FLASH
Shkruar nga Mauro Armanino
And the day comes when, sometimes without warning, the masks fall and the face of power is revealed in its bare and lying truth.
"There is absolutely nothing original in this world. What needs to be understood is not whether or not we have masks on our faces, but what kind of masks we wear. The entire history of civilization is based on the production and replacement of masks. (Alexander Zinoviev, Russian philosopher and dissident).
Of course, the use and meaning of masks varies by culture. For example, in some ethnic groups in West Africa, the mask is traditionally a symbol of spiritual presence and power. So something sacred that unites the visible and the invisible in ritual ceremonies.
In other parts of the world, the mask is used in theatrical performances and in general to hide and reveal other identities at the same time. But more often, it becomes synonymous with double standards, lies, comedy or simply a role-playing game.
In some cultures, masks are the protagonists of the carnival celebration. Therefore, what the Russian Alexander Zinoviev once wrote should be interpreted in the second version quoted above. And everyone understands very well, from all angles, what they are talking about.
Lies, duplicity, transformation, promises that bind only those who hear them... all these and many more are the carriers of political regimes and ideologies, including religious ones, that accumulate human history. Zinoviev, who lived in exile in Germany, was relentlessly critical of the West, which had welcomed him with open arms at the time.
For him, the issue is not whether someone wears a "mask", but the "type" of mask that adorns his face. His friend Steven Ellis, who died prematurely, wrote a book about the Liberian civil war called The Mask of Anarchy about what happened during the 15 years of destruction and death in that country.
Instead, here as elsewhere, we would do better to talk about the "Masks of Power", i.e. the constant, studied and planned falsification of reality. This is a project that unites any ideology or social project that aims to be totalitarian.
That is, to take over the identity of the person and society, to make it according to his image and likeness. This is also the reason why Zinoviev talks about the "production and replacement" of masks, in case this becomes necessary for the ruling regime.
The dominance of information seems important, because especially today there is only what appears on the screens, whether large or small, or on the radio waves. Controlling the news uses ideologically motivated justifications, from adapting reality to what forms the world of power.
Those who influence people's thinking and practice are intimidated, and if possible recruited into the unique system mindset. It is no coincidence that religious leaders, along with other intellectuals, artists or members of civil society, will be the object of special care and reward.
But the mask of the lie is also maintained in other areas such as politics, economics, security management, and above all in the use of words. The latter is valid and important only as long as it is functional for the totalitarian project of the regime.
The "shell" of the words no longer matches the meaning they carry inside. Equality, justice, human rights, freedom and dignity are terms whose content varies depending on the convenience and functionality of the social project it wants to establish.
However, everything has a limit dictated by reality itself, which, as we know, is stubborn, persistent, dangerous and annoying. Suppressed or hidden on the one hand, it reappears on the other, as it is never fully controllable and manipulable by the system.
Despite the pathetic efforts of totalitarian regimes, it escapes a single explanation, reading and enslavement. And the day comes in which, sometimes without any warning, when the masks fall and the face of power appears in its naked and lying truth./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Il Fatto Quotidiano"
*Note: Mauro Armanin, missionary, doctor in anthropology and cultural ethnology.
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