The paradoxes we live by
Belief in Fairytales
Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think … Molière
Thieving time matches on, hurling us towards life and dragging us towards nothingness. Yet in our mundane lives unique events provide a brief window of escapism from the cosmos never-ending serenade to entropy. Looking at the above picture I remember the bravery of Vitali. Bloodied and beaten, he was still standing. On most card scores he should have been ahead on points. Success has many fathers and Germany welcomed with open arms and celebrated their adopted son. He was to Germany, what the 1992 NBA Dream Team is to the USA.
If self-referential statements are art in theoretical mathematics, the paradoxes of our lives unveil our Sistine chapel of the meaninglessness of it all: We work to save for our golden years yet old age is the one disease no one looks forward to a cure; Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die; While the world reels from a global pandemic (covid-19), that has not only disrupted but taken countless lives, it seems not enough for some who proceed to unleash a war in Ukraine.
Watching the news coverage of the West’s reaction to the Ukrainian invasion, I initially marveled at the united front. Blistering financial sanctions, unilateral condemnation, and threats of more drastic measures in the offing. Could Henry Kissinger have been wrong in claiming nations only have interests and not principles? Ahh but behind all the cacophony and bravado, hidden in plain sight and rising out of the sea like a man’s hand was a paradox again. Bloomberg’s Javier Blas elucidated the hypocrisy paradox of the sanctions: The West was sending over 700 million US Dollars a day to Russia. President Biden made sure to be clear “The Russian Energy Sector was not to be touched!” Guess what happened today … wait for it … wait for it … Drum roll please. The amount of gas exports on that pipeline increased drastically. The tweet from the Ukraine pipeline operator sums it up “Keep calm & transit Gas”. Today European natural gas prices halted a record-breaking rally as Russian flows to the continent ramped up and purchases to Russia hit new highs. The main bank, the Achilles heel of Russia’s Energy transactions with the West was not touched.
It was Doomberg, that magnificent green chicken who explained the difference between commitment and involvement. On a farm the chicken is involved but the pig is committed. The chicken might lose her laid eggs, but the pig becomes ham for the market. When President Biden was asked why he didn’t implement the swift ban, he was coy and diplomatic. His candid answer should have been “the constraints put on me by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz prevented it”.
By refusing to support the swift ban, our chancellor made it clear. Germany is “involved” with Ukraine but not committed. Let’s talk about involvement. We illuminated the Brandenburg Gates in Ukrainian national colors. We have countless sycophants in the media denouncing this war. A month earlier we offered 5,000 helmets to Ukraine. Commitment, however, would mean crossing the river Rubicon and including the energy sector.
The former Boxer Vitali Klitschko is current mayor of Kyiv. He stands in solidarity with his people and awaits the end of a Greek tragedy. In the boxing ring he determined his fate, entering the Guiness book of world records for most heavyweight title fight wins (30 at the time). In life fate is fluid, and destiny in the hands of men. Adoption was in name only for nations have interests not principles.