Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1424528
ARCHBISHOP Charles Sciclu- na made some very interesting comments about the roots and principles of democracy during the launch of a photojournalism exhibition (People Power) the other week. What struck me – in a positive way – were the Archbishop's comments about the relation- ship between democracy and the common good. He referred to the Maltese people being "passive players accepting the benevolence of our rulers" and of lacking in initiative and not even a sense of the common good – ascribing this sad situa- tion to our colonial past, saying that "as a young democracy, we do not have the sense that this is our country and it is not that government is far away." What used to be the Crown's problem and the 'Dik mhux tar-reġina' attitude has not been shaken off after 57 years of independence. The Archbishop then boldly went on to decry that: "There is a crisis of this feeling of the common good that we need to have a critical attitude towards and this comes from our colo- nial past. We are always grate- ful for what we receive but this benevolent despotism is almost still with us, in a system where everything is granted as a favour and you have to be grateful to the government for doing their job. I think that is poison for the common good. Governments do the right thing because it is their job to do it. Our gratitude is a question of courtesy but we do not owe it to them, they owe it to us to do their job." I suppose one could call this the 'prosit Ministru' syndrome. One cannot but agree with the Archbishop that this is the atti- tude of the big majority of the Maltese people. He continued saying that there are two impor- tant aspects that are required for democracy to work – educa- tion and solidarity. As he put it: "Without edu- cation, we do not have real de- mocracy because it is education that empowers people to have a critical attitude to power"; and that moreover "democracy, needs people who have the edu- cation to develop a critical mind and also to be able to elaborate and express their true yearn- ings." Regarding solidarity he thinks "there is no democracy where there is reciprocal resentment, hate, and also anger" and con- cluded that "at the end of the day democracy is not mono- chrome; the beauty of democra- cy is a variety of attitudes, opin- ions, and also social theories that come together, trying to vie together or with each other, to promote the common good in the concrete circumstances of time and place." This is far removed than the two-tribe system that our de- mocracy has actually been re- duced to – a situation where respect for other people's opin- ions is completely lacking, as one sees from comments posted in the social media. I have quoted extensively from the Archbishop's speech be- cause I also believe that in the current situation our democ- racy is in crisis. Not because the will of the majority is not respected in general elections, but because too many people are just members of a flock that follow their shepherd whatev- er their shepherd does or leads them to. The lack of critical thought is also an inheritance from our colonial past. But not just that. Our education system has still not shaken of the antagonist attitudes taken by many in the teaching profession towards students who are creative and who take the initiative to be different while questioning whatever they are told. In this, our education system has failed this small but independent and proud little island. One bad influence that the Archbishop missed is the in- fluence of the attitude that the Maltese Catholic Church adopted towards the people at large. Mgr Charles Scicluna has been a fresh face with a fresh attitude that one cannot but admire. But his predecessors practised their ministry as if the people of Malta were their fiefdom, allowing no one to be critical and different. I remember other times, of course. When I wanted to enter a preliminary course at Uni- versity in the early 1960s, I was obliged to get a pass at matric- ulation level in religion. I had to accept and repeat whatever the book on apologetics said about the proof of the existence of God – irrespective of what I thought about the proof. Not toeing the line would get you nowhere – exactly nowhere. Archbishop Michael Gonzi de- cided what films we could see, what clothes foreign circus per- formers wore, what clothes we could wear, whom one could marry, with whom we go bath- ing in the summer... and even whom to vote for! All critical at- titudes were unacceptable and considered as just plain heresy. In my opinion this lack of critical attitude in the minds of many Maltese and the way they look at things as either black or white is not just the result of British Colonialism. The Mal- tese Catholic Church is as much to blame as the colonialists with whom it had an unwritten tacit agreement to run the country. That is why throughout the historical development of rep- resentative elections, different Maltese politicians from most political parties had different disagreements with the Arch- bishop of the day. This is why some political fanatics look at Archbishop Scicluna with un- justified suspicion. The Church then was interested in the pow- er to hold sway over the people, smothering any individual who was critical and creative. The shambles in which de- mocracy finds itself in Malta is mostly the result of its turbu- lent history with the Church and the colonialist conniving (and co-operating) to hold on to power at the expense of de- mocracy and the rights of the Maltese people. When will this country really break free? A clear abuse of power The law to neutralise Court decisions in the case of eviction of Band Clubs has been found as a 'clear abuse of power' by the Constitutional Court in the case of the issue between the De Paule Band Club and the own- ers of the premises occupied by the Club. I will not delve into the mer- its of the case, as I was involved professionally in this particular case. But I cannot but express my disgust at the connivance of politicians from the govern- ment and from the Opposition to pass this obscene law that makes a mockery of the rule of law. I would have expected Jason Azzopardi – as self-proclaimed champion of the rule of law – to stand up in the House of Repre- sentatives and clearly denounce the government for legislating in this way. Alas, Jason Azzopardi, who is elected from the district that in- cludes the band club, apparent- ly missed this chance! 7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2021 OPINION Democracy and the common good Michael Falzon micfal45@gmail.com