'Cynicism is the recourse of cowards'

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'Cynicism is the recourse of cowards'

November 9, 2021

Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu

'Cynicism is the recourse of cowards'

Barack Obama's faith in hope and change has been battered by bitter experience. But it still flickers. Just.

With serving world leaders long gone, the former President arrived at the Glasgow climate talks on Monday to galvanize a final week in which talking must cede to decisions. Obama's presence was meant as a sign the US is back leading climate change efforts. And as a private citizen, he could be even more scathing about Russian and Chinese leaders' failures to show up than President Joe Biden.

Obama is still a popular figure internationally. There may be no one better at crystallizing a challenge in words. But he is still an ex-politician, and he can do little to answer the biggest questions facing the US delegation in Scotland. For instance, will Congress actually pass more than $500 billion in green energy measures critical to US credibility? And will former President Donald Trump -- who just re-upped his claim that climate change is a hoax -- or a like-minded Republican win the White House in 2024 and trash climate pacts?

Obama's speech was rather stark. He bemoaned the Republican Party's "four years of active hostility towards climate science" in a now-familiar rebuke of his successor. He worried that global politics can't handle saving the planet. And he warmed to his new theme that hashtag protests and virtue signaling don't forge change -- winning elections and persuading skeptics do. "We can't just yell at them or tweet at them. It's not enough to inconvenience them by blocking traffic through protests," Obama said.

The ex-President still sometimes seems to be working through his own political journey, and questioning whether the intoxicating sense of possibility he conjured in 2008 is still viable, especially after Trump tried to obliterate democracy.

"There are times when I feel discouraged, when the future seems bleak, and I am doubtful that humanity can get its act together before it's too late and images of dystopia start creeping into my dreams.," Obama said in Scotland.

"And yet, whenever I feel such despondency, I remind myself that cynicism is the recourse of cowards. We can't afford hopelessness."

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The world and America

Ethnic Tigrayans are being swept up in a wave of arrests in Addis Ababa.

Nicaraguan state agents are following critics abroad, allege exiled dissidents.

And an alleged US Capitol rioter has turned up in Belarus.

Meanwhile in America, 11 White jurors and one Black juror heard testimony about the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

A CNN poll revealed a new low in public approval for Biden.

And musician Travis Scott will cover funeral costs for fans who died at his ill-fated Astroworld concert.

Back in the USA

Families reunite at airports in Washington and New York City after the US lifted coronavirus restrictions on Monday. (Reuters, CNN)

America is open again, to Meanwhile readers and others from 33 nations who can show proof of full vaccination and negative Covid-19 tests.

For the first time in 20 months, the US opened its borders to international travel on Monday in a move that filled flights heading west across the Atlantic and caused long lines at the land borders with Mexico and Canada.

In a stirring sight at London's Heathrow Airport, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways put aside an often-bitter rivalry to stage a coordinated takeoff of two jets from parallel runways on the Blue Riband route to New York.

The resumption of normality — albeit with masks required on board — offers some hope to airlines, especially those reliant on trans-Atlantic routes for their top profits, that lost billions in the pandemic. It's great news for places, like New York City, that draw droves of tourists for Christmas shopping. And the easing of restrictions means countless family reunions will take place, turning the festive period into a true season of joy.

But even as the US finally puts out the welcome mat, some question how long it will last. The long-delayed move comes at an unfortunate time; a new surge of Covid-19 cases in Europe has made it once again the "epicenter" of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. Germany just recorded its highest seven-day incidence rate since Covid-19 first emerged. Low vaccine rates in parts of Eastern Europe are giving the Delta variant a new opening. Cases are also running high in the United Kingdom, where the government dropped many Covid-19 precautions weeks ago. Waning effectiveness from the first wave of immunizations and public fatigue over social distancing in cold weather are also driving case counts.

Of course, the US doesn't have much to boast about when it comes to Covid-19 cases, having marked its 750,000 death to the disease last week. But in this viciously polarized political atmosphere, it wouldn't take much for Biden's foes to accuse him of importing more of the virus.

China is building mock versions of US military ships in the desert, possibly for target practice, according to satellite images reviewed by the independent United States Naval Institute. Above, a satellite picture appears to show a full-scale outline of a "Ford-class" aircraft carrier in Ruoqiang, Xinjiang, China, on October 20, 2021.

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On Tuesday, US Vice President Kamala Harris is expected in Paris. A conference of Chinese Communist Party elites continues in Beijing. And the US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in United States v. Vaello-Madero -- a potential game-changer for the rights of residents of the US territory of Puerto Rico.