segunda-feira, maio 02, 2022

“The soul always tends to judge others according to what it thinks of itself” (Giacomo Leopardi)

“The soul always tends to judge others according to what it thinks of itself” (Giacomo Leopardi) The world would be a lot better if, instead of always judging others, we let others have their opinion too. We must respect what others do and decide, because it can be, what usually happens, is that, sooner or later, we end up doing what we criticize so much. “Before you start the work of wanting to change the world, go around your house three times.” (Chinese Proverb) In fact, in many situations, we do not put ourselves in the shoes of others. We understand that our vision is the only valid one and this prevents us from seeing further and understanding other different perspectives. We have to be able to accept that we are not always right and that we can be wrong to judge someone's actions wrongly. On the reasons for the disorder in the world, our Father António Vieira (1608-1697) was able to clearly define not only the two main categories that would allow order to be replaced by chaos, but also the respective priority between them: "They embraced justice and peace, and it was justice that first contributed to this embrace. Because it is not justice that depends on peace (as some take as an excuse) but the peace of justice" (Sermon at the Burial of the Bones of the Hanged People) What is happening in Ukraine is a terrible tragedy for humanity, as it is happening in other parts of the world and which can extend to a European or even a global level. I don't think anyone can question this statement but, paradoxically and astonishingly, few seem to understand (or even dare to imagine) what it might mean for their own lives. What is currently being called a “single thought” actually has such effectiveness, due to its constant repetition in the media, that it clouds any more critical spirit or prevents others from pointing out “that the king goes naked”, and quoting Cardinal Richelieu “There are no innocents wherever there are guilty”. As we have seen in these times, simple things can become complex, truths can be confused and misrepresented and lies can take on unimaginable proportions. The successive untruths, repeated over and over again, do not become the truth If we repeat things without worrying about their veracity, we are only helping to make this a world where lies and truths are easily confused. “Politics is the ability to predict what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And having the ability to explain later why none of that happened.” Winston Churchill)

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