"As an army chaplain to German forces during the first world war and a refugee from Nazi Germany, Tillich had witnessed first-hand some of the horrors of the 20th century. But his answer to the question he posed in 1965 was yes. Nobody could live without hope, Tillich told his Harvard audience, even if it led through the narrows of a painful and courageous in-spite-of'."
"Sixty years on, a similar spirit of defiant optimism is needed to navigate our own era of conflict and anxiety. The fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is approaching, and dark political forces menace the social fabric of western liberal democracies. More widely, a fracturing multilateral order is delivering a more unstable and threatening world. According to a report published in June by the Peace Research Institute Oslo, the number of statebased conflicts in 2024 was higher than at any time since 1946."
"But amid the ruins, a suffering population remains scandalously short of food and cruelly exposed to the ravages of winter. In Sudan, a relentless and brutal civil war continues to be stoked by outside powers in pursuit of their own interests. The shocking terror attacks at Bondi beach and in Manchester, and a mercifully foiled Islamist plot to launch another attack on British soil, confirm a global rise in antisemitism following the Hamas massacre of 7 October and Israel's war in Gaza."
A right to hope is essential for life, even when hope must be sustained through painful perseverance. Defiant optimism is necessary to navigate contemporary conflict and anxiety. The fourth anniversary of Putin's invasion of Ukraine approaches amid threats to western liberal democracies and a fracturing multilateral order. A Peace Research Institute Oslo report finds statebased conflicts in 2024 at their highest level since 1946. In Gaza, a ceasefire brought partial relief but civilians face food shortages and winter exposure. Sudan endures a brutal civil war fueled by external powers. Terror attacks and foiled plots coincide with a global rise in antisemitism after the Hamas massacre and Israel's war.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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