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Where the truth lies

The search for Truth has always been present in human History and through the texts of books on Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, Law, and many other sources of studies of our behavior confirms that overall and over time societies have been worried about the definition and the practice of what is real, fair and... true.

Strangely enough, it seems very easy to conceal the truth. Mostly it appears a power of particularly intelligent people, who dedicate themselves to creating stories and alibis to cover the truth, no matter what the fact may be which implies betrayal of someone´s confidence or disrespect to what codes of moral may exist in any specific context. And because hiding the truth can be destructive to some, the fabrication of lies demands more and more knowledge and competence. Searching the truth has become source of many jobs, think about police agents, detectives, doctors, consider the amount of lawyers, historians, researchers working in different locations like labs or fields, just name it. More recently, the access to technology opened the path to a whole list of new means to look for the truth. Knowing the truth is crucial for life in society and everywhere the distinction between good and bad can be based on how a person values and practices the truth.

It is interesting to mention that not necessarily someone who is known to be honest acts honestly. The point is: to be a successful liar requires exceptional intelligence, technical skills and good acting performance. Having a high position in any organization – family, enterprises, government, etc… - can provide better means to hide it but not necessarily it prevents the truth from being revealed. Lots of people live in this search-and-catch game so a competent liar would better know well those who surround him/her, what legal, moral, social or ethical code he/she is infringing and the objective reasons to lie, otherwise his/her career as a liar would not last long and his/her nice reputation could go down the drain bringing all sorts of unpleasant consequences.

'Truth is like the Sun, you can lock it inside a black box and at some point it will pop out and somehow be seen'. This simple sentence is fundamental to keep hope alive. Nobody likes to be lied to. The sense of betrayal hurts, brings irrecuperable damages to all types of relationships. Trust is based on the practice of Truth.

However even if History points to truth as a social value, different cultures deal with lies at different levels of importance. Like some countries apply the concept of 'white lie', which aims to justify 'non-important' unethical attitudes ('yes, I was driving too fast but my daughter is in the hospital', so I get rid of paying a fine, etc..). Moral rules are progressively loosing their meaning as 'lies'. Cheating on the partner, for example. In many old cultures it was unacceptable, specially for women, and social judgement and punishment could be very hard while in modern times 'it was just sex' became a no-big-deal lie as long as 'just sex' translates into 'no emotional involvement'. Thus, fidelity got a new frame in the definition of truth and we have now some levels of acceptance for lies between couples.

The 'Bocca della Verità' sculpture placed in the pronao of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin was a manhole built in Rome in 1632 for the drainage of water which pictures a face that probably represented a fluvial god, the Tevere river (Tiber), to where all the waters from the city converged. It is said that Virgilio Marono Grammatico, supposedly a magician, had it built to help husbands and wives (basically husbands) who doubted the fidelity of their partner. The idea was that in order to prove innocence the suspected consort would stick his/her hand into the mouth of the sculpture and would have it cut in case of infidelity.

Among the various legends, one became very popular: a jealous husband who suspected his wife of having an affair decided to have her tested in this way but was misled by the intelligence of his spouse. She, who effectively was having an affair, agreed with her lover to meet at the 'Bocca della Verità' at the moment decided by her husband and pretending to be mentally ill he would kiss her in front of everyone and leave the place immediately afterwards. The act was well performed and when her husband required her to submit to the fidelity test, she declared that during her entire life she had only been kissed by her husband and by that man. As this was true, she was able stick her hand in the Bocca della Verità and take it out in perfect condition.

Conclusion? Very simple: As long as you are particularly smart and creative you will have no problems regarding punishment for lying and betraying. Yeah? Yes...

(*) Phyrexian - Opera propria, CC0

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Please forget me!

Even if it is mentioned in most contracts we sign with diverse companies, websites, organizations or other non-private agreements, we don´t usually exercise our right to have our data deleted from their database. Or maybe because it is not of interest to those who demand personal data in order to provide the services we want to publish statistics about the number of people who request to be excluded. Or maybe because they do publish this info and we don´t do much to get to know what those numbers are. Enfin... not much is said about this matter.

