"The unexamined life is not worth living"
Socrates
Visualizzazione post con etichetta society. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta society. Mostra tutti i post

giovedì 19 dicembre 2013

THE EUROPEAN CASE AND THE RECOVERY OF THE OTHER'S FACE


In recent years the Italian people often found themselves thinking about illegal immigration, especially after the numerous deaths that took place off the island of Lampedusa. The south of Italy, in most cases, has shown great empathic capacities giving shelter and helping those men and women; but in the rest of Europe we have witnessed a continuous indifference, if not hostility as in the case of Malta that shot at those men in order to keep them far from the shores. This leaves us dismayed especially if we pause to reflect that the western countries are the ones that take advantage of the poverty of the third world countries and that also they often are the cause of this poverty.

A similar phenomenon is becoming a reality even for Italy. For various reasons, infact, this nation was slowly sold off to several foreign countries (directly or through third parties), starting from public services and ending nowadays with the sale of the manufacturing companies that in the past have made ​​the 'Made in Italy' famous all over the world. After 150 anniversary of its unification, Italy today is divided into several pieces and owned by other nations as before the Risorgimento. This situation has given rise to waves of Italian emigration to those countries that are taking advantage of the poverty of Italy (and in part are also the cause of it) and to a consequent increase in hostility towards Italians as demonstrated by the recent killing of a young Italian in Great Britain.

What kind of society is this that takes pleasure in the indigence of others and disregards the human being?! Is this the kind of well-being we are running after?!

We have lost sight of the human being, the other, the neighbor: to borrow the words of the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, we have stopped looking at the Other's face. It is the face in its nakedness and irreducibility that recalls us, remind us that the other cannot be cut out or reduced to ourselves. The Other's face makes a demand and puts us in front of the responsibility we have towards each other.

It is the relationship with the other in his dignity as a human being that we need to recover . We live in a system where everything has become 'Economy' : the politics in which the State has become a big company rather than the institution that safeguards the welfare of all the people; the happiness, which has been turned into material well-being; the relationships looking often for an economic advantage; the person become a consumer, customer, and even a product. Let us be builders of a new society that is able to look at the face of the other. We do not need everything that is sold to us in order to be happy: the consumerism has nothing to do with happiness. We work tirelessly to pay for things that we do not really need and doing so, life escapes us. Let us build a society that is able to look at the essential, at what really enriches the life of man : human relationships , nature , family, friends and love. A society with respect for the dignity of every human being. Utopia? As Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has!”.




giovedì 7 novembre 2013

A RIGHTEOUS SOCIETY: RESPECT FOR EACH AND EVERY JOB



We live in a society  where it has been suggested different times to everyone to follow one's own dreams and that those dreams cannot be just simple ones but must be huge. Then the fact that this same society give us the means and teach us the right attitude to follow them, remains secondary. But actually the biggest problem is the way of thinking which is gererated by the will of validating only certain dreams. So it is right to dream to be famous, but it isn't right to dream to be a baker.


This brings to an attitude where everyone run towards the top of the social ladder at every cost, even losing one's human dignity. But on the top there is no space for everyone: the result is a frustrated and mean society.




In a just and realistic society every dream should be validated: each job should be worthy to be dreamt about and pursued and so it should be treated with the same respect. In this prospective it would be considered right instead of unjust to allow the access to each job only to those who possess the peculiar skills.


Unjust is to push everyone towards the top knowing that there will be space only for a few lucky ones. And it is a lie to claim that only certain jobs are decent and worthy of admiration.


In order to be able to achive this aim it would be also necessary  to remove the salary difference based on the type of job and put in  one based on the amount of hours and on the quality of the performance. Let the possibility of  doing the job of one's own dreams be the reward for doctors, lawyers, etc for spending many years studying rather than very high income.
The result would be a fairer, happier, more satisfied and productive society.

domenica 20 ottobre 2013

UNA SOCIETA' GIUSTA: RISPETTO PER OGNI PROFESSIONE


Viviamo in una società in cui a tutti è stato più volte consigliato di seguire i propri sogni e che questi ultimi non dovevano essere semplici, ma grandi sogni. Che poi ci vengano forniti i mezzi e insegnato un giusto atteggiamento per perseguirli poco importa. Ma il problema più grande è piuttosto la mentalità che si genera dal voler far passare solo alcuni sogni come validi, cioè come degni di essere sognati. Per cui è giusto sognare di diventare famoso, ma non lo è sognare di diventare panettiere.
Ciò porta ad un atteggiamento per il quale tutti corrono verso la sommità della scala sociale, e questo avviene ad ogni costo fosse anche la perdita della dignità umana. Ma in cima non c'è posto per tutti: il frutto sarà una società frustrata e incattivita.


In una società corretta e realista tutti i sogni dovrebbero essere validati: ogni professione dovrebbe essere degna di essere sognata e perseguita e quindi trattata con il medesimo rispetto. In questa prospettiva sarebbe anche considerato corretto e non un'ingiustizia permettere l'accesso ad ogni singola professione soltanto a chi ne possegga le peculiari capacità.
Ingiusto è piuttosto spingere tutti verso l'alto sapendo che ci sarà posto solo per pochi. Ed è una menzogna sostenere che solo alcuni lavori siano dignitosi e degni di ammirazione.


Per poter realizzare questo obiettivo sarebbe inoltre necessario eliminare la differenza di salario in base alla professione praticata per inserirne una basata sulla quantità di ore lavorative e sulla qualità della performance. Che il premio di tanti anni passati sui libri a studiare per medici, avvocati, ecc, sia la possibilità di praticare la professione che si è sempre sognata e per la quale si è portati e non lauti guadagni.
Il frutto sarebbe una società un po' più giusta, felice, soddisfatta e anche produttiva.