Solidarity?

When states in the West are increasingly driven by populism and xenophobia, it is time to exercise disobedience to state powers. For Donald Trump is not the only new xenophobic leader out there, one can only plus on heads of state from Hungary, Poland, Britain and soon France. These have large sections of the people behind them – the weakness of democracy is that the majority's nonsense can be decisive. We are seeing increased polarization and confrontation – tensions are rising in line with military budgets. Our civilization is in a vicious circle. The gain of winning by military force is difficult to realize in the long run: Pointing a revolver at the opponent's head is never anything more than a temporary solution.

Is a new wave of societal criticism about to be unleashed?

What other than civil disobedience can we answer this with? We just can not allow ourselves to be infected by this industry of fear and hatred. What is required now is tolerance, decency and solidarity at an international level. Since we see more state apparatus as institutions that corrupt, these should therefore be limited. And what is it really that makes people want their own oppression, to have to have such "bosses" as Trump, Erdogan, Putin, Netanyahu, Assad and Le Pen? No, it is time for civil society to be delegated more power again, for participatory democratic institutions and communities of interest to become more dominant – across national borders.

We got revealed with the US election what state & capital means with Hillary Clinton's close alliances with the elites – thus was probably just that nok for the American people. However, the alternative one got with Trump is clearly worse. The candidates Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein at least made sense, but probably belonged to the thinking, loving neighbor.

Interestingly enough at the documentary film festival DOK Leipzig in October, a number of filmmakers were led by what festival director Leena Pasanen calls disobedience (disobedience) - and a couple of debate meetings discussed the possibilities for this in Poland and Turkey respectively. "A new cinema of moral unrest" is being sought, and a new wave of social criticism is about to be unleashed. For us who belong to the critical "minorities" of society, other spaces with both ecological and solidarity examples are sought.
- We want to get away from vulgarity, racism, homophobia, stupid conservatism (think Poland's abortion law) and American profit success as the yardstick and goal of life.

The following week at the network Eurozine's conference in Gdansk Solidarity House in Poland, we addressed solidarity as a theme. The world's humanistic "minorities" must now fight more than ever for solidarity across state borders – a federalism and cosmopolitanism and often world citizenship, where the starting point is that all people are born equal. And from the slogans of the French Revolution freedom, equality and brotherhood maybe the latter we need more than ever.

While state powers with militaristic leaders today are firing up enemy images – whether it is Russia, Muslims or "threatening" immigrants – it is rather brotherhood diplomacy that is now needed on our little planet. Widespread nationalism and self-interest make the world a more dangerous place to be. Without disobedience to the new populist state powers (See ex. Don't pay "war tax") and embracing international solidarity (see our peace and ecology articles), the condition will go from bad to worse.