For loads of denarii

Monday, July 5, 2010

For loads of denarii –currently for scandalous amounts- the colossal power of the media reduces us to fainthearted “onlookers”, resigned to whatever happens. They offer us non-stop football (the Spanish League, Spanish Cup, Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, World Cup, friendly matches), and auto and motorcycle racing, also unending, together with other sporting events... Because in doing so they not only keep the people docile and quiet, but also reap economic benefits from television broadcasts that bring in record earnings, enabling them to offer staggering sponsorship deals to certain teams and millions to their drivers (who make even more as walking advertisements), or giving football idols and their trainers vertiginous sums... But despite being plagued by "readjustments" and "cutbacks", the spectators and fans don’t seem to mind being transformed into a “mass”, a docile and manipulated crowd that plays no role in determining or implementing the measures that, as a society, they must face, the great economic and environmental challenges of our times, so that the children who they take to these events can enjoy a less dismal future.

And, make no mistake, I like football. And tennis. And in this case I admire the “masters ". But if we do not awaken from our slumber, if we continue as heavy-eyed unperturbed spectators, if we do not contribute to the radical changes required to ensure an adequate legacy for our future generations,... if we allow the power of the media to continue to dominate the world, we will not have fulfilled our supreme mission as citizens, which is what makes sense of the mystery of our existence.

For a few denarii,

for a lot of denarii,

for loads of denarii...

We are compromising the future of our children, the generations who must follow in our footsteps.

When we discuss our children’s education, we turn rapidly with a frown toward our schools. But the family? And society?

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