, more importantly, anything can happen.

To the question “Can you stay sane in times of madness?”, one might find solace in Sir Winston Churchill’s words to the British during World War II: “Fear is a reaction, courage is a decision.”

Image credits: Art of Alex Buretz