There Is No Future Without Hope

The following is my speech given at The First Meeting of the Public of Russia and the USA held by Committee 2017 in Istanbul on November 7, 2023. Please keep in mind the context of the speech and the fact that the message is a call for change — nothing is intended to be political.

What is the purpose of peace if not for the future? Does peace come after war? Does peace require war? We live in a beautiful world where each individual in that world is equally beautiful. We wouldn’t know that because we also live in a world where we don’t know those very people. The question we should be asking today is not how to find peace. It’s how to know and understand one another. Not just countries. Not just politicians. But everyone. In such a world, there would never be war.

But there is. And who suffers for it? Not just Russians. Not just Ukranians. Not just countries and their allies at war with one another, but everyone on the face of this planet. War doesn’t just take lives. War kills hope — our hope for the future.

I speak on behalf of the youth of this planet, and certainly many others. Even in times of peace, war destroys our lives. How many trillions of dollars does the United States alone spend on its military, year after year? Imagine what else could be done with that money. I have traveled the world my entire life, and I have lived in both the United States and Europe. No matter where I am, when I speak with my peers, I hear the same story: we can’t afford homes. We can’t get good jobs — not just good pay, but work we actually want to do. We don’t have time to even do the things we enjoy outside of work. Our entire income goes to paying rent. Rent which costs more than a mortgage. But we can’t get mortgages because of our financial situations. And this is not to mention the crippling mental health crisis. Crippling isolation. Crippling hopelessness.

These are problems all over the world. Of course, each country has different and unique issues. But the stories are all similar. So what about the future? Today, we ask questions about peace. We talk about the need to end current wars. That is only the first step. We need to be asking questions about building a future. In a world where bringing a child into being sounds like cruelty, we need to address much larger issues than war.

Imagine a world where we spent trillions of dollars on new and modernized institutions, cities, systems, food supplies, water supplies, or fixing the earth we have so destroyed. Imagine if we had international collaborations — where we set aside our national pride and worked together to build a better world rather than trying to tackle each and every problem independently. Obviously, we will all have different ideas and approaches. But my point is that we need systems that inspire hope. Where we build and design infrastructure, not the missiles that destroy it.

For example, how many people are there desperately seeking better lives? These are hard working people who want nothing more than to contribute to society. But they can’t for reasons such as lack of opportunity in their homes or lack of resources. We can blame these people for their circumstances. We can tell them that they should do better — that other people have succeeded where they have failed. We can point to the 1% of people who “made it out” and tell everyone else to be just like them. But that’s not how it works. That’s not how it should be.

What if we worked together, as a world, as the human race, to give everyone the opportunities they need? We have the resources. But instead of focusing our efforts on how to unify humanity, we are focusing on how to protect ourselves in the midst of division. Do I need to stress again the absurdity of the United States’ military budget? While its own people are suffering? The same goes for many other countries. There is no future without hope. So long as the world runs on war, there will never be hope. We, the forgotten youth, will always be forgotten so long as our leaders’ eyes are watching missiles in the sky rather than their own people on the ground.

So who will do something? Who better to lead this charge than Russia and the United States? Who else can set an example for the world, that it is possible, even with our differences, to work together? There is an entire generation longing for a future. There is an entire generation desperate for hope. Who will give it to them? Who will put an end to divisive media, sensationalization, and radicalization? Who will put their foot down and say enough is enough?

I find nothing more despicable than the attitudes of people. How they gloat over the losses of Russians. We have glorified war. We point fingers and say “those are the bad guys.” I see a common disregard for life. It doesn’t matter who the finger points at, be it Russia or anyone else. When division is directed, all common sense is lost. Russians are painted to be heartless and cruel. We are shown the worst of the worst. But only the ignorant would dare to claim that an entire country’s people conform to some image. How often do we see this? Division and bigotry? Against races, religions, cultures, and countries? It’s ignorance. And our world fosters that ignorance: sensationalization and radicalization in the name of profit and control.

This is not to say that bad things aren’t happening, rather we are witnessing a lack of understanding fed by divisiveness. The only individuals to blame when people lack understanding are the leaders who prevent that understanding from happening. Until this is addressed, we cannot judge others for who they follow. And we certainly cannot judge people we don’t truly know.

