Today's election result is not just about the coming 5 years. Whether there'll be free & fair elections at all in the future, whether our constitution will stand the test of time, whether we will become a hindu nation, all depends on it. This is going to be a crucial point in the history of #India. We may lose this #election, but we can't afford to lose #hope. At this point, even limiting the fascist party from achieving the brutal majority predicted by the various exit polls is a big win!
In these challenging times, where narratives are twisted and historical truths are overshadowed, it's more important than ever to remember the enduring bond between the Jewish people, the Hebrew language, and the land of Israel.
This connection isn't merely historical; it's a pulsating lifeline that has nourished a culture, a language, and a civilization through millennia.
Israel stands not only as a geographical entity but as a beacon of continuous innovation, humanitarian aid, and cultural wealth that contributes vastly to global progress
The people of Israel, resilient and diverse, embody the essence of survival and revival. From reviving an ancient language to leading advancements in technology and medicine, our impact resonates worldwide, transcending the borders of our small country
Together, we stand not just with a country, but with a living, thriving testament to what humanity can achieve when rooted in unity, history, and hope.
To build a good future, I think the question we need to ask ourselves is "How do we make the lives of our children, or our own, or our parents, amazing?", and not "What technology will make me more famous or make me the most money?" -- which seems to be the default question. If it's not going to make things better, you don't have to build it. You are free.
Our energy and focus is finite, and focusing on fame, wealth, or exploitative practices distracts us from making what matters.
I've shifted from thinking "What can I do that will gain the most recognition?" to "What will I do that's genuinely better?", by this philosophy. One of my influences is John von Neumann's essay "Can we survive technology?", from 1955. Technology is not neutral: it's a tool that can be used for good and bad, creation and destruction. (And likewise may be most human activities)
This essay by Jag Bhalla, on "The Dark Origins of Optimism and its Current Cheerful Evils", is one of the best pieces I've ever read on this. Maybe the best (also many links). Enjoy.
"As Voltaire knew, optimism is often an elite-serving demon in disguise"
Rebecca Solnit: "Hope is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists. Optimists think it will all be fine without our involvement; pessimists take the opposite position; both excuse themselves from acting. It’s the belief that what we do matters even though how and when it may matter, who and what it may impact, are not things we can know beforehand." @bookstodon#hope#socialJustice
"The #consciousness of the majority has to enlarge or that discord will be #TheEnd of us. You can’t have only personal and up close morality on a planet that now has technological capabilities to murder so many from afar…if you don’t care about others far away, eventually this will come to your doorstep.
This is why the #young who are protesting give off such #hope."
"Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries — realists of a larger reality."