Italians love to complain about their country's political class, though that probably goes on a bit everywhere. It's almost a national sport, and it's been going on forever. Already in the early 1300s, at a time when Italy was just a geographical entity, this is what Dante was writing:
Ah, abject Italy, you inn of sorrows
You ship without captain in stormy seas
No queen of provinces but brothel
(Purgatory)
The idea that Italian politicians are all corrupt or inept is a sweeping generalisation (though there have been many bad ones, and I'm sure there still are). And besides, assuming for a second that they're all bad, whose fault is it? Where did these people come from? Who put them there? Did they come out of a spaceship and took charge?
A few Italians would argue that Mussolini was neither corrupt nor inept. Perhaps not, but he was despotic and delusional, and worst of all he dragged the country to war, twice. If people steal money, they can always pay it back. Once people die, there's no coming back from that.
There are good politicians, and there are bad ones, and we have every right to hold them to a high standard. But it wouldn't hurt to reflect on our own behaviour sometimes.
In the words of an Italian politician (an honest one, who campaigned long and hard to legalise divorce, abortion, drugs, and the conscientious objection to military service), "Not all politicians are the same, but some voters are the same as some politicians".
True words, and also brave words. In politics, criticising the electorate is seen as a cardinal sin. You never criticise the people whose votes you're after. It’s all about kissing ass.
(As it happens, that politician was from Abruzzo. I know, it's such a great place. His real name was Giacinto Pannella. He hated the name Giacinto, obviously, and so he picked for himself the greatest name ever, Marco, and who can blame him?)
I'm not involved in politics. I vote when there are elections, and that's pretty much it. But there are many people out there who, both on the grassroots level and above, strive to make things better. There are many battles to be won. I admire those people. While they fight those battles, I lose myself in trivial stuff. Like blogging, for example. They care, and thanks to them I don't have to.
But I do try to fight a mini battle a daily basis. It can be summed up in the words of an Australian comedian, who once said "We don't need the Bible, all we need is a piece of paper that says 'try not to be too much of an asshole'". (Asshole is not the word he used.)
It seems a good rule to follow, and it's usually easy enough to follow. It sets the bar pretty low. However, we don't always see ourselves as the asshole. There's a fundamental flaw in the way we think. Human beings are really good at judging other people (and in fact we love doing that), but they're fairly poor judges of themselves.
When it comes to ourselves, objectivity often eludes us. I’m not necessarily talking about the way we are, but mostly the way we behave. Things that we do or say. Zeus knows I’ve done and said my fair share of stupid things. Still do.
And when we're faced with some frank criticism, something that deep down we know to be true, we react in a number of ways. Often denial, or anger, or both. We just don't like to hear things that make us uncomfortable. But it's a self-defeating attitude.
(Talking of self-defeating attitude reminds me of a great quote by William Penn: “The jealous are troublesome to others but a torment to themselves”. Unfortunately he also said “Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants”. If you say so, Bill.)
When I'm faced with some hard truths, instead of sulking (which I do enjoy as much as anyone else) I try to see the whole thing as a challenge against myself. It's a bit like the concept of jihad.
Many people think it means holy war. It doesn't. It means effort, or struggle. Yes, occasionally struggle against external forces (such as an opposing army, perhaps), but more often than not against ourselves. We can be our biggest enemy. The good news is that it's an enemy that we can defeat. Sometimes in a heartbeat.
