In the past, the warmth and hospitality of the Maltese were showcased as a marketing tool for our tourism. Sadly, nowadays, the notion of promoting Malta as a haven of smiles and kindness is met with scepticism.
A 2022 international study in 120 countries ranked Maltese as the angriest people in the EU.
A Gallup report released in June showed almost two-thirds of the Maltese reporting feelings of worry, while more than half reported feeling stressed.
“We’re overcrowded, highly competitive and the space we inhabit is becoming more and more hostile,” anthropologist David Zammit warned.
It’s disheartening to witness the decline in our shared sense of decency and manners that once guided our interactions.
Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of the basics – respect and empathy – and we are increasingly witnessing a disturbing shift in anger, disrespect, and an alarming readiness to lash out at the slightest provocation.
Instead of talking about our hospitality, our unofficial national motto has become “go back to your country”.
It is enough to drive around to witness the lack of manners, where sheer inconvenience can trigger fury.
In public spaces and social media platforms, people seem ready to insult each other at every opportunity. A glance at social media shows thousands of comments laced with anger, often aimed at those we perceive as different, particularly ‘foreigners’ and political opponents.
Social media platforms reinforce our biases, feeding our anger. Analysing the impact of social media, psychologist Gail Debono summed it up: “We are increasingly looking for happiness outside of ourselves.”
Authorities that are meant to help citizens, end up as the source of problems
With studies confirming our obsession with social media, we are indulging in a toxic recipe of anger and misinformation. But social media is not the only source of the problem. In many cases, we are the architects of our problems.
We keep building and encroaching on our few remaining open spaces, leaving us with little choice but to leave the island to enjoy nature.
We’re even hesitant to pedestrianise village squares on weekends. Village feast organisers persist in letting off deafening petards while bars keep bellowing loud music without a care in the world.
We must also turn a critical eye to our education system, which continues to prioritise exams over critical thinking, fostering a culture where children are taught to value winning arguments over understanding different perspectives.
Our political system also has a lot to answer for. Authorities that are meant to help citizens, end up as the source of problems. Every day, readers come to us with their grievances, telling us their reports to police, government ministries and other entities were ignored.
How many times do we have to read articles about shameful building projects being greenlighted, signalling years of distress to neighbours? How often are people to read of the courts dishing out sentences many years after a crime?
These sorts of things imbue people with a sense of powerlessness, as they know that wrong will prevail. Why, then, should they bother to do the right thing?
Nigel Camilleri from the Association of Psychiatry argues that if a person lacks structure and order and starts to lose faith in authority, they are less resilient and unable to deal with stress.
So, where do we go from here?
It starts with each of us taking responsibility for our actions – both online and offline. If we are to reclaim the values that once defined us, we must acknowledge the depth of the problem and stop being defensive when criticism comes our way.
We must be willing to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if our words and deeds are sowing anger and division or helping to heal them. Only then can we begin rebuilding a society grounded in basic respect. Maybe, someday, we will reclaim that hospitality we were once renowned for.