Big Issues - OLD
 The page is being developed to provide a forum for thinking about the big issues of the day, and three in particular:
#    The Coronavirus Pandemic

There's also two papers, which are entitled:

But we start with some general observations on recent events — written before Russia invaded Ukraine. .
1   General Comments
We are living through times of unprecedented technological change and destabilising political tension, with the Fourth Industrial Revolution well underway; social media opening up unrivaled opportunities for communication and enterprise, but causing all kinds of havoc in its wake (including the spread of hate speech and disinformation); populism and identity politics, and the collapse of trust in politicians (and faith in democracy); and the concomitant rise of state repression, assisted by artificial intelligence and mass surveillance. What’s more, international cooperation — which is of paramount importance in tackling communicable disease and climate change — is in crisis, and the rules-based international order has all but broken down.

And on top of all this is a deadly pandemic which has sprung up from nowhere and is now sweeping the world, killing thousands and causing real fear and social and economic chaos... Lord Hennessy says he thinks we’re entering a new era, and that historians in the future may come to talk about ‘BC’ and ‘AC’, ‘Before Coronavirus’ and ‘After Coronavirus’.
So this is very much a new ‘ball game’ for humanity — or should it be ‘war game’? It is also a particularly bleak and depressing prospect. However, we should take some comfort from the fact that people can find meaning and purpose in working to do what they can to see that life, many decades even centuries hence, is better than it might otherwise be.  Indeed, there are groups who hold the view that optimism is essential given the challenges we are facing, and that this of itself can embolden others...

Think for Yourself.
Act for Everyone.

If humanists were to be more vocal / active on such issues, I think collectively we could make a valuable and distinctive contribution to the national debate and provide a little human happiness in the process.

I’m hoping that with this new page we can start the process here in Milton Keynes, if not further afield.
1.1  Interview with Lord Hennessey
This interview with Lord Peter Hennessey was carried on the BBC's World at One on Tuesday 17th March 2020 [starts ~8:15 mins in]. Here's a transcript, if you prefer.

On the outcome of the pandemic:
"I think it'll be a paradoxical outcome in the sense that the intense need for cooperation on disease and natural phenomena that apply to borders, that will be heightened, but it could actually run alongside... a kind of inward-lookingness, for protecting our own moat. The culture of protectiveness to some degree I'm sure will return, but this will leave a level of anxiety lingering, lurking in all our minds, as what can happen in a matter of days and weeks. This will be etched deep into the consciousness of memory. This will be a benchmark against which we test in future other developments that may affect us. This [2020] will be known as 'Corona Year' and I think the BC and AC, 'Before Corona' and 'After Corona' divide, in the sequence of our national, and indeed our international history, it will be there forever more."
1.2  Do We Need a Government of National Unity?
"We haven’t had a government of national unity since the Second World War," writes Peter Franklin (in Unherd, March 2020) but "according to Emmanuel Macron, we are at war — against the coronavirus. Battling the same enemy, governments around the world are taking extraordinary measures. Our own government has promised to do 'whatever it takes' — and that doesn’t only mean spending whatever it takes. The Emergency Coronavirus Bill (to be tabled today, 19 March) will give the Government sweeping powers to restrict our movements and curb our civil liberties..."
"As things stand, the Government has, if not the trust of the whole nation, then its consent to do what must be done. But as the crisis deepens, which it will, then our national unity will come under pressure. It cannot be allowed to crack. If holding things together means bringing in the other parties, then so be it. “Whatever it takes.”
1.3  Russia's War on Ukraine
An enormous amount has been written about the human cost / suffering — and the implications for the world — of Putin's attack on Ukraine. Everyone is today grappling to understand the consequences, both direct and indirect. An excellent place to look for guidance is: ‘Ten ways the war in Ukraine will change the world’ by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

