With the eyes of the mind on rights and freedom - november 2024

The book " The truths we hold " was written in 2018, while Kamala Harris was serving her term as a Senator of the United States. I read the book in September, at the time when the campaign for the election of the President of the United States was at its peak with Harris as one of the two candidates aiming to enter the Oval Office, which is the most important Office in the world.

Throughout the reading, what impressed me was that Kamala Harris' career in its journey from one station to another was so gradual, so logical and so significant that at times I had moments of disbelief and thought whether it is a Manual on how a prosecutor should be or is a Guide on how a politician should be. At no time, during the reading of the book, did Kamala Harris come to me simply as a woman, I did not perceive her as such and never as a woman whose biological and social roots were among the vulnerable groups of society. She had no vulnerability whatsoever. And while I listened to the comments that were made in favor of one candidate or in favor of the other candidate, Kamala came to me with her power from the book written in 2018.

Kamala will not enter the Oval Office. And the publisher of the book just said "regardless of how things turned out". Things turned out the way the American people wanted and that is the beauty of democracy, that the people decide and our transition of 30 years has taught us that the people are not wrong. And in many dimensions of the entire discussion that takes place today about the winning candidate or the losing candidate, another reflection I have had was, yes, this small Albania has had so much political experience that it seems as if we are part of an extraordinary context such as context of the United States of America.

There were quite a few moments in " The truths we hold " that intrigued me to focus in the preface of the book such as the role of childhood traces in the profile of the prosecutor and the politician; the power of the prosecutor to touch the wounds and get under the victim's skin; vulnerability as a prerequisite for success; politics as the ally of the weakest; the politician's behavior towards a political failure or a career offer; a crime against someone as a crime against everyone; the relationship with the powerful business; relationship with scientific research and figures.

But I decided to stop at 2 moments in my foreword: the first moment, freedoms and rights, and I made this decision because this is my essence and I wanted to be myself in the foreword inspired by Kamala and supported by Kamala and the second moment, the profile of the prosecutor, which remains a curiosity for me.

In the introduction, Alda stopped at the zero point of our transition. I will refer to another moment, which will allow me to make a further elaboration of what is written in the preface and which pertains to the years to come. In the preface, I underlined that the threats to the freedoms and rights gained over generations are real and will most likely continue to become even more present for those who will inherit the victories of democratic societies.

Why do I think the threats to freedoms and rights are real, and why do I think they may be even more present in the years ahead?

I would like to make a parenthesis about the historical context of a century ago when wars, technological inventions (the automobile, the airplane, the radio and its use as an interconnection and communication instrument), the rise and fall of authoritarian regimes, the fall of colonial empires, the invention and the use of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the economic and human traumas associated with them, created the reasons and environment for extraordinary advances in the field of rights in democratic countries, created the institutions of monitoring and evaluation of rights and freedoms, mobilized support never seen before and aimed at empowering communities and individuals in terms of rights and freedoms.

A long list of rights were institutionalized over several decades, starting with those for equality before the law, freedom of speech, freedom to vote, freedom of property, freedom of belief. This was the first generation of rights, to then pass to the second generation of rights such as the right to work, the right to food, the right to housing, the right to health care and social security. It continued with the third generation of rights, those that go beyond the individual and focus on society, such as the right to a healthy environment, to economic and social development, the right to natural resources or cultural heritage, sustainable development, etc.

As we advanced in the field of rights, the challenges were extraordinary while rights were returning to a normality in our lives. And, and if I had the chance, I would have stopped for further elaboration on each challenge that has accompanied this battle, particularly on one that I am extremely close to, which is social polarization and its effects. But I'm not going to do that, because I think the focus on the future is very important when we're talking about Kamala Harris's book. I will focus on a significant development of the last two decades for the very fact that this development has its roots and giants in the USA, while the influence is worldwide.

In these two decades, as we gradually freed ourselves from the injustices of the past, new chains appeared in our lives in the form of materialistic appetite, selfishness and greed. These chains did not spare our planet either. And this century began precisely with the conscience that the way of life of the Western world and the hectic speed of businesses to win at any price was exceeding the capacities of our planet. The 2007-2008 Human Development Report made clear the challenge of climate change for humanity.

