Photo Guy Ackermans Next week on Monday people from all over the country will be witnesses of the 80th commemoration of the Liberation Day in Wageningen. It is a privilege to enjoy such peaceful and celebratory times here in Wageningen, and naturally this privilege came thanks to the sacrifice of predecessors.
The current state of the world’s most influential societies is giving off a message where oppression seems to be the new status quo. A world where politicians do not care about education and evidence-based decision making. Where women, trans, gays, lesbians, people of different ethnicities and creed are still being discriminated because of who they are. A place where economic worth is more important than any human right, and the future of our own existence on earth.
Under such daunting circumstances I dare to reflect and urge everyone who is reading me to not only enjoy of the apparent freedom we have in front of us, but also to ask oneself: what can I do to maintain this freedom as continuous and accessible for the days after me?
Every single person that is part of WUR has or will have the power of influence and leadership which can and will set the course of our societies. Let us not forget: ‘‘Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times’, as the American bestselling author G. Michael Hopf said
I think we ought to use the privilege we may have to always be strong humans.
