The Only Flag That Makes Sense
[ITA > click here]
Italy does not exist
Borders do not exist, they are not real. An astronaut, glancing from an ISS porthole and looking at the Earth, wouldn’t be able to see any. If there were an alien instead of an astronaut, the existence of the various nations would not be noticed. And maybe he wouldn’t even understand the concept.
As well explained by Yuval Harari in the book “Sapiens”, nations, but also corporations, or money, to name just a few, are fictitious realities, which arise out of social convention. They don’t really exist, except in our mind.
Italy, therefore, does not really exist. There is no France, no Austro-Hungarian Empire nor the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, except for social acceptance.
Attention, I will say right away that, with this post, I don’t want to deny the usefulness of nations. They are organizations of people, allowing the collaboration between millions of individuals who don’t know each other. In this respect, nations have been and continue to be instrumental in the evolutionary path of homo sapiens.
But the time will come when the usefulness of nations will fade. I could not say whether in 20, 200 or 2000 years, but without doubt the local utility of nations will be subjected to a higher need, namely the global utility, that of Planet Earth. It will happen, both because WE CAN make it happen, but above all because WE SHOULD make it happen.
***
TRUE globalization: We can make it happen
We are all closer and closer. We are closer both virtually, through the internet and social media, and physically. Travelling becomes faster and cheaper. The Kingdom of Italy “was born” in 1861, following the Second War of Independence, fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia to achieve national unification. In 1861, the railway tracks in Italy extended for a total of 2,400 km. Today we have breakfast in Milan, lunch in London and dinner in Paris. At least, I did it once. The result was gastritis, but also a nice sense of fullness and freedom.
We are connected and interconnected, even our economies are. A political crisis in Greece has an effect on the Japanese markets, as well as on the spread of the 10-year BTPs compared to the German Bund. Large cities are increasingly multicultural. In the United Kingdom there are about 700,000 Italians, of which more than 300,000 in London alone, the fifth “Italian city” after Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin.
Only 70 years ago this would have seemed impossible. We have been very good to get this far, but now we must avoid taking it for granted and we should not forget the shortage and lack of freedom to which even the middle class was subject. When I hear “it was better when it was worse” I get mad; to me, is one of the major idiocies.
Once, there were walls. And walls are ugly. Ugly to watch and uglier to live within.
So, let’s continue the evolutionary path – and that can only be inclusive.
***
TRUE globalization: We have to make it happen
The concept is very simple, once again explained very well by Yuval Harari, but this time in the book “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”.
Humanity is faced with three major problems: climate change, the exponential rise of technological innovation (especially artificial intelligence and biotechnology) and nuclear danger.
These three problems have a common denominator: they are global problems. They cannot be addressed locally. Is it possible to see climate change as a local problem? Of course not. The other two? Obviously not. Therefore, the only thing we can do is to globalize politics.
Will we ever have a global government? Call me crazy, or visionary, or crazy visionary, but I think so. But I don’t think it’s an achievable goal in the next 82 years. So how can we start thinking about globally coordinated solutions? Only by evolving culturally, changing the basic attitude.
***
My “somewhat ambitious” proposal
Humans like flags. It comes down to our need of belonging. We like the flag of our district, of the team of the heart, of our region (!), of our nation and to many (but not all) that of our continent. It reassures us to think that we are part of a community, be it large or small. I thought about it a lot and I concluded that this is really stupid. Behind every flag, in fact, there is always a fictitious reality (see above). At the end of the day, flags, like borders, try hard to make real what, in real reality, is not.
Having said that, I do not intend to make war against windmills by calling for the abolition of borders and flags. I don’t have time. I want to approach the problem in an inclusive and non-exclusive way. Do you like flags? Keep them all. Further, hoist another one!
Days ago I decided to invent a flag of Planet Earth. Then I googled and noticed that someone had already thought about it (http://www.flagofplanetearth.com/). Chapeau! I like it.
The “creator” proposes its use especially in space missions, but underlines how it can serve to remind people that we share this Planet beyond national borders. That we have to take care of one another as well as of the planet itself. Bravo Oskar Pernefeldt!
Here is my proposal and/or consideration and/or hope: we will begin to become a species worthy of the arrogance in which we bask, only when alongside the flag of our nation we will hoist that of Planet Earth.
We are ONE SPECIES, on ONE PLANET. Let’s not forget it.
*Fotografia in copertina tratta da: http://www.flagofplanetearth.com
Ilone Pesce Pallone, gonfiato. Guarda così avanti che sembra indietro. Così fuori che sembra dentro. In due o tre lo capiscono, ma poco.
