C’è un interessante articolo di Roger Cohen sul New York Times. Intanto due righe di biografia:
Roger Cohen joined The New York Times in 1990. He was a foreign correspondent for more than a decade before becoming acting Foreign Editor on September 11, 2001, and Foreign Editor six months later.Since 2004 he has written a column for the Times-owned International Herald Tribune…
Nella Op-Ed page, c’è un articolo intitolato “Scelte Fiorentine”, “Florentine Choices”.
Il pezzo parla dell’aereoporto di Firenze e di molto altro. La versione integrale è qui.
Questo è – forse – il passaggio più significativo:
Italy idles in the belief that life is circular and objectives an illusory distraction from pleasure”. What kind of pleasure he is talking about? Sensual stasis?
I see here a collection of stereotypes from the old days kept alive from a generation of Americans that still think we (Europeans) are as they found us during WWII. The same who think that not much progress has occurred in the last 60 years or so. Just as an example, I would like one of those observers who was in Veneto in the 50′s to come and visit now the florid and thriving North-East region. Granted, Venice might have not changed a lot in the last few centuries, but its mainland can teach Japan and China business many lessons in infrastructure development. They work and they work well.
True, we have challenges with both air and ground transport. True, our political system is dysfunctional, to say the least and Vatican still in Rome, too close to allow some needed reforms.
True, we have different values and pursue different objectives. The trade off, however, is not between a glass of red wine with ossobuco or a reliable train system or between sensual pleasure and efficient systems. Rather, the trade-off is between humanity and inhumanity, civilization and brutality, education and ignorance, healthcare and neglect, compassion and cruelty . These are the values that we inherit from our past and around which revolve our “società”. These are the guiding lights that inspire the sentiments of our nation. These are what make Italia bella Italia.
In Itay we accept the fact that the System leaks or oppressed by its comatose burocracy. We suffer that as long as it ensures the respect of the human being if this translates into affordable education or universal access to medical care, for instance.
Just cannot accept the lesson from an opinionist who seems to voice the arrogant and ignorant spoiled American who has unrealistic expectations the moment he goes overseas and forgets the disorder of all domestic public deficiencies. We don’t stay still in sensual admiration of the many artistic masterpieces around us. We live them and are inspired by them to do more and do them better. In Italy art is not a consolation for the idle but a motivation to act. We will eventually upgrade our airports and build all the bridges we want, very chic bridges of course. I wonder if America will on the other hand manage to humanize its (presumed) efficiency and offer, say vaccinations and education to every child and free health care to the grandparents.
God bless America.