Persistence

Persistence is a virtue. It indicates a strong character, someone who knows what he wants and who keeps trying to achieve his objectives even in the face of problems.

It is praiseworthy not to give up in the face of obstacles which keep cropping up, but to keep developing new ideas and strategies to tackle the changing scenarios and gradually move towards one's set goals.

It all depends on the goals as, on the other hand, to err is human, but to persist in error is diabolical. So in this case, persistence is no virtue and is to be condemned. In our small country, we have loads of examples of persistent people, the good and the bad.

The good

We are grateful for those who persist in fighting crime and disease. For those who keep trying to fight back the waves of negative cultures that are pervading our society. Cultures based on egoism, lack of commitment and self-indulgence.

We are grateful for those who imbue in our youth the concepts of social justice, collective responsibility, solidarity and generosity. The awareness that each one of us is part of a community and that finally we cannot be wholesome if the community is rotting away.

The bad

We condemn those who persist in pushing the counter-culture of lower standards, lies and manipulation.

Those who, through their control of the media, wallow in sensationalism and push the lower factor to achieve the statistics that earn them more money. Those who through their control of the important organisations, manipulate the processes and warp them into a travesty of democracy to hide their incompetence and to sustain them in their power-hungry existence.

I believe that in Malta we are falling into an abyss of mediocrity. Those at the top feel that they can get away with anything. They have control of propaganda machines which they use with impunity to break anybody that is a threat to them and to push innuendoes that hide the real facts.

The pity is that they are not called to account for their results.

The ugly

Leaders of the Church are losing their flock, as can be seen from the latest Sunday Mass attendance statistics, and the curia spokesman finds something positive in this. They persist in their old ways. At least here there is the hope that a change is taking place. Let us hope that this will be a change that would see the Church going back to the grassroots. Leaders of our political parties lose one election after the other and continue as if nothing is happening. They persist in their action and non-action, hoping that their opponent will help them win the next one.

Leaders of our biggest union are sitting on a crumbling mountain, witnessing a disintegrating organisation. They persist in harnessing the remaining faithful and get a unanimous (from those who are left) vote of support. They should have understood that their leadership is at fault and that they are not inspiring trust in their membership.

They should be loyal enough to their membership and leave to make room for someone who can unite the organisation again.

Small is not beautiful

Let me make a parenthesis here. Although some Nationalists are rejoicing about what is happening to the GWU, I am not. My experience shows that splinter groups and house unions are detrimental to the country. When you have groups who only have their own limited interests at stake and who do not have any responsibility of solidarity with other groups who could be negatively affected by actions they take to push their own claims, the results will be more rigid positions and more conflict. This does not augur well for the country.

Risk and change

Back to the main theme of this piece.

While there are so many leaders who are persistent in ways that have proved ineffectual, what about the people? The Maltese people are immersed in a despondency that is increasing as time goes by, feeling trapped in a haze of an uncertain future. I believe that many who have leadership responsibilities must shift from persisting in the status quo where they feel comfortable to persisting in a revolutionary mode that is risky but which will fill this country with the spirit of accomplishment.

jd@dbms.com.mt