Holiday greetings from Squirrel News
Dear readers and friends,
The year 2025 is not even half over yet, but the world is already in crisis mode again. The US president in particular is currently doing everything he can to abolish the achievements of decades as quickly as possible. It is hard to grasp just how quickly one global crisis can follow another.
Nevertheless, the last few weeks and months have also shown that international cooperation on important issues continues to produce important results. These include the funding plan to protect the planet’s ecoystems and wildlife, the first global fee on greenhouse gases from ships and the international pandemic agreement on which WHO countries recently agreed. Not to mention the positive developments that no one expected, such as in Syria, where decades of dictatorship recently ended in a matter of days.
Now, Christians worldwide celebrate Easter; Jews around the globe celebrate Passover. And whether we are religious or not: the symbols of resurrection, deliverance and redemption serve as helpful metaphors to remind us that every horror ends at some point and ultimately something new always begins.
Resurrection and resistance
Of course, this does not mean that we have to stand by while reactionary politicians and entrepreneurs try to destroy democracy. On the contrary. A few years ago, the historian Timothy Snyder published ‘On Tyranny’, a clever little book in which he gives ‘Twenty Lessons’ on resistance in times of authoritarian politics.
Today, Snyder’s messages are more important than ever, and they’re interesting to read, too, as they often involve small actions one wouldn’t necessarily think of otherwise: from protecting your own digital communication to having conversations with people you don’t know.
We recommend Snyder’s book to everyone who hasn’t read it yet. After all, the more resolutely we defend progress and achievements, the less we have to wait and hope for resurrection afterwards.
Best wishes and happy holidays,
Jonathan and the entire Squirrel News team
Read more
