As the days progress, we face even more uncertainties. Political uncertainties are pervasive, with recent attacks on Poland, continuing conflict in the Middle East, protests in the United Kingdom, Nepal, and Indonesia. Unpredictable weather patterns dump rain, causing the floods that have ignited much national discussion. Economic uncertainties are also clear, with the tariff issues casting a lot of doubt on the future of the global economy. There is also the threat and opportunity brought by artificial intelligence to many livelihoods and the education of future generations. Such uncertainties create a complex social and physical environment for many of us. Discussing these requires fortitude and intellect.

To chart our way forward through our uncertain and complex environment, reasoned debate and discussion is necessary. It needs cool heads to properly parse the realities, threats, numbers and figures, and opportunities prevailing in our collective situation. This allows the mental and emotional space to address current issues and navigate short and long-term ways forward.

Without the proverbial cool heads, tempers often cause emotions to hold sway, leading to short-sighted or stopgap measures that hope to tide over until the issues die down. Unfortunately, we often have the tendency to dig our heels into emotional discussions, overblowing discussions. We need to de-escalate the emotion and avoid the vitriol we often see on social media, which tends to conflate issues and risks creating more misunderstanding. These emotions overshadow the possibilities and the cooperation that will be needed to form reasonable, long-term action.

Some major challenges that will require this cooperation include addressing the wide spectrum of climate change-related disruptions, from managing floods to securing our food supply. Raising competitiveness to deal with the economic uncertainties. The other is the proper adoption of Artificial Intelligence to make sure that our people and economy remain competitive. Another is strengthening families so that social benefits can be expanded and children are properly raised to be productive citizens.

The plain truth is that we will need deliberate, long-term approaches to address many common challenges that will persist well into the future. For this, reasoned debate and cooperation is crucial.

It is in this need for more debate that we reflect on the aftermath of the recent death of American conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, I am slightly surprised to realize that he has a following in the country. Apparently, conservative ideas and advocacies he espoused have a Filipino audience, whether they fully support his views or not. At any rate, his death is expected to galvanize support for the ideas he promoted, and perhaps encourage others to continue with his head-on debates on college campuses.

These debates should be encouraged, rather than suppressed. Not everybody will like debate and discussion to spread. However, I believe that more debates are how we can facilitate the dialogue that can help solidify the cooperation we need.

Let us continue the respectful debates and discussions because these are where the ideas we need to address our challenges are forged and refined, and more can gain the confidence to participate in helping solve our common problems and challenges.