Politics

Contrary to what many people believe, secularism is not the same as atheism. Atheists are among the most vocal proponents of secularism, both offline and online. That might be the source of confusion.

How did we end up with politicians willing to ignore the biggest issues of our time? How did we end up with politicians that do not care not only about science but about healthcare or even at times – basic human decency? Well, of course, we elected them. But why did we elect them? Is the so-called alt-right really the reason populists are in power? And what is alt-right anyway?

21 lessons for the 21st century by Yuval Noah Harari. A great book by a brilliant guy. It touches on every important topic, like migration, global warming, fake news, artificial intelligence and analyses them very carefully from all sides.

The freedom to offend is desperately needed because when any idea is immune to criticism, this is a step in a horrible direction. I don't think I have to persuade anyone to take this view. We should not be quiet about things that are currently bad in society and the ideas that drive them in the effort to get everyone to just get along.

The world is in turmoil. The US has its own problems and exports them all over the world in the form of far-right. Russia, it seems has found a perfect weapon against democracy and liberal values – trolls and fake news. China is doing its own thing. In Brazil, far right is in power. Some historians have even begun to draw parallels between what is now in the US and the beginnings of Nazi Germany. Even if they’re wrong, I personally do not recall seeing these kinds of comparisons during the nineties or 2000s. Some might say that I have not been looking at the right places and that this has been festering for a long time. That is certainly possible. The internet and social media have brought these kinds of ideas and persons from the margins into the full view and now you barely can escape them. They are everywhere, infecting everything, no doubt inspired by the people of the similar calibre being in the positions of power as well.