“Feliz ano nuevo para la Patria en tinieblas “-“ Happy New Year for my Country in the darkness “.
This is what Pablo Neruda wrote when Chile was in the dark hole of terror and political violence.
What can we say now? Which kind of New Year’s Greetings can we express when the darkness is everywhere?
Neruda was at the time in exile in Europe, hoping to be back soon and fighting for democracy.
Our European Countries were for him like a new home and a great example to follow.
He had been in Spain, in Italy, in France…From there, what was happening in South America was so far, so far away..
And now, if we travel all around a world becoming smaller and smaller, a grey cloud is always there.
It’s heavy, dull, containing despair and anger, prejudice and walls, civilians and soldiers involved in a fight without victories.
There’s a violence being totally blind and another violent way to manipulate our own existence, every single day.
I think of the pressure on people, on Nations, coming from financial powers with all the related power areas: politics, business etc.
I try to be very simple in my message, rather banal, because I think we all know, we experienced the dark and we know what it means.
Evidently, understanding is not enough. We are aware of the cloud: heavy, dark, sometimes rather scary..
In a way, it’s so obvious to see the grey big cloud in the sky, we are getting so used to it, that it seems even impossible to make it fade away.
And what about the blue sky behind this fog?
In the metaphore, many people think now, in 2016 nearly ’17, that the deep total blue sky is just an illusion.
No possibility to get it so pure, so totally free from poisons, when pollution is the norm.
If this is our position, no need to get stronger and more organized against a common enemy: corruption,blind violent power etc. Since the arrogance sounds like being the most common ingredient to reach success and visibility, and fake idols seem to be much more important than human values and goals, we can basically do nothing but just follow the stream, keeping the uncomfortable grey cloud on our heads.
Feeling guilty because we are not trying to improve the real quality of our lives?
No, because we can’t help it, apparently there’s nothing we can do..
Unfortunately, in these last years, the message of being helpless in front of too many negativities, has been brought by political parties, single politicians or men of power.
Defining our rotten globe, they try to convince us that we can’t create a better and more human dimension for everybody.
So, without participating, we delegate to a few “in charge “the most important decisions for our future.In order to get the power these few leaders say : if you want something you have to take it from your brother. You see? If you have something, and the one in front of you has nothing, you think it’s possible to share? Illusions! Follow me, fight for yourself and you’ll get some power on the others. You might even become a boss like me!
The more we follow this voice, the worse the grey cloud will be, suffocating the Earth in a cold black night.
They say the Web is connecting terrorists, giving them the chance to influence the others, making the violent groups grow.
But with the same long powerful wave can finally connect all people willing to live a clear life in a clean sky, believing in human beings able to share and to grow together, without barriers, without blood.
This is the blue sky we want for our present and future, this is the goal we all deserve.
It’s enough to be connected, on human values and rights, and we’ll see the evidence of our great
potential. Because we are many, the majority, it’s enough to be in touch, to share, to express, to exist.
And the Web itself can be our great new start.
Francesco e Giulia Remorino
Milan, Dec 27th
Mail to: info@humaninprogress.org