I guarantee you that this will be the shortest column of mine you will ever read.
As the holidays rapidly approach, most of us personally know someone who is hurting financially or emotionally. Their pain is frequently and unfortunately drowned out by the consumerism of the shopping season.
That is why for this holiday season, I am asking my readership and all who read this column to commit at least one act of solidarity or kindness for those who need it.
In the age of celebrity role models, epic Twitter rants and reality TV presidential candidates, money talks and the cult of the individual reigns supreme.
But does the idealized image of the self-made man turned Silicone Valley billionaire reflect a healthy and productive society, or does it indicate a deep crisis of our civilization? Does human innovation come from the inspiration of lone geniuses, or is it a product of a slow process of cooperation within collaborative networks?
The lone genius/rags-to-riches narrative is compelling and lucrative. It boosts book sales, TV ratings, Facebook friend requests and Twitter followers, but it is largely inaccurate. Upon close inspection, many individuals revered as lone geniuses are in reality the public face of a collaborative duo.
It is crucial that we maintain some principles such as the freedom of expression, since the right is, by any means, essential to every individual. As much as we disagree with one another, this fundamental right should be upheld.
The problem however arises when this right is abused and the powerless minorities in an already toxic environment are affected by it. Charlie Hebdo was stigmatising Muslims and, in the West today, there is an apparent normalisation and standardisation of this discourse. In fact, political parties, in particular far right groups, are ‘Islamising’ every issue.
After the tragic events, we saw some of the hypocritical world leaders march for the same free speech which they often oppress. The King of Jordan, who sentenced a Palestinian Journalist to 15 years in prison last year; Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose forces killed 17 journalists in Gaza last year; Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Shoukry, who detained Al Jazeera staff as well as detaining Journalist Shawkan. Surely, if the UK government was any better and truly upholds absolute free speech it would not have forced the Guardian to destroy the hard disk containing the Snowden files either.
