Off the cuff (IV)

The Europe that the world needs desperately at this point in time is

I

• The watchtower Europe, of pluralism, of multilateralism, of freedom, of social justice, of solidarity. The Europe that, unconditionally, recognises and promotes the equal dignity of all human beings, as is so clearly established in the UNESCO Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Europe of “free and responsible” citizens, thanks to the democratic principles observed without exception by its leaders, to achieve the emancipation enabling it to become a point of reference for all nations. The Europe satisfied with its cultural diversity, its great wealth, united by the exercising of certain “universal values”, its indomitable strength.

• The Europe of “the peoples”, as established in the United Nations Charter, could, in this way, “save the future generations from the scourge of war”. And it would know how to build bridges of dialogue and reconciliation in order to move from a culture of imposition and violence towards a culture of encounter, alliance and peace. The Europe that would be capable of leading the urgent conversion of an economy based on war and speculation to an economy of global sustainable development. The Europe capable of changing direction through education, science, culture and communication, conscious of the fact that nothing is doomed or irreparable as long as its inhabitants are capable of participating and expressing themselves freely; of avoiding their uniformization and gregarization; freeing themselves from the fear and submission that keeps them silent and intimidated; of rebelling against a system which has led, rather than to the reduction of rips in the social fabric, to a daily military expenditure of 3 billion dollars, whilst over 60,000 people die of hunger, most of these children aged 0 to 5.

• The Europe which, peacefully but very firmly, resolves, at the dawn of this century and millennium, to overcome the inertia of centuries of authoritarian powers typical of a masculine society in which the sword is mightier than the word; in which women do not take part in decision making, or do so in a proportion which has not yet reached 10% today; a society which has let itself be influenced in such a way by the enormous power of the media, which is absolute and omnipresent, which without complaint has allowed international cooperation to be transformed into the exploitation and impoverishment of countries with a wealth of natural resources; which has tolerated the repeated failure to comply with the promises of development assistance made by the more prosperous countries; which has allowed the environment to deteriorate, until reaching a point where it has become essential to be aware and to act without delay, all together, without exception, in order to stop violating Mother Earth and to be able to hand down to future generations the environmental legacy that they deserve.

• In short, the Europe prepared to lead the major transformations that must take place in order to ensure that every human being, unique and blessed with creative capacity, can, in their daily behaviour, definitively leave behind them the paths of confrontation -“if you want peace, prepare for war”- and weave, with the multi-coloured yarns of all races, gender, ideologies and beliefs, the strong and compact warp for initiating “the new beginning” that the Earth Charter beckons us to seek.

• The Europe that knows how to untie itself from so many bindings and bonds which the few have been imposing on the many for centuries, on almost everyone, whose minds they have tried to “kidnap”, reducing them to vassals. The Europe which turns against plutocratic groups (G-7, G-8, G-20…) and reinforces the authority of the United Nations, so that all peoples can take the reins of destiny into their own hands. The Europe which remembers that, in the words of President Kennedy, “there is no challenge beyond the reach of the creative capacity of humanity”.

• Like José Ángel Valente, I write today “from a shipwreck. / …I write about the present. / …I write about the latitude of pain, / about what we have destroyed / above all in ourselves… / …I write from the night, from the infinite progression of the dark, / from the clamour of hunger and the hidden world, / …from the hand which closes darkly, / from the genocide, / from the infinitely dead children, / from the tree wounded at its roots… / But I also write from life, / from its powerful cry, / From the suffering crowd… / I write, my brother, of a coming time”.

• It is this Europe of culture, the Europe of creativity that is summoned to perform an essential role in redirecting the path of the planet as a whole, an unavoidable task. The citizens, at last capable of participating from a distance –thanks to modern communication technology– will elect and “regulate” their representatives in governments, giving them the self-esteem and drive necessary for the radical changes that only the “intellectual and moral solidarity” of humanity can bring about.