In this concise (<4 page) and powerful) report, the EIU argues inter alia that: “Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty signals the end of the post-cold war order” and that her actions “accelerate the bifurcation of the world into two hostile, competing camps.” The key message is that: “world has become much more unstable and dangerous” and that “the crystallisation of a Russia-China alliance... will make the battle for democracy even more important in the coming decades.”
2   The Coronavirus Pandemic
2.1  Covid-19: Fake News & Criminality
During the pandemic, a slew of health advice was doing the rounds on social media, ranging from useless but relatively harmless, to downright dangerous. Russia was (and still is) reported to be “deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in West”, and cyber-criminals have been having a field day targeting a wide range of health-related industries with phishing emails, some laced with ransomware. Find out more here.
On March 30th 2020 a coalition of distinguished individuals set up Infotagion in response to the information contagion about COVID-19. "In a public health crisis the disinformation we see everyday about this deadly virus can spread just as far and fast as the real thing. Yet this can also harm you and those that you love. That’s why we have to fight back."
"Much of this disinformation exists in private channels that very many people have access to, but not everyone can see. So we need you to share with us the things that don’t look right, we will check the facts, and give you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
2.2  Can Anything Good Come of the Pandemic?
This article in The Conversation (Mar 2020) argues that the coronavirus pandemic is a disaster for the world, but a few good things might emerge from it. Let's hope so! Here's the list:
1. It will make us realise that national boundaries are artificial
2. It will make us realise that people are not islands
3. It may encourage a proper sort of localism
4. It may encourage altruism
5. It may remind us of some neglected constituencies
6. It may make future epidemics less likely
7. It might make us more realistic about medicine
8. Wildlife may benefit
3   The Climate Emergency
This section will provide information on The Climate Emergency, and in particular our efforts to develop a coherent strategy and advice for humanists -- basically, how to think about and prioritise the momentous issues we are facing.



3.1  How Should We Respond to the Climate Crisis?
This paper was submitted (on 31 Jan 2020) to Milton Keynes Council's Climate Change Task and Finish Group. It includes a list of practical things that individuals can do to reduce their carbon footprint, and it draws together some of the best scientific advice on the climate crisis. Comments welcome!

A copy of the paper and other evidence submitted to the Council can be found here. [The paper appears on page 35.]
3.2  Action on Climate Change
This discussion paper identifies a range of moral and ethical issues that humanists / humanist organisations might like to reflect on; and it makes some practical proposals for how we might play our own distinctive part in responding to the challenge of climate change.

You may also be interest to contact Humanist Climate Action, which is a volunteer led initiative. It can be contacted through Humanists UK.
A fuller version of the paper explores what various humanist manifestos / declarations have had to say about our responsibilities towards the environment/planet; it also looks in more depth at the moral and ethical issues that we are likely to be facing as the climate crisis develops.

Comments and constructive suggestions welcome!
4   The Battle for Truth
This section will explore the impact of 'fake news', lies and disinformation on society, and provide information on who's doing what to tackle the problem.

For the moment, readers might like to consult the Fighting Fake website and read the article on 'What is Truth?'
5   Whither Humanism?
This year's Humanists International annual conference takes place in early June in Glasgow and is being hosted by the Humanist Society Scotland. And the conference theme is about humanism's role in the changed world of 2022. Here's the conference trailer for the main event [on Saturday 4th June]:
"In the wake of the seismic changes brought about across the world by the pandemic, the worrying rise in anti-science rhetoric, the rise of fake news and tweeting politicians, and the climate emergency that remains largely unaddressed, we ask: 'Is it time for a new enlightenment, and what role should humanism play?'
The Scottish Enlightenment brought progress in many areas of life including philosophy, literature, economics, science, medicine, architecture, art, and music, and enriched and improved the lives of many. We want to explore how a new humanist Enlightenment could address the growing inequalities we face, the irreversible harm we are causing to the planet in the name of progress, disrupt the patterns of power that foster inequality, and challenge the growing body of anti-science and anti-truth rhetoric that threatens democracy."
Speakers include:
  •  ProfDame Anne Glover: former Chief Scientific Adviser to the European Commission & Scottish Government
  •  Rosa Silah: Kurdish-born human rights activist who now lives in Glasgow.
  •  David Greig: Scotland's most translated and prolific playwright.
I have for some time been critical of the apparent lack of interest in the topic by Humanists UK, and in January 2022 I completed a discussion paper on the topic  in the hope of stimulating a debate within the humanist movement. This is work in progress and represents my personal views and not those of MK Humanists. Please feel free to comment / contribute to the debate!
6   The Future of Humanism
The Future of Humanism Group was established in the summer of 2022 by a number of engaged and concerned local humanists. It aims to stimulate debate throughout the humanist community in the UK and elsewhere about how people of goodwill can live ‘happier, more confident, and more ethical lives’ — and endeavour to be ‘good ancestors’ to future generations — in today’s increasingly polarised and turbulent world.
Click on hexagon to see the Manifesto. We very much welcome comments or questions about the Manifesto. Please use the Contact Form.
Credits
#   "There's no planet B - Melbourne climate strike - IMG_4280" by John Englart (Takver) is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.