In times of trouble, remember our common humanity

A lesson from the Cold War era

Prince George, BC, April 12, 2026 - One thing I never anticipated as a Social Studies teacher was that my lived experience would become a history lesson. History may not repeat itself, but if we do not learn the lessons it teaches, we will repeat the same mistakes. If we do learn those lessons, however, we effectively equip ourselves to navigate current events.

When I was younger, I embraced certain narratives because they aligned with my principles. In the 1980s, we did not know that the Cold War would end at the end of the decade. As a result, there was significant fear, and this was reflected in popular culture. Songs like “99 Luftballons” by the German group Nena and “Two Tribes” by the British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood reflect this sentiment. While I appreciated artists drawing attention to the dangers we were all living under, I was seeking a more profound truth.

Today, we again see global tensions rising as Israel, the United States and their allies exchange blows with Iran. While Iran is not a superpower like the Soviet Union was during the Cold War, there is significant fear that this could explode into another World War. A great difference between the Cold War era and today is that, while everyone knew that both the Americans and the Soviets had huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons, the nuclear capacities of Israel and Iran, if they even exist, are state secrets.

Despite this, it would be naïve to assume that the threat of nuclear war does not exist. There are few people in the world today who understand weapons systems as well as Professor Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He points out that it is wise to assume that the threat of nuclear war is real, as are the devastating consequences.

To navigate our current reality, it is important to return to the truth that saved us from annihilation during the Cold War: ordinary people possess an innate goodness. As Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl pointed out in his classic book, Man’s Search for Meaning, there are only two “races” of people, the decent and the indecent, and both are found in every group.

In reflecting on our current reality, I am again drawn to a less popular song from the 1980s, “Russians”, by Sting, the former frontman of the British group The Police. He states:

“There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too”

I always opposed nuclear weapons and military spending during the Cold War; instead, I chose to believe in our common humanity. Something within me knew that I was right, and Sting’s song resonated in my spirit.

It is this truth, expressed by both Frankl and Sting, that liberated humanity from the shadow of the Cold War. The good people, subjected to life behind the Iron Curtain for decades, rose up peacefully and broke through the Berlin Wall one night in November 1989.

It is regretful that the hopeful world we saw taking shape in the 1990s was hijacked by the lies of the Epstein class. Their greed and propensity for violence have brought us to this moment. We are all feeling the financial stress of the current world economy, and we know that things are likely to get worse. More significantly, far too many lives have been taken, and many more could be lost.

It is important that we again reject the hateful rhetoric. Though some believe these lies, there are many good Iranians, Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. All love their children.

With my lived experience, I no longer simply believe in the power of our common humanity; I know that it provides the only means to escape the foreboding cloud which is threatening our very existence.