Lately the insanity that is going on in the world has reached new heights. I’m sure you don’t have to look for long to find something ridiculous that is hurting millions, but possibly the worst part about these issues is that people have stopped caring. They have made up their minds about what they want to believe and that is it. No room for growth or learning or anything.

It’s horrible. It’s disgusting and it’s a complete moral failure on so many levels.

I for one, am so sick of the narrative that there is nothing we can do, and no way to make this better. It cannot be true. I don’t yet know exactly what steps we need to take to improve things, but I know that progress takes time, effort, and collaboration. We must fight for a better world or those who are currently power will work towards their own ends, no matter the cost to the rest of us.

My background is in international relations, so one of the biggest issues that I hear about regularly is ‘security’. To be honest, if you’re anything like me you probably thought that security was a pretty simple concept, but I am here to tell you that it’s not at all.

After all, whose security are we talking about? Where should be secure? Who will do the securing? And what are we ultimately securing against?

These are questions that scholars and analysts have been asking for years, and I find their answers pretty unsatisfactory. Mostly the answers look like this:

Whose security? Mine (that is, whoever’s being asked in the moment). Or at least ‘my country or people’.

Where is secure? Again, my borders—or wherever we want to claim our borders lie.

Who is doing the securing? The government, but citizens should assist, it’s their home to defend after all.

What are we securing against? Well everyone outside!

It creates such a violent ‘us vs them’ dynamic which we see play out in every day conversation. Of course, for the most part, when people talk about security, they are referring to national security.

Living in Australia, systemic racism is built into the very fibres of our systems and institutions. The way people speak about Indigenous people, migrants, refugees and our pacific region at large is horrible. Growing up I learned the importance of ‘mateship’, that is, being a good mate to those around you and people in need. Yet, I fear that value is disappearing by the second as the political climate in Australia heats to a boiling point. National security (from everything and everyone outside) is a big deal down here.

However, I think the United States is easily the most concerned country when it comes to national security. Of course, as it stands they are currently the largest neo-empire in the world today, so it makes sense for them to be on guard, to ensure they are not violently overthrown, à la French Revolution and so on. Or does it?

There is one other integral question in security discussions and that is: what will we do to be secure? In other words, how far will we go to secure the state?

For the sake of brevity, there are plenty of ways to do this. Alliances, threats, sanctions, blockades, military armament, preventative measures, preemptive strikes, soft power influence (such as sharing culture). Some of these are more effective than others, but it all depends on so many factors.

Having the most nukes will allow you to command more power than those with less or no nukes. The recent AUKUS agreement was Australia’s attempt to sit up at the adults table by joining the US and the UK, but it meant breaking off an agreement with France, which is a big no-no. It’s also why Israel and the US are such good buddies, because they have always been in bed together (the UN and international system was built for them after all) but also because Israel has nukes very strategically placed, i.e. close to Russia and China. As such, for the US, their ‘security’ stems from Israel’s ‘security’ which means the Palestinian’s ‘security’ is not important. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you: the logic of international relations!

The things people will do to ensure their own security are countless, but they usually turn to armament, militarising their people and getting more weapons to contend with surrounding states. Yet this brings a new issue which we call the ‘security dilemma’.

Hypothetically, if New Zealand started to increase its production of weapons, the Australian government might get nervous and decide that they need to do the same. However, when New Zealand sees Australia’s growing militarisation, they might become even more nervous, and increase production again. This cycle goes on and on until nerves are stretched and conflict has the potential to bubble over. That is the security dilemma for you.

So how do we change this? I personally think the system sounds like it was constructed and run by a group of ten year olds, but I suppose that’s what happens when you let men have too much unchecked power (don’t argue darling, history proves this pretty much every time).

Natural Security

I propose a new concept: natural security.

That is, the security of three key parts of the natural world: people, animals, and the earth on which we live. Rather than fighting for the security of lands chopped up with arbitrary borders, these three pillars must be protected and preserved as well as possible.

These three pillars must exist in a triad, where they are protected in conjunction with each other. Human life must be preserved, but it should not be done to the detriment of the environment. Further, animal life must be protected, but again, not to the detriment of other humans and so on.

Natural security is a three-pronged concept, which requires everything and everyone from the governing bodies and companies or corporations, right down to the individual level, to protect, preserve, and prioritise the safety, well-being, and the ability to thrive for humans, animals, and the environment. Every decision must be made to further the lives, livelihood, and safety of these three pillars.

Like any new concept, I understand that this will take time to be accepted into our world and practises, but I believe it is vital for the following reasons.

1 People are important

As was established by the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, all people are deserving of dignity, respect, freedom from fear and injury, safety, health, clean environments, and should have the right to live life on their terms. That means all people, including those with disabilities, those of different nationalities, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. It means even criminals deserve rights, and that we must prioritise care and respect for everyone. I for one believe this to be an admirable and worthy goal, if challenging. As a Christian, I believe that all humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and have inherent value which must be protected. Even outside of these religious beliefs, there is an understanding that humans must look after one another, and act as one to protect all of humankind.

