‘Don’t let the tyrants overshadow the many good people in the world’

‘OUR ENERGY AND FOCUS SHOULD BE ON GOOD PEOPLE DOING GOOD THINGS’. Picture by Marija Zaric

The Accidental Diplomat, a column by Paul Knott

Social media and rolling news can distort our view of the world

This article is an admission of guilt. I spend far too much time giving my attention to the worst people in the world and nowhere near enough to supporting the many more decent individuals out there who are striving to things better for others. I think most of us, at least those of us who follow current affairs to any degree, make this mistake.

In the process of granting the likes of Trump and Putin the attention they crave for their dishonest, self-interested and evil deeds, we inadvertently convince ourselves that the world is in a worse state than it has ever been. For all of our planet’s undoubted problems, this is not factually correct, particularly when it comes to violence. According to research by the Martin School at Oxford University, the number of people dying per year in wars this century is a fraction, often less than a quarter or a fifth as many, of what it was during the 1940s,50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Deaths caused by terrorism have also been declining for several years now.

This distorted impression of the world “going to Hell in a handbasket” is amplified in an era of social media and rolling 24/7 news coverage. This gives us more information about what is going on around the globe than ever before. But crucially, it also gives us a less balanced perspective due to the endless onslaught of bad news.

The worst impact of this situation is that it creates a deadening, doom-laden effect on many of us, in which we lose faith that things can get better and become discouraged from playing our small part in making them so.

‘MOST PEOPLE HAVE AN IMPULSE TO HELP OTHERS’: Picture by Duy Pham

Yet, world history is full of examples of how big changes were made to happen by the combined actions of good people working together. Just a few famous instances include the abolition of slavery, the Suffragettes’ fight to secure the vote for women, the ending of apartheid and the various freedom campaigners such as the Polish “Solidarity” trade unionists who prompted the collapse of Soviet totalitarianism and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Many of these movements had exceptional leaders but few of them would have become well-known or achieved anything without the support of the many mostly unseen others who actively participated or even just offered their voice and support at the most basic level.

These examples are big, political causes. But the spirit that drove those movements was built on the impulse most people have to help others and our human instinct for fairness. You can see this being exhibited in many apolitical, everyday ways such as in the work of ex-Hull FC player Steve Prescott’s Foundation (which raises funds for cancer charities, amongst others), the people who volunteer or fundraise for organisations like the Dove House Hospice, and even those who give their time to make sure youth work and sport and musical activities for kids can happen.

People like this can be found all over the world. In a particularly stark case, I met a lot of them whilst working as a British diplomat in Ukraine twenty years ago. There were people who formed organisations to improve life for disabled people, both by campaigning and by practical action such as building ramps and running minibus services. Then there were youngsters who ran voter registration campaigns, monitored polling stations on election day and pushed for free and fair elections, at a time when such polls were not a given in their country (thanks to their work, they are now). I am sure these ordinary Ukrainians went on to become the backbone of the strong society that is currently winning the support and admiration of much of the world for resisting Russian aggression.

Even in less dramatic circumstances, such actions have a positive impact by proving to ourselves that we can change things and make life better for all of us. They build strong communities. All of which feeds into politics because, ultimately, politics is nothing more than the way we decide to organise our society and how it functions.

There are, of course, more directly political issues to participate in too. And there are even politicians to vote for who support those working to build a better society. From personal experience of meeting them, I can promise that plenty of politicians do go into politics for the right reason – to help make life better for people – and they really are not all the same.

So what is the point of saying all this? Well, I would like it to be a plea to myself and a call to action to all of you who read this column. Let’s pay more heed to the many people doing good things in the world. And less to those stirring up envy, hatred and other unpleasant, unproductive emotions in order to exploit them for their own self-interest. We probably know everything we need to know by now about Trump, Putin and lesser lowlifes like Boris Johnson. Let’s ignore them from now on and stop being triggered by their every utterance or deed.

We can then devote the time and energy we save to supporting the people working to repair the damage and generally improve our world instead. This can include getting directly involved in organisations that help our own local community or, at least to start with, adding our voice or raising funds to boost their work.

Refusing to be disillusioned or driven to despair by the powerful and unscrupulous is crucial. By going a step further and participating in the positive activities that counteract their negative influence, we help others, enhance our own mental well-being and play our part in the one proven way to make the world a better place.