Every so often, political parties or groups of people appropriate words or phrases. Divorced from their broader, original meaning, those words come to mean something highly specific. In Malta, one of the words which has been making the rounds, used and abused, is ‘negative’.
Slightly less colourful than the phrase ‘fejnhom l-iljuni tal-bidla?’ or ‘where are the lions of change?’, which has been a personal favourite of mine for some time, the term ‘negative’ is usually used to describe people believed to vote for the Nationalist Party.
Because, apparently, you would only criticise the government, our failing institutions, the rampant construction, the unbelievable traffic and the fact that you now pay €3.50 for a can of corned beef if you vote for the party which isn’t in power. I honestly crave the kind of love and adoration it must take to constantly see rainbows and sunshine while you’re knee-deep in mud.
What is being done to make our spaces calmer and, well, serene?- Anna Marie Galea
The irony of all this lies in the fact that, although people would constantly have us believe that we live in a utopia, a recent global Gallup poll showed that the Maltese are the angriest people in the European Union, with a large chunk of the population also being worried, stressed and in pain. Out of the 1,000 Maltese people interviewed, 64 per cent said they were worried about something the day before they took the survey.
This rate was not only the highest in the EU but the fourth highest globally. Even when it came to pain, the Maltese scored high, with slightly less than 40 per cent saying that they had experienced some physical pain in the days leading up to the interview.
Remarkably, despite these grim statements, around 75 per cent of the Maltese people who took part in the poll said they were well-rested. I’m honestly just waiting for someone to tell me that it was only people who didn’t vote for the party in power who took part in this poll. It would be comical if it weren’t so very profoundly pathetic.
Yes, of course, everyone sees and experiences the world differently; that is what makes us unique. But I fail to understand how we can continue to march on serenely (another word which seems to have been appropriated by our administration) when there are clearly many things that need to be addressed and urgently at that.
If we are the angriest people in the EU, this should surely lead us to ask questions about the quality of life we live. What is contributing to this beyond our Mediterranean temperament? Could it be that the traffic is not actually a perception? Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we are always crammed together in small spaces because more and more of our land keeps being taken up by buildings?
Time and time again, studies have found that environments directly impact worry and stress. What is being done to make our spaces calmer and, well, serene? Should I have to go abroad to breathe some fresh air? What about our working hours? And the amount of time off allowed?
We should be discussing these things, not pretending the obvious doesn’t exist because it doesn’t suit our narrative. If we must live in servitude, can it at least be to the truth?