However this is an important issue and so important that a law was created specially to protect private information. This is called 'the right to be forgotten' (now more prosaically downgraded to 'the right to erasure'), mentioned in a European law called GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) where it reads "The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay and the controller shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay where one of [a series of] grounds applies" (Art. 17) and it may be useful to make some considerations about it.

If commercial relationships grant us our right to disappear and not be contacted again, why is it that no laws exist to protect us from people we wish to eliminate from our lives? Not only we can not 'decide' to forget those individuals but even more unpleasant is the fact that we have no ways to have them forget us!! Of course, if at any time a non-dear someone just pops out from the dark silence of time and makes it clear that we are still vulnerable we can just ignore this demonstration of 'you did not get rid of me' by not replying in any way. But not acknowledging will never bring us the tranquility that just being forgotten would give. Somewhere there is a person who hurt you or was inconvenient for any reason, and who still can reach you. Social media contributes for this constant feeling of being exposed and it is not always evident that you want that. It may happen that this is exactly what you do not want. It is very easy to get exposure but how to eliminate it???

Here we are: naked and defenseless in front of this undeniable fact: we can not be deleted from the memory of others. Or better said: this has been impossible until now. As scientists are doing so much to change the usual ways our humanity functions it may happen that in the future we will be deletable, yes. Not only from other people´s memory but from history. In fact deleting History has already happened or not? ...

A difficult question: would you like to have the right to be deleted? Maybe yes? Probably most of us would be glad to have this possibility as long as we could chose from what or whose memory – let´s think about income tax employees, politicians, banks... wouldn´t it be wonderful to tell them to forget us??? Yes. Something is missing in human contact contracts.

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Words from a modern witch

It's Halloween again and even if this is an 'American' festive day many people in different countries enjoy the excitement and mystery existing around the old rituals attributed to groups of strange women who gathered in some hidden places – mostly in forests – where deep secrets were unveiled while they danced at the sound of exceptional sounds around a huge cauldron filled with a concoction of magic herbs. Herbs were used to try and heal people.

The Celts used to observe their New Year when the line between the living and dead would thin and spirits could walk on earth. The tradition of Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.

To many, witchcraft was/is related to a special ability by some individuals – the witches – to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. Thus traditionally the terms 'witch' and 'witchcraft'do not have a positive connotation and in the European Late Medieval/Early Modern times among the Catholics and Protestants as well as the secular leadership the association of witchcraft with heresy and apostasy led to large-scale witch-hunts – having as consequence that those accused were imprisoned, executed, tortured or banished. The great majority of those 'witches' were women but in some regions there were also men who were victims of these accusations. It was only after the 17th century that witch-trials started to be considered unreliable and immoral and in 1736 were formally ended in Great Britain with passage of the Witchcraft Act that also influenced other countries regarding the persecution and punishment inflicted on the suspects.

As time passed and traditions travelled around the world witches became less and less persecuted and many symbols have been added to their existence, leading to dramatic changes in the ways people think about them. Over time, the great and continuous flow of immigrants from Europe to America helped transform the image of witches into a positive view and progressively they became more and more part of the folklore and celebrations, when Christians hold a vigil preparing themselves with prayers and fasting prior to All Saints' Day.

The changes occurred in time led to the commercialization of the symbols linked to Halloween and we dare call this a win-win situation: People keep up their dreams while celebrating the mystery of making money.

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E la nave va

In 1983 the great Federico Fellini directed this unforgettable film, having also co-written the plot with Tonino Guerra and the following year it received various important awards such as Best Film - to Fellini and Franco Cristaldi; Best Screenplay - to Fellini and Tonino Guerra; Best Photography - to Giuseppe Rotunno; Best Scenography: - to Dante Ferretti.

The action takes place in 1914 but remains actual in its fundamental lines. The idea of old friends and admirers of an opera singer, a famous 'diva', getting together to perform her last will is absolutely credible, even if it requires a special cruise to have her ashes spread on the small island Erimo in the Egean Sea.