As such, our policies, practises, and most critically, our values must reflect this. If humans are valued and believed to be important, our laws and actions should reflect that. War and violent conflict must be done away with. Rape and sexual assault must be stamped out for good. Domestic violence must be left in the past, and replaced by mutual respect and love. Modern day slavery must be rejected in favour of adequate pay, safe working conditions, and the livelihood of all. Racism, sexism, and all other forms of hatred must be eliminated as we move forward in unity to care for all. Issues such as homelessness, addiction, mental health, poverty, lacking healthcare services, and lacking education must be prioritised and resolved through cooperation and multi-disciplinary action. The treatment of indigenous peoples around the world must be changed, and a new path forged through collaboration and empowerment. Developing countries who still suffer the damaging effects of colonisation and western interference must be supported in their development to ensure that all people, everywhere in the world have access to all opportunity.

Perhaps these sound like big goals or sweeping statements but they can be achieved. It will require a shift in our values, from self-centred individual or exclusive national interests to prioritising the benefit of people everywhere. It will take time for these values to shift, for new beliefs to be formed, for legislation to be written, and for action to be taken. It will require a change in our efforts and new understandings of cooperation and progress. It will require a willingness for all countries, international organisations, companies and corporations, charities and specialist groups to work towards a better world for all people, because that is the highest good.

2 Animals must be protected

Animals are some of the most incredible, interesting, and helpful parts of the natural functions in our world.

From the way bees and insects pollinate our plants, to the droppings of birds which spread seeds, to the sheer beauty and wonder of them. Think of your favourite animal, be it a dolphin, bear, snake, deer, tiger, lion, meerkat, sea otter koala, kangaroo, frog, horse, llama, seal, sloth, sheep, or any other creature. Aren’t they beautiful, fascinating, or absolutely amazing?

We can learn so much from their physiology and habits, the things they eat and how they move. Horses helped us move for thousands of years. Cows and chickens provide two of the most important parts of our diet daily. Birds and their wings helped humans to create the first planes. This slideshow reveals a selection of other scientific developments or projects that are underway using the abilities animals have.

Further, animals have long been the protectors of our environments, and keystone species are one example. National Geographic writes that “A Keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem” and without it, “the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether” (27 Sep 2024) There are so many types, such as sea otters, gray wolves, elephants, hummingbirds, and other species whose roles are slightly different but no less important.

Most importantly, these animals have little to no say in what happens to their habitats. They cannot protest loggers cutting down their homes, they cannot fight back in abusive situations, they cannot fight for their own rights while being abused on farms, they cannot stop hunters from hunting them into extinction.

This isn’t to say that we must all be vegans who don’t ever use animal products ever again—I definitely couldn’t do that. But there are better ways to do it that are sustainable, ethical, and which enable the animals to live good lives as well.

We must protect the ones who cannot protect themselves. Survival of the fittest may have been natures way in the past, but we can choose to live differently in the future. We can choose to value and protect these incredible creatures and live in harmony with them.

3 The safety and wellbeing of the environment is vital

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the health of our planet is the most important factor for our survival. As it becomes clearer each and every day that no country is on track to meet their climate commitments, as stories of environmental degradation abound, as the death and endangerment of natural habitats, plants, and ecosystems are reported, it is exceedingly clear that what we are doing is not working!

As they say, ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’. Why do our politicians and governments continue to promise progress using the same frameworks that don’t work?

Environmental destruction has many forms, from oil spills, pollution of the air, light, oceans, and the earth, overfishing, logging, mining, fracking, farming, increased urbanisation, city expansion, the use of machines with inefficient energy consumption, water waste, pesticides, erosion, the melting of ice caps, industrial and domestic sewage, chemical residues or dyes, radioactive materials, bombs and other weapons of war… Need I continue?

And that’s just the stuff that humans have done. Natural disasters can be just as deadly, and just as damaging. Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, cyclones, hurricanes, avalanches, droughts, landslides, volcanic activity, fires, snowstorms and so on wreak havoc on our world.

At this point in history, we have access to so much new technology, so many incredible minds, and so few solutions to the issues that we are facing. Imagine what the world could look like if we prioritised protecting the environment over profit? How different could we all be living? How much more beautiful, more rich, more lush the environment could be?

We need to stop valuing the next crappy iphone upgrade and start finding ways to make phones that don’t require the same minerals and metals harvested by slaves. We need to stop inventing new bombs and weapons of war and instead turn our attention, money, and innovation to building more environmentally-friendly houses. We need to find ways to recycle or repurpose the millions of tonnes of plastic waste that are dumped in our oceans or in developing countries. Why drill for more petrol and oil when we can invest in renewable energy that will cost less for everyone and make the world cleaner for all?

Conclusion: Natural Security is our key to survival

I understand why the world has not prioritised these things in the past. Money and profit reign in our current capitalist, post-colonial system. These aren’t just buzzwords, they are the truth.

There is a lot of unlearning that must be done for us to progress towards a new way of life, but I believe that this is not only necessary, but vital for our survival. It is amazing to me how these issues have reached the critical tipping point, and yet there are so few people concerned about them. We are at a critical cross-road where we must decide what the future will hold for us.

I for one, see the current course of self-determination and self-destruction as a foolish choice. The war and violence we see around the world today is horrific and utterly stupid. This cannot be all that there is.

We must band together and decide on a new course. This will not be easy, and it will require collaboration, time, effort, funding, and a genuine desire to see change. However, this is the only option for our own survival.

Natural security must prevail. We must shift our focus from an individual approach of national security to the top-down and bottom-up view that natural security provides. Humans are the ones who must decide on and create this change for the animals who we live with, and the environment we live in. Animals and the environment around us have always supported our growth, development, health, and well-being. It is our duty to return this great gift.