Dear friends of humanism,
The longest day of the year has been celebrated as something special in the course of the year since time immemorial. And 34 years ago, we – humanists from all over the world – declared the day of the summer solstice to be our day. But like so many things, World Humanist Day this year has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Celebrating together as we would like to is not possible. We have been separated from people in recent months, and we still are. We have had to keep our distance to protect our fellow human beings – friends and strangers alike. A new virus should not be given the chance to kill hundreds of thousands of us.
Individual measures can be debated, but certainly the restrictions in public life are not and were not an attack on our freedom or a conspiracy, but an act of care, reason and humanism.
Of course, some consider the coronavirus pandemic to be mere propaganda and the associated restrictions to be deliberate harassment and oppression. Others are frightened by the situation. They are looking for those responsible, for simple answers – but end up with conspiracy stories and fake news. These people’s fears are understandable, because none of us know what will happen next. No one knows what challenges we will still have to face. But there are no simple answers, such as those promised by conspiracy ideologues.
Instead, we must critically monitor health protection measures, constantly re-evaluate them on the basis of scientific findings and new developments and adapt them where necessary. And last but not least, we should measure them against what we want: What kind of society do we want to live in?
The majority of young and healthy people could also have said: “What do we care about old and sick people? We don’t care if there are one or two hundred thousand deaths a year on top of the eight hundred thousand.”
But we as a society have decided otherwise: yes, we want to live, we want to live well, we want to live long. And we don’t just want that for ourselves. We also want it for our fellow human beings. And as humanists, we want it for the whole of humanity. We are looking for solutions that everyone can live with, as well as possible and for as long as possible. And that also means that we do not recklessly disregard necessary protective measures.
I wish you all a happy World Humanist Day! Stay healthy with your loved ones and celebrate with us digitally today!