Meanwhile, we are living another transition. The technological transition, which has dimensions unimaginable to date in terms of spread and impact.

The Internet is a worldwide network increasingly accessible by the public, no individual in our democratic societies can be imagined without a smartphone in hand, social media platforms are irrevocably changing our lives, and artificial intelligence and machine learning are clearly competing the system of traditional education.

The Internet, in these two decades, has not only conditioned communication between people, but is building a completely new relationship between citizens and institutions, customers with businesses, businesses with each other, and businesses with institutions. The Internet and innovation is changing our way of life at an amazing speed.

Devices in our homes are connecting and working more and more with the Internet, communication with the market is taking place at a distance, innovation is transforming traditional industries into smart industries. Artificial intelligence and robotics have empowered the machine to not only observe and assist us, but also create content, music, poetry and texts by using the data it has.

As long as we are connected to each other, to institutions, to goods, to objects, to social media, as much as we are beneficiaries as consumers and users, we are also violated, in our right, that of individual privacy.

Little by little and without realizing it, we have all become inhabitants of a planet parallel to ours, a virtual planet whose monopoly is held by those who created it and own it, and together with it, the monopoly of knowledge. They know everything about us, while we know nothing about them, putting us in conditions of complete inequality and openly violating our right to equality. Their giant information machine is not built to guarantee the integrity or authenticity of this information.

What is cooked in it, the ingredients it is cooked with, why is it cooked, only they know, while we are so busy with the daily engagement to be able to afford the life in the real planet that we digest the food cooked on the virtual planet without having either time or power to chew it. To see the benefits or sadness years later.

That being said, it is absolutely true that our children today have more freedom and rights than ever before, a gift of the efforts of the generations of the last 100 years in particular. But these freedoms and rights risk not being so anymore if they do not withstand the challenges of the beginning of this century.

At the dawn of this century, democratic societies failed to build a vision of a digital and democratic future. The World Economic Forum Report on Global Risks 2006, while defining terrorism, the influenza pandemic as immediate risks and climate change as a risk that would be felt in the long term, with a high grade of uncertainty, emphasized that there were also some potential risks with unfamiliar effects yet such as those associated with new technologies, which can be very confusing.

If you look at the reports of the World Economic Forum from 2006, when the measurement of risks began, and until 2024, in none of the reports, technology and its risks were on the list of global risks. It appeared only in the last report on global risks, the one published in January 2024. And what is the biggest global risk identified in this report?  Disinformation, among 36 threatening risks, and among the five biggest risks in the next 10 years. While the negative effects of Artificial Intelligence are added to the list of risks in the next 10 years, leaving social polarization behind in terms of the degree of risk.

Managing these risks in the coming years on the benefit the public is essential to our children's future. Big tech is not our ally in this battle. On the contrary, governments are our biggest guarantors who will have to consider the calls of academics, their analyses, statistical figures, civil society efforts, to further materialize in laws and regulations how the information and activity of the virtual planet with every day impacts in our lives will be used.

Therefore, this book, written with the mind's eye on freedom and rights, gives the opportunity to reflect. Reflecting first and foremost as a parent at a time when parenting is more complex than ever and as a citizen at a time when the planet and humanity are on a complex test.

Kamala Harris will not be entering the Oval Office next January. But I think this is exactly what gives the book the opportunity to have another imaginary station. Why didn't the winning model until Kamala Harris was a United States Senator turn into a winning model as President of the United States of America? I am very curious about the truths about Kamala Harris as Vice President of the United States of America, which are not in this book, and those as a candidate for President of the United States of America. The power with which Kamala Harris recounts her career life through 2018 will have the power to tell truths as she serves as Vice President and as a candidate for President. I wish these truths would be offered to us and we would meet again and discuss.

However, I would like to close my speech with the questions that are constantly on my mind these days: what was missing from the profile of Kamala Harris to not be the President of the United States of America? And what part of the profile of Kamala Harris has the current President-elect who will enter the Oval Office in January of next year and who can apply as President during the exercise of his office?

Thank you for your attention and I hope you read and enjoy this book as I have read and enjoyed it.