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12/31/2018
Dear Friends & Family,
‘Tis another year that has gone by, full of events, happenings, and as always most importantly full of you. I was lucky to interact with many, yet was left wanting for interacting with so few. There was much love and also so many concerns about the state of affairs in our world, in our various countries.
The year started in Italy, but really the mind had to get back to Brazil quickly. There was just so much to do on our project. Yet, despite being so engaged on the day to day here, the year was to be consumed by reflections on politics and current events.
I sit down here in the early frigid but quiet morning in the Catskills trying to commit my thoughts to paper.
Making History Great Again...
I had to re-read a few works to make sense of it all. Plato’s “Republic” to understand more on the perils of the various types of government and the origin of the philosopher king vs rash unchecked demagoguery. Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast and Slow” was great to understand the various biases that lead us to selecting our news and information and overall perception of the world. Walzer’s “Just and Unjust Wars” to have a basic understanding of conflict and theory. Mill’s “On Liberty” to understand better how much government is allowed or not to intervene in the freedom’s of its citizens given the anarchical state of affairs that we seem to be engaged in.
There seemed to be endless headlines coming from everywhere. Whether it was Brexit in the UK and Theresa May’s travails in getting something through Parliament, Macron “vs” the Gilets Jaunes in France, less than imperfect alternatives in the Brazilian presidential election (and in general throughout Latin America), whatever constantly grating and seemingly amoral policies and communications coming from the White House at any time or even China’s new muscular interpretation or application of the Basic Law in Hong Kong.
Welders vs Philosophers
All in all, seemed like a troubled year, unclear morally in terms of “what is good” or “what is right”? Marco Rubio’s infamous phrase during the 2015 Presidential debate comes to mind as exemplifying the utilitarian ethos of the current state of discourse. People seemingly could not sit down and talk, could not agree on basic facts in order to start a discussion.
“Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers.” - Marco Rubio.
I think otherwise. It seemed like we could not in 2018 distinguish as a society what is “right” and “wrong” or even who has the authority to determine so. (PS: To his credit, Rubio came around ! See tweet to the left).
Plato came in handily here, as did Hamilton’s words and concerns in the Federalist Papers in particular with respect to the creation of the Senate.
The Founding “People” (so as not to call them “Fathers”)
In reading Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, I quote his words:
“Of all the founders, Hamilton probably had the gravest doubts about the wisdom of the masses and wanted elected leaders who would guide them. This was the great paradox of his career: his optimistic view of America’s potential coexisted with an essentially pessimistic view of human nature… Hamilton’s besetting fear was that American democracy would be spoiled by demagogues who would mouth populist shibboleths to conceal their despotism.” - “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow
Sadly, the Senate does not seem to be operating in the tradition expected.
I sorely missed the clarity of Lee Kuan Yew or even just the knowledge of Henry Kissinger (who nonetheless continues to act circumspect on charting a way forward or even mustering an opinion despite being asked multiple times during his Lunch with the FT interview).
And so the year sailed, in discombobulated waters without a lodestar in sight.
On Workshops and Conferences
Despite these constantly pernicious and volatile yet exciting times, I found a fantastic respite in two conferences or events that really lightened my year.
The conference on the Maya in March was completely elucidating on a topic that I had always loved but found so out of reach: Mayan epigraphy. Truth be told, I am interested not only on the Maya, but on the Aztecs, the Incas and all other pre-colonial cultures that inhabited in Latin America. I have a perpetual dream inspired by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda of introducing to Latin America indigenous script again.
The second conference or festival, was like chocolate after a meal. The New Yorker is an institution, and its festival is a pure literary and current affairs joy. Yet, to my surprise - which should not have been given that it was in NYC - the attendees were just as engaging as the presenters. In Murakami’s presentation, I thought the questions were many times more prepared and researched than the answers.
On Family, Friends and Teams
Yet despite these thoughts life did arise. I saw many of you in the various visits. The TCP team continues very strong with all its new reinforcements. AZlera, our remaining scholarship recipient - proudly is a woman, continues from strength to strength. Plug is going through transitions, yet my thoughts are always with the team. We had to make a hard decision to shutdown Talklet in Israel, yet the friendship of the team remains as well as the experience - hope it is a stepping stone for new ventures and a future in education. Electroplastic, our difficult situation in 2017, was trying and yet the team is wonderful and always engaged. We have two new horses in Casa Tlalli - Serenata and Makeba (like Miriam Makeba).
Importantly I was able to see my family more frequently this year and mostestest importantliest, I was able to see my nephew, Leonardo, and niece, Isabella. I see the future so clearly in them, bountiful of opportunity despite the chaos. I feel the immense responsibility to be able to help their parents steward them and give them unique opportunities so that they can shape their future and contribute to society.
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Lastly, I want to thank you all for all this year. As always, I am completely indebted to your kindness, encouragement, love, patience and for helping make sense of it all despite the huge imperfections on my side. 2019 hopefully will be a year of transition, will keep you abreast of all the changes.
Happy New Years/ Feliz Año Nuevo / Feliz Ano Novo
Ws
PS: Please excuse typos, grammatical errors. All was done in haste.
On why world affairs matter...
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