Editorial: Viruses worse than corona
Viruses are everywhere. Some viruses kill. We need to protect ourselves from viruses. We have a responsibility to each other as members of the same human family …
These messages have been much to the fore in recent days as the world tries to contain the spread of coronavirus. The wisdom of such national and trans-national advice goes beyond disease transmission. For there are also intellectual and moral viruses.
Adamah was established a few months ago to be a place of ‘good earth’ – a soil rich in positivity, offering healthy growing space for creative ideas, respectful dialogue and positive engagement.
Around this little field of ‘good earth’ there is a harsh landscape where opinions are weaponised, individuals are demonised and where social media platforms have become war zones of viciousness.
In this month’s edition we invite you, once more, to visit our space of respectful engagement and check out the articles on offer.
If there is a theme this month, maybe it’s creativeness …. The need for creative strategies as a young mum tries to settle in to a new life in a new country; the need for a new and creative way to approach physical beauty, avoiding the demeaning and dehumanising mistakes of the past; the creative courage of a group of young students as they fought for freedom of expression in Nazi Germany with dramatic consequences; and the forgotten virtue of curiosity – a necessary precursor to creativity.
There’s also a fascinating interview with a young cinema animator who explains how he has managed to make it in the highly creative world of Hollywood without compromising his moral and spiritual values. Another article examines the creative universe of Marvel cinema and asks how the family is viewed within it. We also learn about a meeting for young economists who want to help create a new approach to business. And where has the post-Modernist belief that we can recreate ourselves led us?
Come on in and browse our virtual shelves. You’ll find a welcome oasis; a safe space from the viruses of hate, narrow-mindedness, extremism and anger which poison our hearts just as surely as coronavirus poisons our respiratory system … welcome!
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Ronnie Convery
Ronnie Convery is a journalist and broadcaster who has written for a variety of publications in the UK and Italy. Currently he divides his time between directing communications at the Archdiocese of Glasgow and serving as Italian Honorary Consul in the city. He has a long background in print and TV, a strong presence on social media and recently penned a book entitled Reclaiming the Piazza (about creating space for dialogue to overcome division). Ronnie is Associate Editor of Adamah.
