- In a society where people are cataloged, principally by the political and ideological profile, grouping an entire population into two groups — the good and the bad — it is very difficult to talk.
- From this primary classification, everyone who is part of the good embodies the highest human qualities: patriotic, civic-minded, intelligent, honest, austere, brave, tender, humane, caring, and so on. Those who are part of the bad, embody the greatest defects: a traitor, antisocial, crude, dishonest, pompous, cowardly, cruel, inhuman, anti-solidarity, and so on. All in black and white, no shades.
- The stubborn reality, however, has often proved quite the opposite: the good ones are not so good nor the bad so bad. In history there are plenty of examples. Nothing is absolute and the qualities and defects are mixed in every human being.
- I prefer to accept people as they are: individuals with different political, ideological, religious, sexual, sporting and artistic preferences. Who judge for themselves. This allows me to talk with everyone and have many more friends than enemies.
- I don’t pretend to propose any recipe, they don’t work. It’s just a path to coexistence, one that has given me good results.
November 22 2010