Most characters on the 'Gloria N' picture social icons easily recognizable by the public. The presence of a journalist on board is still evident in any important social event. However a heart-broken rhinoceros, that the passengers visit in order to offer emotional support, is a clear indication that this is not one more common film about a cruise. The interaction between those on board is a continuum of surprises.

But the fantasy surrounding the relationships is seriously affected and the ship's course is brutally changed due to unpredictable facts taking place in the outside world: the Grand Duke Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo and World War I breaks out. The commandant is forced to rescue shipwrecked Serbs, what causes distress to the passengers. The worst is still to come: when their destination, Erimo, is in sight, the ship crosses an Austrian battleship and is hit and sunk.

Orlando, the journalist tries to scape the disaster on a lifeboat and never stops reporting on the cruise, - "I have great news: did you know rhinos provide a delicious milk?" - even while hiding his mouth with his hand in order to avoid being discovered by the other survivor, the rhino. The extraordinary beast remains calmly seated in the bow of the ship and looks at us with good and unconscious eyes while eating a tuft of grass.

Here some conclusions:

• a) the elite has always navigated on private seas
• b) irony helps creating great stories
• c) the press has always had special ways reporting facts
• d) you can make good milk from divulging tragedies
• e) you've got your rhinos, I got mine

But then we need more Fellini(s) and Guerra(s) to teach us how to read a film...

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Remember hippie times?

It is all History now but not so far in time that all those who lived the hippie era are not alive. Many of those who took part of this important movement are still around, sharing and enjoying their memories or just benefiting from the profits originated from youngsters who believed in peace and love and ended up as founders of companies or organizations still active in the commercial world.

For those who are born after the 40's and 50's the hippie times are gone. There are many who are fans of the artists of the years 60's and less others who still stick to the beliefs and dreams of the hippies. Not much sociological or historical analysis is required to get a basic profile of those girls and boys even if so much has changed with them after the passing years.

What does 'hippie' mean for you? Don't force your brain... just close your eyes and open your ears and nose. Can you see young faces with delicate looks? Can you see colorful clothes on dancing bodies? Can you feel the smell of different flowers? Can you hear sounds of love and music? Can you feel the warmth of hugs and the taste of kisses?

We could think of multitudes of youngsters together in open places, drifting around cities, sharing sandwiches and sleeping in parks, just sitting or lying there with an idle attitude, experiencing the dolce far niente. We can also picture them around different roads, sometimes carrying a backpack, sometimes carrying nothing at all, hitch-hiking and not telling much about themselves.

In June, 1967 Scott McKenzie became the voice of all hippies when the song San Francisco, composed by John Philips (The Mamas & The Papas), was presented at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival (see link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0vkKy504U ). Many other music festivals took place during the 60's but none brought more people together than the Music & Art Festival that took place in Bethel, New York, from 15-18 August, 1969. This social phenomenon received the name 'Woodstock' and gathered 500.000 people, who went there from various parts of America and Europe moved by their common dream: to share peace and love.

What about drugs? Oh, yes... they took LSD and smoked marijuana. At that time LSD was consumed as a way to enlarge perception, and probably smoking marijuana was the revival of ancient rituals from Indian tribes. Who knows, maybe the hippies just needed a different mood in order to be able to celebrate life. Nowadays we almost don't draw the line between the diverse drugs, some are 'good for the health' while some others are basically linked to the sub-world of crime. Nowadays technology creates metaverse and marketeers push its use as a great invention. Yes... times a'changin, said Bob Dylan.

Probably 'hippies' became just a fashionable term but for those who lived that moment in history the memories bring nostalgia of a sincere search for freedom and respect of each other's ideas. Now it is Past.

As John Lennon said: ''The Dream is Over''.

As some answer: 'Is it really?.

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Ignorance = Happiness?

Do you watch the news? Better asking: Do you like to watch the news?

Most people find it important to watch/read the news. They want to be 'in' the world and the best way to do so is through the information obtained by the press. By the way, more and more reporters have been also acting as detectives, law protectors, defenders of victims... making it clear that the ones officially in charge of doing so are not as efficient as needed by society and or in bad but not seldom cases, are those really responsible for the various types of violation perpetrated against people and their rights.

