A veces, la realidad te sorprende brindándote noticias que te devuelven la esperanza de que la sociedad no acabe como el Titanic. Por lo general, son noticias escasas y venidas allende nuestras fronteras, pero, aun así, son todo un bálsamo reconfortante. Hace pocos días, se produjo una de estas noticias: el protagonista, David Cameron, líder del partido conservador británico. ¿La noticia? Lo que dijo o, mejor dicho, la valentía, sensatez y contundencia que rezuman todas las palabras que se atrevió a decir alto y claro el señor Cameron. ¿Qué dijo? Esto:"I think the time has come for me to speak out about something that has been troubling me for a long time. I have not found the words to say it sensitively. And then I realised, that is the whole point.
We as a society have been far too sensitive. In order to avoid injury to people's feelings, in order to avoid appearing judgemental, we have failed to say what needs to be said. We have seen a decades-long erosion of responsibility, of social virtue, of self-discipline, respect for others, deferring gratification instead of instant gratification.
Instead we prefer moral neutrality, a refusal to make judgments about what is good and bad behaviour, right and wrong behaviour. Bad. Good. Right. Wrong. These are words that our political system and our public sector scarcely dare use any more.
Of course as soon as a politician says this there is a clamour - "but what about all of you?" And let me say now, yes, we are human, flawed and frequently screw up.
Our relationships crack up, our marriages break down, we fail as parents and as citizens just like everyone else. But if the result of this is a stultifying silence about things that really matter, we re-double the failure. Refusing to use these words - right and wrong - means a denial of personal responsibility and the concept of a moral choice.
We talk about people being "at risk of obesity" instead of talking about people who eat too much and take too little exercise. We talk about people being at risk of poverty, or social exclusion: it's as if these things - obesity, alcohol abuse, drug addiction - are purely external events like a plague or bad weather.
Of course, circumstances - where you are born, your neighbourhood, your school, and the choices your parents make - have a huge impact. But social problems are often the consequence of the choices that people make.
There is a danger of becoming quite literally a de-moralised society, where nobody will tell the truth anymore about what is good and bad, right and wrong. That is why children are growing up without boundaries, thinking they can do as they please, and why no adult will intervene to stop them - including, often, their parents. If we are going to get any where near solving some of these problems, that has to stop.
(…)
Changing our culture is not easy or quick. You cannot pull a lever. You cannot do it top-down. But you can give a lead. You can give a nudge. You can make a difference if you are clear where you stand.
(…)
Above all, I believe that this cultural change needs to start at home. The values we need to repair our broken society and to build a strong society are values that should be taught in the home, in the family."
We as a society have been far too sensitive. In order to avoid injury to people's feelings, in order to avoid appearing judgemental, we have failed to say what needs to be said. We have seen a decades-long erosion of responsibility, of social virtue, of self-discipline, respect for others, deferring gratification instead of instant gratification.
Instead we prefer moral neutrality, a refusal to make judgments about what is good and bad behaviour, right and wrong behaviour. Bad. Good. Right. Wrong. These are words that our political system and our public sector scarcely dare use any more.
Of course as soon as a politician says this there is a clamour - "but what about all of you?" And let me say now, yes, we are human, flawed and frequently screw up.
Our relationships crack up, our marriages break down, we fail as parents and as citizens just like everyone else. But if the result of this is a stultifying silence about things that really matter, we re-double the failure. Refusing to use these words - right and wrong - means a denial of personal responsibility and the concept of a moral choice.
We talk about people being "at risk of obesity" instead of talking about people who eat too much and take too little exercise. We talk about people being at risk of poverty, or social exclusion: it's as if these things - obesity, alcohol abuse, drug addiction - are purely external events like a plague or bad weather.
Of course, circumstances - where you are born, your neighbourhood, your school, and the choices your parents make - have a huge impact. But social problems are often the consequence of the choices that people make.
There is a danger of becoming quite literally a de-moralised society, where nobody will tell the truth anymore about what is good and bad, right and wrong. That is why children are growing up without boundaries, thinking they can do as they please, and why no adult will intervene to stop them - including, often, their parents. If we are going to get any where near solving some of these problems, that has to stop.
(…)
Changing our culture is not easy or quick. You cannot pull a lever. You cannot do it top-down. But you can give a lead. You can give a nudge. You can make a difference if you are clear where you stand.
(…)
Above all, I believe that this cultural change needs to start at home. The values we need to repair our broken society and to build a strong society are values that should be taught in the home, in the family."
Este discurso, grande en la oratoria y colosal en su honestidad, está disponible también en la lengua que lustraron Cervantes, Quevedo, Delibes y cía. Si bien sus palabras van dedicadas a la sociedad británica, Cameron hace un preciso y rotundo diagnóstico de tres de los peores males de la sociedad actual global: la mordaza de lo "políticamente correcto", la neutralidad moral y la infame negligencia por mutismo.
No voy a redundar en lo dicho por este político (es sorprendente que un político hable tan claro y tan bien en estos tiempos que corren), porque suscribo punto por punto todo lo que ha dicho el líder conservador. No obstante, sí quiero destacar lo siguiente: La sociedad en que vivimos ha convertido la sinceridad en un lujo y la honestidad en algo enterrado bajo toneladas de pudor mal entendido. Y de eso somos culpables todos: los que convierten y los que se dejan/nos dejamos convertir. Una sociedad en la que los blogs se reproducen como pandemias de la libertad y en la que causan furor gente como los geniales Risto Mejide o el doctor Gregory House (o su alter ego, Hugh Laurie), que lo "único" que hacen es decir siempre lo que piensan, es una sociedad en la que algo va mal...bastante mal. ¿Nos encandila que alguien sea sincero, que diga aquello que le dicte su conciencia más íntima y que casi siempre se ajuste a una verdad ampliamente consensuada y total y sistemáticamente ninguneada en nuestra vida pública? Vivimos en un mundo de paños calientes y boquitas pequeñas donde la honestidad se relaja en la tibieza de una corrección impuesta por el miedo a que alguien muera de shock anafiláctico por alergia a la sinceridad. Vivimos en una sociedad de retóricas artificiales que marginan y minan las diferencias, discrepancias y altisonancias. Vivimos en una sociedad en la que ejercer el derecho moral a ser sincero reporta el morbo de lo prohibido. Vivimos, en definitiva, en una sociedad en la que la mayor y mejor forma de expresar nuestra individualidad , nuestros pensamientos y sentimientos, está supeditada demencial y desquicidamente al "qué dirán", "qué pensarán" y demás eufemismos utilizados para referirse a la dictadura tácita y consensuada de "lo correcto" según los cánones y modas sociales. Vivimos en una sociedad en la que da pánico llamar a las cosas por su nombre, en la que hemos hecho de "al pan, pan, y al vino, vino" un mero refrán entrañable en fase terminal. Vivimos en una sociedad en la que cualquiera tiene fácil perder el norte o el paso en el dédalo de eufemismos y circunloquios. Vivimos en una sociedad que ha hecho del lenguaje un pajar, de la verdad una aguja y de la conciencia un pecado a disfrutar en la intimidad.
En definitiva, hoy, ser sincero no es normal, es un rasgo de distinción y valentía, es querer ataviarse con un halo de admiración y polémica, rodearse de una primavera de dedos índices erectos y cargarse a la espalda cuchicheos de hiel y vestiduras rasgadas de demagogos en cueros. Por todo ello, yo sólo puedo aplaudir desde este blog lo dicho por David Cameron, esperando que nunca, nunca, pueda darme por aludido por su certera, memorable y necesaria crítica.
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