Columns January attacked like a crazy rhino

The year 2022 has been rushed like a mad rhino. The Russian dictator is threatening war, coronaviruses are allowed to dodge like bullets in the wild west saloon, and nature continues to be destroyed beneath everything. Smaller strikes and quarrels are only suitable for such a large soup as spices.

It also happens that many plagues overlap. There was bad luck with the virus. But there is more to it than that.

When I spent the years 2014–2018 in the United States, waking up to a strong feeling that we are at some point in the seam of the ages. Something old is running out, something new is starting. It’s as if the old operating system on your computer has come to an end and you should get a new one.

The change was evidenced by the fact that, according to constant wisdom, nonsensical things were happening around us, such as Britain’s secession from the EU, the election of showman Donald Trump as president of the United States, and the fact that money had a negative interest rate.

After returning to Finland in the spring of 2019, I had the honor of speaking at the annual celebration of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. I used my moment in the spotlight to talk about change and warn of the dangers ahead, most notably the threat of war. I went through the history of the 1930s and recalled how the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, was celebrated after the Munich Conference as the savior of European peace.

At the time of the speech, 74 years had passed since the end of World War II, and 77 years have passed since this year. “It is an unusually long time in European history and there is no guarantee that it will continue,” I warned in a speech.

Three over the past year, the cum of historical change has only intensified. Things and thinking are taking on new positions in the economy, in domestic politics and among peoples. The situation does not seem to be under anyone’s control. The threat of war has also increased.

The headlines about the negotiations between the great powers and the warships in the Baltic Sea are frightening and, for many, certainly distressing. Therefore, it is important to emphasize that Finland is not facing an immediate threat of war, even though the challenges are accumulating.

In the storms of history, Finland always has a little power to take, but we ourselves can do something: take care of our own affairs so well that together we are ready for what the world comes up with.

The author is the forerunner of the editorial office.