Next week we celebrate Christmas, even if we tend to forget the real meaning of what we are meant to be celebrating.
We forget the real meaning of Christmas because it has been taken over by an uncontrolled approach to spend, spend and spend as if there were no tomorrow.
The need for immediate self-gratification has made us look the other way. We look away from suffering, poverty, uncomfortable situations.
Although Christmas is meant to remind us that our society and our economy needs to become inclusive, during these days, we tend to exclude others who are not like us.
We keep our conscience clear by donating to the Community Chest Fund or the Dar tal-Providenza, without appreciating why those donations are really required.
We look the other way because we are fast losing any sense of the common good. Some would go as far as saying that we have lost it totally.
However, that would be a very unfair statement to make because it would not be doing justice to those who are take an active part in civil society, NGOs, the voluntary sector and, I would say, even politics.
We can only eradicate poverty if we destroy what causes poverty
We need to appreciate and understand that donations are not enough to bring people out of poverty. We need to address the reasons why people are forced to live below what is termed as the poverty line. We can only eradicate poverty if we destroy what causes poverty.
This is where the pursuit of the common good becomes the issue. As long as we avoid taking decisions which ensure that the few do not gain at the expense of the many, then the common good remains a mirage.
Governments seek to alleviate poverty through handouts. However, we should be happier if there was no need for such handouts. Handouts are required because some segments of society remain excluded. There is simply no economic rule or theory that justifies poverty and exclusion.
The same applies to other forms of exclusion, including loneliness. The well-being of individuals does not depend only on money and material possessions. It also depends on them feeling part of society.
For example, we cannot continue to have an education system which fails and excludes young people because they are different to the stereotypes we have created. Others need certain medication which is unavailable. They are all being given the message that they are not part of society, no matter what pronouncements are made.
Our economic success of the last 40 years or so should have provided our country with the necessary resources to have a truly inclusive society and to promote the common good.
Unfortunately, some of those resources have been squandered because we wanted to look the other way. We cannot continue doing so.
A blessed Christmas to all readers