I’m not here to pick sides. I’m not here to point fingers. I’m not here to say who is right and who is wrong. I’m here to say that we don’t understand one another. We don’t allow ourselves to understand one another. Soldiers wouldn’t fire upon one another if they knew who they were fighting. That the men they are told to kill have lives of their own, families of their own, aspirations of their own. Maybe some are ignorant. Maybe some are cruel. But there is nothing more ignorant than picking sides. To see the world as “us versus them” is to see the world divided. We don’t need to agree on everything. We simply need to understand one another — that we are all the same. The rest follows.

Now I ask another question: where is our opportunity? We, the youth, who want so desperately to participate in the world in which we live? Only one path is guaranteed: the military. They find a use for those who join and give them a purpose. Why can’t we do the same elsewhere? If I decided, today, to become a physicist, what would I do? First, I would need to complete another bachelor’s degree. Then, I would likely need a master’s degree. In many cases still, I would then need to do a PhD. Then begins the search for a job that isn’t even guaranteed. Tell me this is fair. Tell me, someone who made it all the way to a PhD in a different subject, that if I want to change my career, this is what I would need to do, and tell me that this sounds right.

Give us the opportunity to learn as we work. Give us the opportunity to work, period. Let us contribute to the world. We are desperate to. But if we can’t even afford a place to live, how are we meant to survive all these years in the educational system? Who looks to such things and sees hope? Some people do, and that is good. Some people make it and succeed, and that is good. But imagine if we had institutions, apart from militaries, that put the smart people to work, preparing them for a career in whatever area they choose to pursue.

We have the resources for such things. We have the people who want these opportunities. So let us work together to make this a reality. We can reinvent society as we know it, but only if we shift our priorities. And right now, our priorities are in the wrong places. I’m sure there are many alternative paths forward than what I’m proposing. But who will lead the search for such answers? Who will make it their priority to give a future to the future generations? If not us, then nobody will. If we don’t start today, there will be nobody left when this era of war comes to an end. Need I reference George Orwell’s 1984? We’re actively creating that world.

We should be fighting internal wars — doing away with corruption and outdated ideologies. We should be fostering environments where mental health resources aren’t advertised like candy once was. We should be fighting against absurd levels of depression, suicide, and violence. We should be reinventing broken systems. Restructuring obsolete hierarchies. Fixing the problems that oppress our people. Fostering hope and unity. Creating a society where people actually care about one another.

When I moved to another country, I experienced what it’s like to start a life from nothing. I’ve done it too many times as it is. Where are the resources for people like me? My peers remind me of our time in the educational systems: the sense of comradery and belonging. Life was full of people and connection. Everything had meaning and purpose. We were all “in it together.” Where did that sense of unity go? That welcoming and engaging atmosphere? The “real world” treats us like slaves. There are good places and good resources. But not everywhere or for everyone.

All the problems I have described have one simple solution: create institutions with systems that put willing people to work. And give us equal opportunity — as much as we need scientists or engineers, let us also be artists or writers, or whatever we wish to be. I imagine a world where our value is determined by merit. Call it meritocracy if you so choose. Let us be valued for our abilities by giving us the very chance to demonstrate those abilities. Let us participate in this world. And let us do so in such a way that the human experience can be a good experience.

But so long as our efforts are spent on attacking and defending, who will take action on any one of the ideas I have mentioned? We may speak different languages and have different cultures between Russia and the United States or any other country. But are we not human all the same? Do we really not want the same things? Do we not feel exactly the same as all other people? Is the pain of one group any worse than the pain of another simply because of who they are? And are we not hurting?

Perhaps I paint the picture of an idealist. But does it matter? All we need is the first step in the right direction. But the world is broken. It has been broken. And nobody is making an effort to fix it. Instead, the wealthy and the powerful are in a struggle to maintain their wealth and their power. We see it at every scale. From countries at war to local politicians. It’s all a game to them. We are the pawns. And all the while, the youth must watch on in agony. We watch the world we are to inherit burn to the ground. We watch hope die before our eyes. We witness the cruel and the wicked rise to power while the good and the honest are trampled beneath. We watch our dreams fade into the night. We are made to sit in silence while our joy is ripped straight from our hearts. Then, we are blamed for our inaction. For our inability to succeed. For giving up. For losing hope. We didn’t break this world, but we take the blame — we are blamed for suffering its consequences. But we are the future. One day, we will be all that remains. So let’s turn our focus away from war. Let us find peace for humanity’s own sake. Let us build a brighter future. Let us work to understand each other, that one day we might know hope.