We are a small country, maybe, but we are in the
dreams of billions of people all around the world.
They hope, once in their life,
to be able to see our country, to admire the largest and most beautiful
open-air museum in the world, to enter the Duomo of Milan, to be fascinated by
the magic of Venice, by the solemnity of San Pietro, by the Uffizi in Florence,
Positano, Capri, the beaches of Sicily and Sardinia, and much more.
Some dream of enjoying, even only for a fortnight, the
unique climate and landscape of our country.
Others dream of studying design,
fashion, style in the homeland of the Renaissance, where also technology has
advanced centres of excellence.
Many still dream of being taken care of by the third best health system in the world. A
system that heals you, protects you and nothing asks from you. Many forget that
in certain powerful and rich countries in the world, if you do not have health insurance, you won’t
be treated in a hospital or if you ask for an aspirin in a pharmacy, they don't
give you a packet, but a couple, after having cut the blister, and they ask you
to pay for that.
Many also appreciate the titanic
effort of solidarity that our country has been making to help in this time of
massive migration waves of people who flee from wars and hunger. Here, in
Italy, our doors are open to everyone and we don’t build walls, except when building our homes.
But what should we do right now to cope with the present crisis? All
together, institutions, politicians, press, ordinary
people, we should try not to waste a moment to create alarm or pessimism and do
what is needed, instead.
Let’s find a way to smile or even laugh at our own flaws,
which are common to many countries, but have
been often the reason for jokes and disgrace. Let’s appreciate what is good and
beautiful, even if surrounded by sorrow and tragedy at present. Let’s be grateful for what
we still have.
Now it is the time to support our
institutions and our leaders, whichever their
political colours. After all, what difference does it make? What is important is
that they do what is needed and do it soon
and properly.
It is time to fight and make
sacrifices for our beautiful country. It's
time to be proud of it.
It is time to instill optimism by
avoiding the useless mess of social media, on which most of us waste their time.
It is a time to be united, serious and responsible for a country which
deserves to be protected and saved for us and for the future generations.
I started this post to talk about the positive sides
of Italy and Italians. Unfortunately, at present the our best achievements as well
as those of many other countries have
been compromised by the unexpected, tragic crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic, but we have to think positively and do our part
to help in this situation. We need to keep calm and fight on.
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