’Tis the season for giving, but since that line never really specified what was going to be delivered, I think we can conclude that it could be anything from food and presents to venereal diseases and bad vibes. Let’s take something I saw floating around about social media this morning, for example. An incensed local took to a popular expat Facebook group and announced very loudly that they would be leaving the group via a big, fat status.

Although no one asked for this status or any explanation, the individual who preferred to remain anonymous (because that’s how we prefer to do things in this country) cited “negativity” as the reason for their departure.

This tantrum of a status, because heaven knows it can’t be described as anything else, said something along the lines of the island being around for thousands of years (much like the rest of the world) and also inexplicably brought in our independence. The standard “go back to your country” was also dusted off and thrown in for good measure.

I am still confused and cringing, but the underlying message was very clear – speak your truth and be damned.

It’s funny how the Maltese have weaponised the word negativity. It’s almost like we believe the lies pictured on the smiling, sunny postcards that have now yellowed from years of sitting untouched in Valletta and Buġibba shop carousels. ‘Visit sunny Malta and enjoy the great beaches’ used to emblazon the brochures given out to unsuspecting holidaymakers in the UK in the 1990s.

Back then, you could find parking once you got to the beach and actually get there in minutes rather than hours – golden days when you didn’t feel regret every time you had to leave the house.

Are we seriously trying to gaslight people into believing that toxic positivity is the way to go?- Anna Marie Galea

I often wonder what the ideal scenario would be for the average Maltese citizen. Perhaps a structure inspired by North Korea where people are punished for criticising anything – for daring to question the status quo. It’s like those people who silence victims of abuse instead of punishing the abuser.

God forbid anyone looking at the increasing rent prices and potholes in the road doesn’t see a paradise. God forbid people complain about the dirt, rubbish and lack of service.

No, apparently, the best thing to do when inconvenienced or when seeing something wrong is to either ignore it or smile like a gormless fool. When did our ego become so fragile that we could not see the truth about the festering mess we are sitting in? Are we seriously trying to gaslight people into believing that toxic positivity is the way to go?

I suppose the truth hurts. But really and truly, the truth usually only hurts people who, deep down, know that the truth is correct. If you could eat off our streets and breeze through our roads, then would it really hurt you if someone told you that your country needed to pull its socks up? No, it wouldn’t because everyone could see they were a fantasist.

We don’t need more people telling us comforting lies; we need more people telling us uncomfortable truths so that we can perhaps learn from them and grow. ’Tis the season for giving… our country better.