A tribute to Venezuela’s free thinkers

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“The highest honor that the European Union bestows each year is an award to an individual or group from anywhere for defending ‘freedom of thought.’ Picking a winner often entails quiet and collegial deliberation between parties on the left and right in the European Parliament. This year, the nominees ranged from Elon Musk to a jailed climate activist in Azerbaijan. During the prize selection, a respect for each other’s thought process usually helps form a parliamentary consensus, reinforcing the fact that freedom of thought is not just an ideal. It is practical. This year’s winners of the Sakharov Prize – named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov – are models for the mental freedom that includes seeing the inherent dignity in others. They are Venezuela’s María Corina Machado and exiled presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, leaders of a big-tent opposition coalition known as the Democratic Unitary Platform.” (10/24/24)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/1024/A-tribute-to-Venezuela-s-free-thinkers