Humility and accepting our own fallibility are key virtues that distinguish intelligence from pomp, depth from shallowness and strength from weakness.
In the 24-hour world we live in, with tidal waves of media content easily available at the click of a button, it is often hard to distinguish between these traits. Indeed, more often than not, one easily confuse one for the other. It is in such an environment that pompous, shallow and weak personalities thrive and gain currency, or so they think anyhow.
On reading Martin Scicluna’s ‘astonishing’ article, ‘Malta’s rule of law’ (May 16) these thoughts flashed through my head. I reflected on whether it was at all possible that he actually believed what he was saying or was he simply playing games? Was he delusional or was he not understanding the grave state of affairs in our country?
Was he living in a world of make-believe or was he forcing himself to say these things to protect himself from the guilt feelings he clearly harbours? Have we now a masterful dodger in our midst?
Scicluna thought fit to casually confuse ‘rule of law’ with ‘access to the courts’ and ‘court decisions’, trying to make us believe that as long as one can request a magisterial inquiry or open a court case then, hey presto, the rule of law reigns supreme and democracy is served.
According to his sense of democracy, Scicluna wants us all to just shut up, enjoy the ride, allow Rome to be razed to the ground and simply wait for the infamous magisterial inquiries to run their course. Needless to say, the fact that the full machinery of the State has been mobilised to make sure that any and all inquiries are prolonged till the next coming of Jesus Christ is of no concern to him.
Because, you see, as long as some decent people can open an inquiry into the mysterious disappearance of so many of their countrymen during World War II then, of course, the rule of law and democracy ruled supreme. Those being taken away and massacred had no right to complain and they had to wait till the inquiry was over and anyone complaining on their behalf was a traitor and acting against the national interest because there was an ongoing inquiry.
So, by Scicluna’s delusional or deceptive standards, choose your pick, the rule of law and democracy reigned supreme.
Don’t complain, just wait patiently until everyone is massacred, then rejoice in the conclusions of the inquiry.
Don’t complain, just wait patiently until everyone is massacred, then rejoice in the conclusions of the inquiry
By Scicluna’s lofty standards if a corpse is lying in plain sight, stinking to high heavens and multiple CCTV cameras could show who committed the crime, we have to ignore it, pretend we did not see it, be happy about everything, be thankful even, until the person who committed the crime has manipulated the scene, exercised sufficient influence over the key figures in the investigation and covered his tracks sufficiently. And if we complain or seek the truth then, of course, we are traitors and pseudo-political because the rule of law and democracy reigns supreme on paper, so it must really exist.
We all have to wait, pretend we are blind and then rejoice once the inquiry is concluded. Is that what Scicluna thinks?
What are we all worried about? We have to have blind faith because on paper all is fine and dandy and the economy is growing and all that.
The fact that Scicluna cannot get himself to accept how he was duped and made to look like a gullible simpleton has nothing to do with it, right?
The fact that he was instrumental in granting a licence to what is an insult to our venerable university and to all hard-working countrymen who proudly toiled to see their kids attend one of Europe’s oldest universities has nothing to do with it, right?
The fact that he is seeing a corpse right in front of him, unmissable, getting sharper and clearer by the day, has nothing to do with it, right?
Shallow and vain pride is such a terrible vice, is it not?
Scicluna keeps digging his hole, oblivious to the fact that, with each passing day, the hole gets bigger and his much-vaunted reputation plummets further. At least, the Artful Dodger no longer lives in denial and is no longer ashamed.
He came out, revealed himself and we all know where we stand with him. He has taken off the mask for all to see and, in a weird sort of way, he was honest about it.
Enough is now really enough and it is time to call a spade a spade. For crying out loud, he has the audacity to accuse so many brave women and men who fight for their country of being double faced, pseudo-political and zealously hypocritical posturing. Nobody can expect colonialists to know anything about functioning democracy and rule of law anyhow, trained as they were in suppression, segregation and rigorous snobbery.
Scicluna tries to rubbish honest and courageous citizens sacrificing themselves to achieve what he could never achieve in a million years. It must be tough and repulsive to live all alone with that guilt and sense of inadequacy but, there again, one reaps what one sows in life I guess.