Humanity At the Junction of History: Which Way Forward?

Yesterday, eighty years ago, American and Soviet troops had met at the Elbe River in Torgau, Germany, finally cutting through Nazi lines. Those troops expressed happiness upon meeting each other, and engaged in heartfelt exchanges on the cusp of victory, in a war that would account, ultimately, for perhaps 100 million dead worldwide. Their meeting produced what was termed the “Spirit of the Elbe,” dedicated to the idea that all nations of the world must find a common path to diplomacy without resorting to war, and prevent such a catastrophic conflict as World War II from ever happening again.

Look, then from the standpoint of that “Spirit of the Elbe,” too little remembered today, to the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Russia, developing, despite interference from British and other agencies, in a positive way. according to both sides. Nikolai Patrushev, a close advisor to President Putin and former head of Russia’s FSB, recently talked about the shared experience between the U.S. and Russia. At critical moments, both nations played a role in each other’s interests. He cited, for example, the 1939 Lend-Lease Act of Franklin Roosevelt, when the U.S. gave immense military and financial aid to the Soviet Union to defeat the scourge of Nazism that had been unleashed in Europe. And China has emphasized that not trade war with the U.S., but a harmony of interests among nations is what is humanity’s way forward.

In our world full of turbulence, there are certain anomalies occurring which indicate a significant process of change and transformation that has the potential to “cross the Elbe” from the old ‘rules-based order’ to a new paradigm based on cooperation and mutual benefit between nations.

The passing away of Pope Francis this past Easter Monday is one such anomaly—what that Pope referred to as a “juncture,” as when a train changes the direction it was originally traveling in order to take another path. On Easter Sunday, his last day on Earth, Francis spoke about that change of direction which was the subject of Christ’s “juncture—the Crucifixion and Resurrection: “Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day…. On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!”

Those words are not just relevant for the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, but to all men and women, regardless of their religious upbringing. The horrors taking place in Ukraine today, or the Gaza Strip, can be overcome by inspired individuals, of no rank or renown, taking leadership, and being gripped by something greater than themselves. The May 24-25th Schiller Institute conference, “A Beautiful Vision for Humanity in Times of Great Turbulence,” will gather people oriented around this idea of doing the good.