This morning I watched a video on the NY Times about Greenland and why everbody wants a piece of this frozen tundra. As we have all recently learned, Trump is notoriously ready to annex it with military force if necessary. As it turns out he’s not the only one. Because of its position on the Arctic Circle, Russia and China are also eager to claim it. I was surprised that this was such a hot property, despite being covered in snow most of the year. I had assumed Trump was being insane and random, per his usual strategy, to keep people on their toes. But no, behind it is a sinister strategy to intimidate our foreign frenemies with our immediate access to the Arctic, and “defend” our ever-expanding borders (especially when we annex Canada).
Greenland, which is currently having it’s 15 minutes of fame, stays mostly out of the news. And yet it has forever occupied a space in our collective unconscious as that cold island that is not, in fact, green. Iceland is the green one. Greenland is the one with all the ice. Its name is a trick famously played by Erik the Red circa 1000 AD who had hoped to generate more interest in moving there - showing that building an economy in the Arctic has been a problem since day one.
While Greenland’s residents are now technically run by “self-rule,” it is still considered a colony of Denmark, who contributes over $500m to their annual budget to cover “defense and foreign affairs”. According to the Times’ video, they, like many indigenous populations, are considering mining their precious and limited natural resources with the hope of covering these and other expenses to gain freedom from their colonizers.
What this means is destroying the pristine wildlife, and possibly speeding up glacial melt, among other unforeseen problems like accidentally releasing a fleet of buried alien spaceships who have been frozen underneath, and once freed are set on the destruction of Earth like in The Tomorrow War.
If only Greenlanders could become financially independent from Denmark and opportunistic investors, and finally live the life they dreamed of. But how?
Inspired by this challenge, and the idea that what happens to Greenland affects us all in this increasingly interdependent global ecosystem, I am in the process of creating a crowd-sourced fundraiser through Free Funder to raise 500m USD so that Greenland may get a no-strings-attached boost of cash to replace their financial reliance on Denmark and allow them to invest in their future independence.
My invitation for Emergency Funding to Greenland’s parliament:
Greenland and its residents are currently facing unprecedented threats to their freedom: power grabs from America, Russia, China and other enterprising parties who aim to capitalize off of their mostly untouched natural resources and strategic position in the Arctic Circle.
They are currently kept safe through the colonial powers of Denmark who spends around $500m a year to keep Greenland's infrastructure running. That investment comes with tradeoffs that leave the native populations feeling stifled in their abilities to make choices that would lead to greater independence and self-sufficiency for their country.
If we, all over the world, pooled resources on behalf of Greenland we would be able to make a significant impact in their ability to self-govern in this crucial turning point for the country. Consider this fundraiser analogous to that of your favorite public radio station- every little bit helps. Donate a $1 or $2, and imagine a better future for Greenland, and for all of us.
This Free Funder fundraiser is currently pending approval from Greenland’s Parliament President Mimi Kalrsen who would receive the funds. I sent the invite to the person who I assume is her assistant, Arnaruluk Lundblad, whose email is the only one listed on the website.
Even if this project only ever exists as a thought experiment, or a conceptual art piece like the event scores in Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit, I hope it will offer as much in its platonic form as it does in practice. The premise of pushing a crowd-sourced fundraiser to its limit on behalf of an entire country is meant to demonstrate and question the power of the individual. Rick Gradone, an LA-based artist who I asked about this project said it best: “Do people have enough power to do this when the powers involved are so huge?”
You can ask this question of almost every problem we are facing right now. Said another way, if people have the power, how much power do we have, and is it enough?
This is a fabulous idea - wacky and bold and even possibly do-able! I'm in and staying tuned!
I love this idea.