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There
is an old proverb that goes “The men that make history are those who
die at the right time”.
Dying
at the right time, when the applause can still be heard, is difficult
and not part of man’s mentality, but living to see one’s own fame dwindle
is likewise difficult to accept. In this case, the true nature of the
person emerges, who frequently, in order to prove (more to himself than
to the others) to still be on the crest of the wave, assumes contradictory
behaviour and unwittingly encourages his own fame to diminish further
and in the worst possible way.
Exiting
from centre stage with style has always been a problem for many actors,
and has become even more difficult since the rapid diffusion of information
deprives the person involved of even the minimum amount of privacy necessary
to salvage his image.
Exiting
from centre stage isn’t only a problem for actors, it is a problem in
every category: for the big names in journalism as well as for politicians
who rarely resign themselves to return to the ranks of common citizens.
Just read the daily papers to get an idea: recycled historians, social
climbers and their ilk, good for nothings who have found a bit of fame
in politics and have “set themselves up”.
All
struggling to stay in the limelight, whatever the cost might be, using
even the excrement if necessary to further their cause.
On
the other hand, “goodness at all costs” has become fashionable - at
someone else’s expense - and practised through mental lucubrations,
using words that seem logical but are anything but.
Rather,
they are simply demagogical since they don’t follow a logical theme
nor thought, formulated consciously and knowledgeably, expressed while
respecting the intelligence of the interlocutor. We have tried to associate
figures from the past who died at the right time or at the wrong time,
with figures still living today.
For
prudence’s sake, we cannot publish the results of these pairings. Each
of you should try to do it, both for fun and serious reflection.
Why
these observations? In order to understand what is taking place in our
society, to fully understand the level of decay in which we are relentlessly
plunging, we must compare ourselves to historical figures and try to
understand what influence they have had in the life of the society and
extract the consequences and anticipate the future.
History
is the subject of life because of the experience it teaches us. Perhaps
it would have been more appropriate to cover practical issues on these
pages, issues involving health care for instance.
But
those problems haven’t changed and lie as yet unsolved on the table,
along with the problems in other social aspects.
Therefore,
it is a waste of time to talk about it, before the stakes have been
set and the starting gun hasn’t been sounded. To know who wins, and
what actions the winner will take, we can only wait and see.
To
offer suggestions or possible solutions would be absolutely fruitless.
The only hope we have is that whoever wins will have the good sense
to halt the moral, formal and substantial decline, in every section,
in order to salvage whatever can be saved of a civilisation on the road
to ruin.
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