Let's Talk Moral Lows

For a long while I am trying as much as possible to keep myself away from the poisonous nonsense. Either in politics or personal affairs. It doesn't make me feel good and as long as I consider that my power stops in the front of other people's bad will. All shall pass, after all.

However, being active on social media - a serious sourse of yetzer hara both for the political and personal wellbeing - the ways in which some public intellectuals position towards certain sensitive topics cannot be ignored by someone so much into fine analysis of human goods and wrongs.

I know that the example I am about to mention is not new, doesn't have any chance of changing stances in the next decade or so. I also know that I personally cannot stop from being involved, even so randomly lately. I am still optimistic that my words can one day bring change, for me and other people. One word plus one word plus one word can make a strong outstanding sentence.

In one of my rare moments of procrastination, I was lately scrolling some Twitter and Instagram accounts, of people that at the first sight might look the kind of persons I would love to talk with about politics, Middle East, arts and science. PhD holders, with a good research position in European universities. Some of them do have a background from countries that say every couple of minutes that want to destroy Israel. But they go visit Holocaust memorials in Europe and are impressed about the extent of the annihilation that was planned by the Germans.

But they also have a steady obsession: Gaza. Free Gaza! Resistance! Take down that Wall! Resist! Are the short, from the bottom of the heart messages uttered by those civil vigilants. Poor Gazans! Cruel inhuman Israeli Army who is killing babies! Stop the war! Once in a while, when it is the case, the border their profile picture taken in sunny European places with a widget in support of those poor people from Gaza.

However, there is nothing on the profile of those brave public intellectuals about the children killed in Yemen, or those in Syria, or the girls kidnapped in Nigeria by the Islamic militants. Nothing about the horrors of ISIS in the Middle East or the way in which gay people are treated in Gaza by Hamas. They do not adorn their smiling pics with a ribbon and the moral outrage is completely absent. Of course, it might be they are too busy counting what they call the human rights violations of poor Gazans by Israel. 

Of course truth, especially when it comes to conflicts is not black and white and there are so many nuances and special circumstances to be taken under consideration. I am always ready to openly discuss Middle East politics and its interesting stage this part of the world is going through. But I prefer to have such discussions with people with an open mind, whose long years of intellectual dedication for science or humanities taught them how to use their mind to abhor any kind of propaganda and put themself outside their comfort zone and think, think, think. With their own mind. Those kinds of people I can't wait to have as friends.  

Atheism explained

I am not a strong supporter of organized, militant atheism. Rather, I consider that, starting from the early childhood; children have to be taught to think by themselves and to never stop curiosity regarding the world around. And to be real fighters, never giving up despite the overwhelming amount of mind intolerance and idiotic aggressively individuals.

In the same time, it is a need of public explanation of what a free mind is, but on an individual, permanent basis. Lack of information or certain social contexts could be countered by a coherent discourse of explanation, not necessarily on a bureaucratic, organised basis. But, public awareness is needed, at least at a certain point so, the efforts made recently in US or in London, could be part of a wider effort of public awareness regarding the basic meaning of atheism. Even, as in London case – where the public message was finally diluted (btw, why religious people never would accept a public awareness campaign having as message at leas “probably is a god”, they always utter strong opinions)? – the medium could change the message, the efforts are more than nothing and could encourage people to be boulder in supporting their own identity.