We are at war in so many different fronts. Climate change, and now Covid-19, is threatening our very survival, or life as we know it, with millions mired in poverty and highly vulnerable. Extremism is on the rise, fueled by the populist politics of hatred, bigotry, and violence. Poverty, exclusion, joblessness, and hunger are becoming worse and more commonplace than we imagined even just 10 or 20 years ago, when we were discussing how Southeast Asia is leading global economic growth with equity, and we thought the world is on its way to stamping out the worst forms of poverty, suffering, and inequality.
Some battles we seem to be losing. Climate change is threatening to pull away from our grasp and turn irreversibly catastrophic.
As in many issues that we face today, leadership is important in dealing with both causes and impacts of disease outbreaks and pandemics, climate change, as well as of poverty, exclusion, and suffering of millions of people. Achieving positive social and political change is key to confronting these persistent and recurring issues.
While we hold leaders to account for their greed and abuse of power, their irresponsible populist stance, and their convenient, short-sighted, and often more damaging approaches to issues, we take equal responsibility for responding with creativity, innovation, and positive action from the ground up, seeking and offering solutions, educating ourselves and others, and moving forward together.
