It is truly frustrating and disheartening to see how a society, the Spanish society, which has had and still has -for now- all the means at its disposal to cultivate and strengthen its critical thinking, provoke and satisfy intellectual concerns, has instead opted for contempt towards what it ignores, it has confused having an open mind with a kind of cult for ethical, aesthetic and moral aberration, it has slowed down and/or prevented true individual and social development, handcuffed by widespread and socially accepted practices such as nepotism and the interweaving of patronage networks at the political, trade union and business levels. There is no worse virus than ignorance; moreover, ignorance is the virus we should fear more than any other.
It contrasts to see how in those so-called "underdeveloped, developing or Third World" countries, "where they walk in loincloths", as some now wearing masks would say, is precisely where, on many occasions, they show sufficient mastery of a widely used language, such as English, which allows them to express themselves and be understood without difficulty. Meanwhile, in Spain, not only is the percentage of its population that defends itself with certain guarantees with English is meager, but a part of that paltry percentage mocks those who, having a minimum knowledge, make logical pronunciation mistakes. Mockery and contempt for others as a counterweight to their own intellectual shortcomings. And, beware, the problem is not ignorance... the problem is the attitude of not wanting to get out of it. We have, then, some “being in loincloths” who live in a “shack”, who are capable of communicating in English; and here some “superior beings”, who sometimes find it difficult to differentiate English from Ingles, but who vomit a loud laugh when they hear someone say “sha-kes-pe-a-re” instead of “ˈʃeɪkspɪə”. Those who go in loincloths barely have drinking water but use universal languages; meanwhile, here, with all the human and material resources at our disposal... not only we do not make an effort to learn universal languages, but we mistreat our own while everyone's money is wasted on languages of local scope... Anyway.
It causes deep sadness and suffocating impotence to observe the sleepy minds of a passive citizenry that accumulates anger and despair that it shares with family, friends and relatives, but that silently lowers its head, looking the other way, waiting for divine providence to act of presence and alter the course, or rather take the helm, of a drifting society, which is heading timidly towards the rocks.
There is no worse plague, epidemic or pandemic than ignorance, foolishness, arrogance or opportunism. Now... is there any remedy to stop and eradicate them? And if so, what would it be? The answer is clear, although its execution is complex: the educational system reform. But not to continue creating docile minds, easily manipulated and far from true knowledge, but to provide them with an essential tool that will activate the lever of change: critical, autonomous, independent thinking as the basis of education from an early age. This "vaccine" has been in a drawer for decades. It is the society the one that has to wake up and demand their "inoculation" from childhood. The result: strong, creative minds, difficult to manipulate... which will be the ones that make up a new political class, a new way of understanding business culture, a new perspective of balance between public and private... in short, a new society with a mentality capable of overcoming, evolving and adapting to changes.
Only by tackling this "disease" it will be possible to combat and eradicate our accelerated moral, ethical and social devastation today. You can lose everything... except your soul... and hope.
