Joie De Vivre, 1946 by Pablo Picasso
Not recognizing the magic of the present moment may just be
a crime against our humanity.
David Andersson
August 5, 2025
TFF publishes this with particular joy because, while we have always been pro-peace, future-oriented and proposal-making, we need even more of that now: Peace is to be FOR something and go for it.
In my recent article, From Personal Development to Human Development, I explored the imbalance between our inner growth and society’s relentless focus on external activity. One of the greatest obstacles to genuine human development today is the sheer level of negativity we encounter daily.
As an editor, I regularly receive submissions from Western contributors. Many center on themes like political corruption—even among progressive leaders—technological control, cognitive warfare, genocide, alarming climate forecasts (“only three years left to avoid the worst”), and Europe’s persistent, deadly hypocrisy. The list continues, each entry more urgent than the last.
Collectively, these submissions seem to be constructing a culture of counter-revolution—one defined more by resistance than by creation. But if our goal is true change, we must cultivate a positive vision of the future. We need to recognize the progress that has been made and redirect what has gone astray. When people protest today, do they still believe a new world is possible—or are they simply expressing despair over the current one?
Negativity breeds negativity. Nihilistic thinking attracts negative actions, which provoke negative reactions, and ultimately empower harmful leaders. At its core, our crisis is in our heads: it’s about how we perceive the world, and how we respond to adversity.
Paradoxically, we are living in one of the most extraordinary periods in human history—yet many of us are depressed and paralyzed.
In contrast, I also receive submissions from Asia with headlines like Mobile, UPI, and AI Drive India’s Digital Travel Evolution,Roshan Shrestha: The Voice from the Hills Changing Nepali Digital Journalism, and Bangladesh’s “Mango Diplomacy” to Sweeten Relations with India. These aren’t naive success stories. They are narratives of effort, of transformation, of possibility.
Corruption of the mind is among the most violent assaults on human dignity. Today, there’s a deep disconnect between our thoughts and our lived experience. Many of us receive more than we need—yet still feel as though we have nothing. If we can’t manage our thoughts, our focus, our attention—and our blind spots—then no policy or medical breakthrough can save us.
Where is our reverence for human experience? Did we build thousands of years of civilization just to surrender now to despair? What are our cultures, languages, and songs for, if not to nourish us? Or have they been drowned in the noise of our “successful” lives?
Is joy really so hard to access? Has happiness become a strange, distant memory? When was the last time you were truly happy?
Changing the course of one’s life may begin with something as simple as changing what we choose to pay attention to.
First published on Pressenza and translated into Spanish, French
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David Andersson is a writer and humanist based in New York City. He focuses on issues of global justice, collective consciousness, and nonviolent transformation. He co-directs Pressenza International Press Agency and is the author of The White-West: A Look in the Mirror, a collection of op-eds examining the dynamics of Western identity and its global impact. CounterPunch, denikreferendum.cz, Mobilized News, Countercurrents, LA Progressive, and Dissident Voice have published his recent work. Many of his articles have been translated into more than five languages.
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David Andersson
Pressenza English Bureau
