Amid senseless global suffering and authoritarian threats, recent democratic activism and crises such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions and the Iran conflict show that tragedy can spark hope for moral progress and climate action. | REUTERS PARIS – We live in a world of senseless suffering and impending catastrophe, where it would seem the idea of moral progress has become unintelligible. Two epochal crises afflict contemporary society: the rise of anti-democratic forces and climate change. But what if today’s tragedies turn out to be a source of hope? The authoritarian drift fueled by right-wing populism threatens democracies around the world, including even long-standing ones like the United States, where President Donald Trump’s abuse of power seems to know no limits. Even Trump’s more moderate European allies constantly attempt to undermine the rule of law. Most recently, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tried to limit the judiciary’s independence through a national referendum.…