Why Aeon?

A message from our Editorial Director Dear reader, Like so many of you, I feel deep dismay at the suffering in the world today. War is back on the front pages of every newspaper. Countless people are affected by climate-related flooding and drought. And these are just the headlines. In such an atmosphere, how can we come to you, again, for your financial support for Aeon? There is no world in which I would ask you to put Aeon ahead of making a contribution to humanitarian causes. I urge you, of course, to do what you can for the places and the peoples that move you. At the same time, for those of you who are in the fortunate position that this is not an ‘either/or’ I want to put the case for why our work matters, even in the face of such events. When friends make a throwaway remark about conflict being driven by ‘age-old religious hatreds’ I demur, pointing them to our many essays on older [empires]( which were far more at ease with religious pluralism than many modern nation-states. In the face of the lifelong trauma of displaced people, I am grateful for the work of psychologists on [moral injury]( in refugee populations and the radical, community-based help they are creating. I hope publishing on this might help others to use this approach too. When people despair that political change is not possible, I think of the many times we have published on daring thinkers who defied convention, like [Ambedkar]( overturning the caste system in India. When I hear someone utterly baffled at the motivation of young men to join terrorist organisations, I recommend reading the profound insights of Scott Atran on [radicalisation and belonging]( and why societies cannot simply quash the need for idealism. And when somebody wonders where to start in their own involvement I think of our guide on [becoming an active citizen](. I am not, for a minute, suggesting that ideas are a substitute for action. I am suggesting that the world needs both. I applaud your active, vocal participation in politics to make this world more humane, more generous, more just. And at the same time, I cherish the breathing space to think more broadly, to reimagine the future and to reconsider the past: to be given the freedom to think of new solutions to the age-old question of how we flawed, remarkable human beings can learn to live better with one another and this one precious, beautiful planet of ours. I hope you will find it in your heart to support the causes that move you as this year comes to an end, in whatever way you can. If one of these is Aeon, no matter how modest that support is, I am deeply grateful. [Support Aeon]( Brigid Hains Editorial Director You have received this email because you signed up to the Aeon Newsletter list. © Aeon Media Group Ltd 2023. Level 5, 100 Flinders Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 Australia. [PRIVACY POLICY]( |  [CONTACT US](  [PREFERENCES](  [UNSUBSCRIBE](