The ball is in our court
The rustling of newspapers is comforting a sound. The news you read in them not that much, and by the time you finish reading this article, your phone would have beeped with another ‘breaking news’ notification.
Brexit, the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the absurdity that is Trump, and the sexual harassment of women are only a few of the recurring news items which feature daily in the world news section. Locally, journalists are busy investigating and reporting the failings of the state, the unsolved murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the media stunts of Adrian Delia, and the increase in racism and hate crimes.
With one negative story after another, it comes as no surprise that we feel lethargic upon opening a newspaper or scrolling down online news portals. ‘Ignorance is bliss’ many think and say, sincerely believing that what is happening does not affect them. They live in an imaginary bubble where all that is evil and happening in the world cannot touch them.
Others, on the other hand, fear that they cannot bring about change. Every so often, my colleagues tell me that we are beyond the point of no return and that my involvement in civil society is only harming my family and my mental health. The latter, I do not deny, but what if, instead of knocking down the fighting spirit of the few, we rally behind them and show them support?
Restoring faith in democracy and politics is a fight which my generation has to be at the forefront of. We have grown accustomed to having others doing things for us, fighting our battles. This time around, it is different. Stopping at reading a newspaper article or even giving up on keeping yourself informed altogether, will not shirk your responsibility towards the society and the world you live in.
The fear of retribution by those who we criticise and call for what they are, crooks, is tangible. Living on or coming from a tiny island where everyone knows everyone else’s dirty laundry, stepping on someone’s toes is very easily done. The lack of communication and argumentative skills does not help either. Several of the pieces we write or views we vocally express attract not a criticism of the argument, but threats and personal attacks. Objectivity is thrown out of the window.
Politics has been reduced to a dirty word by those in power, so their status remains unchallenged. Parents and patrons ban a discussion on politics at the table. Sometimes, an outright ban is agreed upon within a group of friends. We fear that we may disagree and fall out with each other. Our education system is to blame, with passive learning and no active promotion of debate or discourse. We stop short from listening to others’ views and keep repeating what we have read without having done our research. Idle gossip and conversations about the sexual escapades of our neighbours become the norm, making us even less intelligent and more divided in the communities we live in.
Those of us fighting for the well-being of others are thought of as having too much time on their hands; this when the stakes are at an all-time high. Societies are becoming increasingly divided, and with the rise of populist parties across the continent, citizens are departing from the idea of a unionised Europe. If we remain complacent, we risk a regression of the gains in civic and human rights.
As you turn to the next page or go on the next website, think of what type of society you want to live in. It would come to the surprise of many that what they are thinking and feeling is, in fact, a shared idea and desire. Individually, we may not have the capacity to bring immediate change, but together we can set in motion a movement which works towards a society we want to live in.
There is no room for apathy. If we want politicians to start doing the job we pay them to do, we must hold them accountable for their actions and omissions. If we want them to start acting on the dismemberment of democracy, the threats of climate change and human rights infringements, we must speak up. The ball is in our court.