December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas from fairplanet

located:	USA
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

It is an unfair planet. Resources are harvested and protected for the use of the few, while many suffer; wealth belongs to a tiny elite, while the majority live in relative or extreme poverty; humans damage and exploit the environment, leaving plant and animal life to die. It is a very unfair planet indeed.

It's tempting to perform a marketer's trick here, to turn the above description around, with a single, sly phrase: 'and yet...', and then provide a litany of human virtues: charity, good will, resistance efforts, care and compassion. However, although all of these things are of immeasurable value in and of themselves, I'm not convinced that they have the power to change the status quo all that much.

We exited 2016 with an abiding sense of dread: European institutions were failing, the American experiment had produced a terrible result, right wing populism was on the rise and concern for both the environment and refugees looked set to plummet. In 2017, this sense of dread has been realised, with the traditional world order failing, the Middle East in more disarray than at any other time in the last half-century, a genocide against the Rohingya people, and continued tensions between extreme populisms. But there have also been other, more unexpected turns, such as the tax-breaks for the wealthy, currently being finalised by the American government (which will have global consequences, much like anything in America does, either in political or symbolic terms), and conversely, the defeat of certain right-wing parties in Europe.

Despite these vicissitudes, the team at fairplanet, and many other organisations around the world, believe it's important to not pin one's hopes to events. Rather, to remind ourselves why we point out injustices in the world – because it is a deeply unfair planet, and we believe everyone deserves a chance at a good life, free of persecution, violence and harassment.

It might be a little sentimental to do this at Christmas, but if there's one time of year to remind ourselves of fundamental values, it's right about now. Let's continue trying to make this unfair planet a little more tolerant, equitable and free.

Image: Trump signing bill before Christmas 2017, CNN