HisSheedness, Andrea, Nunzio, all MD
I do believe that the Death Penalty is a barbarism.
Period
I was thinking that even before I knew about the MOQ, and I've been happy to find that
this philosophy clearly supports this point. The MOQ is against the capital
punishment, as Andrea rightly has showed quoting RMP words.
Last year on MF I've suggested a topic about democracy, starting from few
considerations about Death Penalty. I attach my message below. My thesis was (and is)
that the USA are committing a serial crime. As well as many other countries, of
course; the only difference is that the USA pretend to be a democracy....
I was stunned as the American *free press (!)* denied the publication of an "open
message to America", coming from the President of the European Parliament, probably
'cause this thread is not popular. This is IMO an apparent immoral situation of the
market (society) owning ideas (intellect).
My conclusion is that our democracies have a precise limit: politicians, writers,
opinion leaders have to be polular; but today , in order to pursue Quality, we need
dreams, courage, and even unpopularity.
Bye
Marco
p.s.
I strongly thank all the brave Americans who have the courage to stand up against
capital punishment.
=====================
Date Mon Oct 02 2000
>From Marco
To MF
Subject Dreamocracy
Moffers,
let me firstly thank you for this opportunity to discuss a matter which has
been the bee in my bonnet all last month. Let me tell you where does it come
from.
They tell us this is a democracy. It's since I was a kid. I remember my
grandfathers talking about the war, and fascism, and how we are lucky in
these days. And my teachers. And the TV. And the politics.
And they tell us it's the best possible world. You, we all, are the nation.
Power to the people, it means. This is the land of opportunities. If you
have an idea, you can express it. Freedom of speech, they say. All good
things.
And I've always been a strong supporter of democracy. Really. I've always
been against every form of imposition. It has always been my strong belief
that only by way of democracy it is possible justice, progress, and in some
way, even if it's not enough, happiness.
Many years ago (I think I was 16) I had a discussion with a convinced
Catholic. I was expressing my admiration for our democracies, and I told
that it's good that the people can decide what's good and what's wrong.
"What people?", he asked. "The majority of all us", was my answer. He ended
with "So the majority decide what's good?".
My conclusion was that he was blinded by his religion; searching for a
leading Entity, and unable to see that we can lead ourselves. But his last
words are still in my head. "So the majority decide what's good?"
Two weeks ago, all Italy has been waiting for a sort of a miracle. Maybe you
don't know a lot about it. An Italian young man has been killed in a jail in
Virginia. It's not very important his name, or the fact that he was Italian.
And it's not very important that he was condemned for homicide and that he
professed his innocence up to the last minute. I don't want exactly set a
discussion about the capital punishment.
After his death, on an important Italian newspaper has been published an
"open letter to America" written by Nicole Fontaine, a French lady,
President of the European Parliament. I've got only the Italian version of
it, so I just try to translate few rows.
".. the European parliament, democratic voice of 370 millions of citizens of
the European Union, can't understand the fact that USA is the only democracy
which has not yet renounced to sentence and execute the capital punishment.
[...] On this side of the Atlantic ocean, it's recognized that your country
is the symbol of freedom and democracy. No one can forget that it's thank to
the blood of the sons of your country that Europe has found freedom [...]
I know that the majority of the population of your country is for the
maintenance of the capital punishment, and that in democracy the people is
the ruler. But can it be enough for who has the responsibility to lead a
nation in a sage and modern way? Did president Lincoln have the support of
the majority of the Southerner states when he abolished the slavery? And did
president
Roosevelt have immediately the support of the majority of the Americans when
he engaged the USA at the side of the Europeans to restore freedom and peace
in a world ruined by the Nazis and their allied? [...] Why the statesmen of
today, for opportunism or electoral reasons are just a pale shadow of those
great dreamers, makers of the union and of the greatness of the American
nation?"
Wise words of course. But what has been for me incredible are not these
words. In the preface of this article, the journalist writes:
"Nicole Fontaine, president of the European Parliament, sent us this letter,
refused by the American newspapers". REFUSED???? It was impossible for me to
believe. I tried a search on the net, and I did not find any trace of it out
of Italy. (I ask for an help from the other side of the ocean. Is it true?)
I was KO. So the PRESIDENT of the European parliament writes an open letter
to America, and American newspapers refuse it? Why? Are all the American
newspapers
bad? Not convincing. It's arguable that they are afraid to lose popularity.
The same reason that Mrs. Fontaine sees when she analyzes the behavior of
those statesmen. Lack of courage. Opportunism. Lack of dreams. By the way,
I'm also convinced that the same reason pushed the Italian papers to publish
it. In those days it was the hottest issue in Italy, so there was nothing
against it.
The point is: democracy is the result of the dream of those sage men. It's
not thanks to democracy that we live in the best possible world. It's thank
to a dream. Democracy has been the mean, not the cause. But in this
situation in which the opinion of the majority is in the hands of the media,
and the media have no convenience to support NEW dreams, and the rulers are
there just because they have no dreams.... is democracy still the best mean?
The words of that old friend sounded again in my head: "So the majority
decide what's good?".
The ancient Greeks, inventors of democracy, told that after a certain period
it degenerates to demagogy. Is it happening? Is it possible to restore the
rule of the dreamers?
Dreamocracy..... we need it.
Hope to read your thoughts.
thanks for your attention.
Marco.
p.s.
Please, don't believe that my words are against the USA. We also have
terrible contradiction, and here also our media and our statesmen are not
exactly famous for their rightness. The Atlantic ocean is not so wide.
Of course, I do believe that the capital punishment is however a barbarism
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