On freedom, politics and morality

I guess we never are free. Well, no, I don't guess. I know. We never are free. We are shaped and constrained by culture, time, country, social class and personality. And on top of that our freedom has necessarily to end when other people's freedom start. Hence, we basically are confined in a tiny tiny space. Which is rendered even smaller by others' judgement. We don't only refrain ourselves from doing something because it would hurt other people, but also because we fear their judgement. Thus, living with other people makes us slave of impression, conventions, images projected in the mind of others..

... and yet, some people are freer than others. Like with animals in farms and equality, some people can. Or, better, can afford to ignore the judgment of others and brake those non spoken rules that allows society to exist. They are, we say, above morality. I never was a big fan of morality per se; stupid instrument of confinement, or excuse for atrocities as it is - but morality, in a broader sense can be considered the name we generally give to those things we wouldn't do for respect of others.

So, if you live in a country whose prime minister doesn't know what respect of others means you have an issue. Well, not you. But the country. Berlusconi is behaving amorally, say the media. I disagree. He is stating his power. He is shouting in the face of everyone else that he can have orgies with under age prostitutes, abuse of his power and etc, and don't feel ashamed. (oh the shame the shame the shame) No only, he is also sure that whatever he does, none will touch him because italian politics is not ready to substitute him with anyone. Hence, he is robbing in to all his fellow italians that he is above and beyond the rules we all submit to.

Not nice, is it? especially because this is not a competition to state identity and power. Politics is about representing. A prime minister who's mainly concerned with reminding his citiziens how much better (faster, stronger) than anyone else he is - is showing just how little he has understood of that thing called politics. And a country who stay still and accept that is just showing how little they have understood of democracy, and how little backbone they still have.

John Barleycorn must die