So, is this the reason why people watch the news? To be part of the chase for bandits even if only in a passive way? Or maybe because getting to know about what is going on can be the push towards action?...

Well, basically what there is on the news is bad news. Tragedies of all sorts, so-called 'natural' disasters, violence of all sorts, destruction and disrespect to life of all sorts. Here and there some social bla bla. Sports, of course, because we all would like to be as healthy and competent as champions and it is good to know that there is a way to become one. Culture? Some, not much, info about events. But mostly what there is to watch and read is about the political game and the corruption among the players and how this impacts people's lives.

Thus if we don't know what is happening and who is causing sadness everywhere we won't be able to help the world become a better place. Yes? Maybe not. Huh? Because most of what is decided and done takes place behind the stage where the show takes place. We, the audience, can watch and applaud (…) or watch and feel impotent. We are not part of the play and most plots are not of interest nor pleasure – particularly not pleasure. We know that we don't know. Still, there we are, listening, watching, spending our time.

Undoubtedly there is some attraction in the news. It can be the reassurance of our good life, even when it's not so good there are others in a worse situation. It can also be sheer curiosity, a kind of scientific desire to try and understand the mysteries and extent of our stupidity. It can also mean a possibility to imagine ourselves in those glamorous ambiances where everyone looks beautiful and use the best perfumes... Who knows what is each person's reason to watch/read the news. However, as most of the news is bad the result is a sense of impotence to solve the problems exposed. It requires a lot of creativity to avoid falling into the dark hole caused by this constant dose of sadness. An alternative: refuse to know about what is going on in the world. It is an option.

Ignorance as a way to happiness? Hmmm… maybe yes.

Maybe. Maybe...

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Public (and clean) WCs: everyone's right

Travel around or just go anywhere near your home, this is not relevant. The point here is, anytime and anywhere you may need to use a toilet and it is more than logic that in this case would look for a public one. Usually places like supermarkets provide a 'client's WC'. Surely you won't have any trouble finding this facility in a shopping center or inside big shops. In many locations, churches have an open WC available to all passing people, independent of the religion. You take for granted to find public toilets in airports and other places of the sort, clinics and hospitals (but not pharmacies…). Libraries are also client-friendly, as well as gas- stations. Restaurants of course, but then you will most probably be eating there to be allowed to use the toilet. In some bars or cafeteria-type of places you must pay to use the toilet in case you are not eating/drinking there.

You can also find temporary public toilets installed in locations where festivals or open spectacles are to take place. Organizers of sport activities or special events foreseen public WCs. This list is not exclusive.

The question is: who is responsible for the cleaning service offered to the public? Who pays for the hygiene material that is expected to be available? Should this be considered a right or a courtesy to visitors or clients of any type of establishment?

It is obvious that whenever you are consuming something you are entitled to a free toilet. Are you really? For example, in Fjällbacka, Sweden, the big shop Coop – a national supermarket chain – just does not have a toilet available for clients! (maybe it does now, after a serious complaint made by some tourists last June). In that shop, the sales personnel is instructed to tell you to go outside to the right and walk some 200mts to use a public toilet in a parking place, which is installed there during the tourist season. Apparently not much is done regarding the cleanliness. Unfortunately it is probable that other shops follow this great model!

Besides the item 'availability', there is another polemic topic: the hygiene of a public WC! Isn't that so nice when you use one of those and find it perfectly maintained, clean and free? If we are talking about 'public' WCs, we must be able to understand it as a public 'service' and this includes the concept of human rights... or not?

Travelers or residents, everywhere people pay taxes and it is expected that services linked to people's welfare and health are to be offered to anyone who needs them. It is totally disrespectful not to provide a clean WC to those who need it. It is unacceptable to charge for the use of a WC in a public place.

Administrators and managers, business owners and mayors, this is a call for you! Respect your visitors. Treat them as humans, not as consumers of goods. Among the references clients keep of a business or any place, respect and kindness remain as very important. Maybe you will spend some extra money on public WCs but you will surely be rewarded by a sincere 'thank you' from those who benefit from your decision.

Remember: the best things in life are free.

Thank you.

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