The progress of humanity

My Christmas reading included Yuval Noah Harari’s latest book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century which I bought in a Salvation Army store for $1.

In a wide-ranging survey of the most pressing issues of our time, Professor Harari seeks to give form to an array of gelatinous issues such as disillusionment, liberty and equality.

In chapter 11, entitled War — never underestimate human stupidity, he treats with a certain manifestation of a pressing issue for mankind, namely, the resolution of disagreements through violence, now brought into sharp focus by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Indeed, the third section of the chapter is entitled ‘Russia to overreach itself in Ukraine.’ The book was published in 2018.

War — we don’t need no more trouble

Mankind has come a long way from the violent expansion of national territory by the Assyrians and the Qin through the conquests Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar. The British ofcourse mastered the form of global conquest in modern history, and the US on the basis of its Monroe Doctrine, invaded, undermined or generally overthrew any number of democratically elected governments in our region.

The sins of the past cast a long shadow but are not useful in creating a more peaceful tomorrow, which means a world in which borders must be stabilised and respected regardless of differences in political and economic systems. Above all, mankind’s imperative is to continue to find ways to turn swords into plowshares.

Africa has made a great sacrifice in this regard. Kenya’s Ambassador to the United Nations Martin Kimani elucidated the choice, “At independence, had we chosen to pursue states on the basis of ethnic, racial or religious homogeneity, we would still be waging bloody wars these many decades later.”

As so well put by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: “The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction.” The acceptance of this is our hope for sustained peace.

The response of the sporting world to the crisis has been firm, unified, and pointed. Of note, besides the plethora of sports organisations that have come out condemning the Russian invasion and prohibiting participation of Russian (and in some cases Belarusian) athletes and teams in competition, is the degree of fervour and advocacy displayed by administrators and athletes alike globally.

I will give two examples. Fifa at first took a position that Russian teams could compete but not under the Russian flag, similar to the Olympic Games. Players, teams, and countries were not having it. Fifa quickly pivoted to ban all Russian teams and clubs from international competition.

Second, a day after saying that Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete as ‘neutrals’ in the Paralympic Games now underway in Beijing, under pressure from athletes and national Paralympic committees, the International Paralympic Committee quickly pivoted to impose a ban on both countries.

There are two megatrends that we must recognise. First, is the purposeful drift of humanity away from the use of violence to resolve conflicts between nations, regardless of the merits of one’s position.

Second, is the sporting world finding its voice and understanding its power buoyed by a greater sense of value of athletes and teams, and an emerging sense of duty for athletes and teams to take a stand on issues of social justice.

The latter has a constructive role to play in advancing the former, but the path is froth with danger. What happens, if, as President Trump had wanted, the US were to invade Venezuela? What would the response of the sporting community be? Would it reflect more bias than principle?

We must therefore move forward carefully as a global sports community because the courage we have had to take the correct stance on this issue will need to sustain us through far more complicated issues with less sharp lines.

For now, though, I am clear, there are limits to the idea of neutrality in sport. There must be some basic principles on which we can all take a stand without fear or favour. Nero fiddled while Rome burned. We cannot just play while Ukraine burns.

Editor’s note: Nelson “Chris” Stokes is a businessman, banker, four-time bobsleigh Olympian and president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.