Society
Pessimism and optimism aside •
Trapped between the horror of the news and the tedium of heavy-handed opinions
From the daily reports of violence and injustice to the rise of the far right, a litany of horrors that makes it increasingly difficult to escape pessimism. And on television, instead of answers, the weary clamour of blunt opinions
Optimism. Will everything get better? Pessimism. Can things only get worse? These two catch-all categories, into which we fall and from which we cannot escape, do not do justice to the story, it is true. The fact is, however, that current affairs are not easy to shake off. They are a daily occurrence, full of nagging, discouraging, horrific messages, against which one does not know how to defend oneself except with a good dose of indifference. Let us set aside both pessimism and optimism for a moment. Yet a mere list is enough to make one feel overwhelmed:
- Trump ferma le sanzioni a Mosca e diffonde l’idea che Zelensky sia la causa di tutti i guai, cioè della guerra.
- Nel mio quartiere due ragazzi, per non annoiarsi (come dicono), investono consapevolmente un giovane attore che ora è all’ospedale in terapia intensiva dopo due interventi alla testa.
- Un calciatore si opera per un tumore, e i suoi tifosi lo accusano online di diserzione.
- Scoperta una banda di narcos: hashish e coca online: otto fermati e ventuno indagati.
- Giovanissimi apolitici, senza idee e senza leader, devastano il centro di Milano: tra i fermati l’ottanta per cento sono minorenni. E’ successo e (si dice) succederà ancora.
- A Roma droghe anche fuori delle piazze di spaccio. Sfregiato per un debito di droga: centosettanta punti.
- Stupri ripetuti alle ragazze nei college in USA.
- Marito e moglie decapitati, i corpi trovati in casa, il figlio è sotto interrogatorio.
- Nel quartiere in cui sono nato, Testaccio, prima vanno in chiesa a bestemmiare e poi a fumare spinelli.
- Triplicati gli italiani che chiedono più sicurezza (una priorità anche a sinistra).
- Esaltava in Rete le stragi a scuola: denunciato un quattordicenne a Catania.
- Intelligenza artificiale fuori controllo. Ora le big tech temono la furia dei cittadini globali.
- I liceali francesi assaltano le scuole: incendi e benzina sul preside.
- Caporalato nelle Langhe. Oltre seimila gli sfruttati.
Etc...
For years now, the worst has continued to happen day after day, year after year: from Covid to the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and Iran; with deranged and irresponsible political leaders such as Putin, Trump and Netanyahu; and with perpetual terrorist groups that live and die solely for the destruction of the West.
These issues have been under consideration for some time, but the response has yielded scant results. Those driven by active, belligerent hatred face at least a whole century of terrorist wars ahead of them. Yet most people are even more alarmed by social decline, by the rise in drug trafficking, and by organised and individual crime – which is unmotivated and therefore unpredictable. The foreseeable result, however, is the rise of both moderate and extreme right-wing political forces across the globe, including in Europe and in Scandinavia – a region once held up as a model of ethical and civic excellence.
As an ordinary reader, a traditional man of letters and a newspaper consumer who once skimmed the crime pages, today’s reports of violence, injustice and crime increasingly affect me.
As I am writing this article, I can hear an argument taking place in the next room, where the television is; a heated exchange, as usual, between two voices; one of which claims to be on the left, whilst the other, with no less vocal effort, praises our right wing in true Meloni style.
Is it terrible politics or merely television pseudo-politics? It appears to be a matter of talk-show folklore, complete with a blend of ‘narratives’, ‘okays’, ‘but where are we, lads!’ and a teleshopping pitch for the latest book by one of the panellists and contenders. Half of the small group of guests invited to speak are the same as before. From the horror of the news to the tedium of heavy-handed opinions. To choose or not to choose? That’s certainly not a problem.