Climate change anxiety – Over Christmas time, Resilience was a Sherbhert theme, as expressed in the 3-part commentary on the topic, and in the Freedom of Thought and Speech piece in December 2019. Resilience is of daily relevance in press and broadcasting reports, as mental health concerns receive increasing attention and natural and man-made disasters afflict communities across the globe.
On 4 January, the Times reported “Young people seek help for anxiety over climate change”. Various psychology experts are quoted about eco-anxiety being on the rise, aroused by images such as the burning of Amazon forests and bushfires in Australia. One marine biologist, who suffered grief over the loss of coral reefs, took a positive approach: he suggested that grief be understood as a rational response to great loss, but also to use it as inspiration and motivation to try to come up with creative solutions- a resilient response. One psychologist suggested that parents cannot say to children with anxiety that “everything will be alright” because, she says, it won’t be, and that things can be ameliorated by talking appropriately about the reality. Perhaps, however, one can say it will be alright by focussing on the human ability to change, to develop creative solutions (as regularly happens for example with seemingly incurable disease) and to tackle problems with innovation (for example carbon storage and, coming, nuclear fusion). Activities like those of Extinction Rebellion may give comfort through raising awareness, but they do not raise hope. For children and adults anxious about climate change, focus on hope and action, and belief in the future, not Armageddon, is fundamental, to combat the negativism which dominates the subject of climate change, and its presentation designed to shock rather than to balance and drive confidence.
Religious Racism – Christians are perhaps the most persecuted major religious group around the globe as highlighted by Boris Johnson in his Christmas message, and by the recent review of Christian Persecution by the Bishop of Truro, talking of a genocidal wipe-out. In Iraq alone there are now apparently only some 120,000 Christians, as opposed to 1,500,000 before 2003; Christians are driven from Syria, targeted by Islamic terrorists; in Africa Christians are enslaved by Jihadists; in Indonesia, some Christians are prevented from worshipping in Churches. Boris Johnson’s commitment to stand in solidarity with Christians everywhere and defend their right to practice their faith is welcome, and hopefully will be delivered on.
However, other religious racism must be addressed too. The world has been soft on the Myanmar purging of the Rohingyas: wringing of hands and little else. The plight of the Uighurs in China is well recognised; hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, are imprisoned in what China, it is understood, refers to as re-education camps to get them to think correctly, and those not in prison are persecuted. Imagine if reports were published of established re-education camps in the UK, Germany or France imprisoning Muslims, just like the Uighurs. The reaction by governments to the Uighurs plight has been pathetically weak. Not even primarily Muslim countries are speaking out on the outrage. Separately Prime Minister Modi in India has promulgated a policy blatantly discriminatory against Muslims. In countries in Europe and in the U. S. anti-Semitic activity is notably increased in the last year. The Governments of the West need to find a backbone on this topic of religious racism, and the UK should lead not just where Christians are suffering.
Middle Eastern Madness – The attacks on U.S. installations and the assassination of Qassim Soleimani of Iran, as part of but one ongoing conflict with Iran, have highlighted afresh the madness of the power struggles and the fires of violence burning throughout the Middle East, and religion is again at the heart of it. Revenge upon revenge is the so- called leaders’ rallying cry. The only eventual result will be some form of peace processes- why not start them all now. The only victims are the civilian helpless ordinary people, principally Muslim, who will continue to be killed, be maimed, be made homeless, be orphaned, be widowed, and be watched on television and the internet. It would at least be something if religious leaders, wherever they are, particularly of Islam, could shout for a stop to the madness. Lost for words.
