My answer, honestly, is no.
And not because I hate my country, quite the opposite. I built my life here, all things considered it’s not a bad place compared to other worse places to live, there are wonderful landscapes and locations, history and culture (including culinary culture) that are far from insignificant.
But loving your homeland is one thing, sacrificing your life for a State that over the years has shown not only that it knows how to ignore the needs and problems of ordinary people, but even worsen them, is another.
When I look at the current situation, I struggle to see something that truly deserves the sacrifice of a own life. We thought we had hit rock bottom in politics decades ago with Berlusconi, but compared to now that was a golden age, now there are even more incompetent people or people interested only in keeping their seats, services getting worse, stagnant wages, security constantly deteriorating, people leaving, people forced to work until they are 70 years old and still struggling to make it to the end of the month.
I’ll also mention a few examples: if you have health problems you either pay privately or wait to die and this while paying taxes, a burglar breaks into your house and threatens you but if you shoot him you go on trial, if you go out in the evening you risk random assault, you have a child and receive no help or with covid if you didn’t get vaccinated you couldn’t work...
And there are those who say, but fight for democracy, like the partisans did! To hell with democracy, it is nothing more than a failure that is slowly collapsing under its own weaknesses, in 20 years we will be a caliphate... I would rather defend a dictatorship that guarantees you well-being and security.
And then there is one thing I often think: those who would “direct” the war from above would be a bunch of incompetents, sitting in offices where they do not even know what war is, nor do they have any understanding of it, like when they ranted about how Russia was supposed to collapse within a week because of sanctions and after 4 years we are at the 20th sanctions package.
Of course I would defend my family, but protecting the people you love doesn't mean sacrificing yourself for a rotten state that has no respect or dedication toward its citizens is another.
Years ago the concept of homeland had a different meaning, sometimes I think about the soldiers of WW1 on the Italo-Austrian front, many had the pride of stopping the foreigner, of fighting for Italy, and they died, and for what? for the disgrace we ended up with now, they would turn in their graves if they saw it.
I would like to live in a country that inspires trust, respect and pride, all things that right now, looking around me, I can't really find.
Random photos taken this weekend
Post in response to Weekend-Engagement topics: WEEK309