In social sciences, extremism is defined so vaguely that anybody can hide anything behind it. Anything can be outside the “mainstream”. However, if status quo is the mainstream, well – who is not an extremist then? Extremes simply do not meet, and to be an extreme defender of morality cannot be punishable.
I know it is much more comfortable to stay in our own bubbles, but in order to be better, we must push ourselves and step out of our comfort zones. Beside cultivating a relationship with our audiences (and educating them better on communicating liberty), we have to build the roads to others.
The Budapest Pride parade has been held annually since 1997 with tacit support from governments. The Hungarian society, however, became significantly homophobic in general, as the LGBTQ+ community was something they barely had personal experience with.
People cannot always decide for themselves whether a message is false or distorted. No one is solely in possession of the final truth. However, getting the facts straight and actively pursuing “counter speech” is a task not only for the media but also for civil society and each individual user.
In some countries (including Poland) parental leave can be fully flexibly divided between both parents. This sounds great, but in reality reinforces gender inequality. Therefore, the Commission has recently proposed the parental leave to become an individual right for mothers and fathers without a transfer of the four months to the other parent.
The government in Warsaw is considered to be one of the most conservative in the EU. In the country with practically no regulations for LGBT+ community, Law and Justice – the ruling party – manages to find the way to limit their rights even further.
Last Tuesday, the minister said in the parliament that UNESCO “illegally” added the Polish Białowieża primeval forest to the World Heritage list (sic!). Luckily, Polish activists and the friends of the Białowieża forest from all over the world are still fighting.
Humans always function in some kind of community – and libertarians, armed with their utopias, are willing to rebuild those communities after the damage done by the social democracy. There are no individuals if there are no communities.
As far as gender equality, gender roles, and stereotypes are concerned, the Hungarian society is not as traditional as it might seem in the light of the communication of the current government. Contrary to expectations, it considers women to be far more competent to be politicians than the current leaders of the country.
According to the results of a representative population survey carried out by “Spinter Research” on behalf of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, 48% of Lithuanians wish their children pursued a career in entrepreneurship. Yet, the same group associates entrepreneurship with risk, innovation, and hard work.
