Blog Marcos L. Mucheroni Filosofia, Noosfera e cibercultura

Courage is needed (we’ve already posted here about the cardinal virtue of “fortitude”) in times of crisis, values, instability, confused social relations and many pre-occupations.

It is normal in these personal or social times for the mind to project itself into the past or future, the future generating anxieties and the past remorse or anguish, of course if misinterpreted or misplaced, because in general it is a passage to a promising future, an advent, something to come.

We can’t be suffocated by worries that haven’t materialized yet, but we can’t be so innocent or provincial as to only look at the world around us; life and the world go beyond our own horizons and there is always something promising ahead.

Byung-Chul Han wrote about the Palliative Society: pain today, reflections on the pandemic, but with a broad horizon that saw a society that wants to abolish pain and suffering, but they exist and are an inalienable part of life.

Wars, now with the prospect of a truce (see previous post), a social crisis of values and the loss of many previous conquests, is not just a sign of crisis, it is a sign that something will come, there is an advent that all of humanity is waiting for.

But everyone has their own anxieties, a future that they imagine and even a return to the past, a Paris at its peak that the Christmas lights can inspire, a Lisbon with its good national values (it’s sad that a nationalist is born there).

But this can be a lever for thinking about a sustainable future, a new era in which not only the Eurocentric world is enlightened, but also historically colonized peoples.

In African or African-American culture there are celebrations, which although they also originate in Canada and the Caribbean region, are celebrations that run from December 26 to January 1, Kwanzaa.

The values of community and family unity after a violent Watts riot (caused by police abuse of a young black man in 1966), a black professor Dr. Maulana Karnga, president of the Center for Black Studies at California State University created “matunda ya kwanza”, which means “first fruits”.

This is an example of the birth of a “good fruit” as a result of a crisis, creating a celebration with songs, dances and drumming with African drums, the reading of stories and poetry typical of the culture and a large traditional meal eaten by families or social groups.

Here, the principles of Suali culture (a traditional language in Kenya, but spoken by many African peoples) are recalled, a candlestick (Kinara) is lit with candles of various colors, there they recall the “Harambee” which means “gather all things” and “let’s do it together”.

These principles are no different from good Western culture (the kind that doesn’t colonize and respects local values and cultures), so it’s possible to think of an advent for all of humanity that goes beyond the crises and obstacles of the present.