I MIEI SCRITTI

BLACK CRISIS? THERE ARE THOSE WHO WILL MAKE IT, LIKE CROCODILES, AND THOSE WHO WON'T
Open letter to Entrepreneurs

Dear Entrepreneur,
history tells us that Humanity has faced crises and cataclysms of every kind, often forced to gather the ashes of itself. But from the ashes, we have always been reborn, renewed in spirit and stronger than before, as the Phoenix teaches. So will we all make it? No, I’m sorry to say, but not everyone will make it. Those who will succeed are those who can adapt to change, as per the law of mother nature. Millions of species have gone extinct throughout the history of the Earth because they could not adapt to changes (climatic, natural disasters, plagues, etc.). But some species have made it, like crocodiles that have existed for about 90 million years. Many other species, however, did not make it. Like the dinosaurs.
It will be the same for this crisis. Some will make it and some will not.
The important thing is to be aware that we will come out of this crisis. It is highly likely that the recession we are experiencing due to Covid-19 will resolve in 2022 thanks to the vaccine or because the virus will extinguish itself, as has already happened with many coronaviruses. But we will return to normal, and when we do, the recovery will be strong, indeed very strong. Because after this dark and gloomy period, with strong medieval tones, humanity will want to return to living intensely and more passionately than before. It is human nature, it is that nature that has brought us to the top of living beings, it is that nature that will make us live a true Renaissance. And our country knows very well what Renaissance means because we have been, the first in the world, authors and architects.
We can therefore experience this moment in two ways. By digging in on our positions hoping to survive or looking ahead to be ready, very ready for the recovery and regrowth that will come strong, very strong. Today is therefore the time to relaunch, to play ahead, to invest so as not to be caught unprepared by a market that will register an unprecedented boom in demand. In fact, we can now make more than advantageous investments thanks to a significant drop in prices across the board (machinery, plants, equipment, manufactured products, raw materials, etc.) along with the substantial Contributions and Incentives issued by the European Union in favor of companies that intend to make investments. But like all things in life, the "Carpe Diem," seize the moment.
Here, seize the moment. Certainly, there are those who are unable to seize it due to a complete lack of resources and will then have to, by force of circumstance, reinvent themselves just as there are those who have the resources but prefer to remain entrenched hoping to survive. Instead, those who seize this moment will reap fruits and profits beyond their wildest expectations.

Anselmo Petraroli

CEO
Genia Business S.r.l.

COVID-19. WHY OUR PEOPLE HAVE LOST THE SENSE OF LIFE

I have never been afraid of death because I cannot be afraid of the inevitable. I only worry about leaving a memory of my thoughts to my loved ones. I have always loved life because I have never been afraid of life. I have always loved Nature because I have never been afraid of Nature. Nature is the mother of everything; how could I ever be afraid of it? It gives us life and takes it away. It is its law. And I am not afraid of its Laws; I trust Nature. Nature did not give us life so that we humans would submit it to our Laws but so that we would adapt ourselves to its Laws. It is in this way that we have managed to adapt to nature much better than any other living species, and we have reached, over millions of years, the top. However, upon reaching the top, we have slowly, inexorably begun to develop that sense of omnipotence for which today we crave to subjugate Nature to our Laws without understanding that this is fatal. Because the more a People craves this, the sooner it will become extinct. Because Nature does not make concessions. Because Nature can accommodate us in all our efforts aimed at living and surviving but does not forgive if we cross the boundary that Nature itself has defined.

Some peoples have lost the sense of life.

Nature makes us born, makes us grow, makes us become men, makes us live. We are the energy it has given us, to some more and to some less, energy that can become extraordinary when we grow in an environment rich in positive stimuli. For many years we carry this energy with us, deluding ourselves that we will never lose it. Then Nature begins, however, slowly and inevitably, to take this energy away from us. Our backs bend, we lose our firm step, we become uncertain, and what our eyes see seems more and more blurred every day because it is too far away or too close. Bacteria and viruses begin to get the better of us, and we become ill with increasingly fragile resistance. Day after day, our body is no longer what it was before. It changes, disappoints us, abdicates as if called by the gravitational force of Mother Earth, which tells us: come here, I am waiting for you, it is time, you have finished your time.

However, we have learned not to listen to this call. We refuse. It is our craving to subjugate Nature. To the first calls, we say to the Earth "Wait a bit, I am not ready now" and we run to soothe the pain and take care of ourselves. To the subsequent ones, we respond "Wait, wait, I will come later" and we still run to soothe the pain and take care of ourselves. To the last calls, we respond "Sorry, I will arrive late, very late indeed, as late as possible" and we again resort to soothing our pains and taking care of ourselves even more with spasmodic stubbornness if possible.

"Wait a bit, I am not ready now" is right. Because Nature is right to wait; it must have patience; we have earned a longer life thanks to the superhuman efforts we have made to survive over these millions of years.

"Wait, wait, I will come later" is also right. Because after the many sacrifices we have made in recent millennia to improve our lives, it is right for Nature to make at least one more effort and accommodate us with renewed patience.

"Sorry, I will arrive late, very late indeed, as late as possible" is not right. Because Nature, in this case, does not forgive. We have crossed the boundary that it itself has defined. Because Nature created us to LIVE consciously and NOT TO SURVIVE semi-consciously in a body worn by years, with a corroded mind, forced into a bed to swallow pills, invaded by drips and oxygen.

Our People, for decades now, have learned to shout to Nature "Sorry, I will arrive late, very late indeed, as late as possible". And we shout it even if we barely recognize our children and ourselves, even if our voice is little more than a faint lament, even if we are no longer absolutely able to produce the most beautiful fruit of life: that of teaching it, thanks to our experience and knowledge, to our loved ones and to those who want to listen.

Our People is increasingly bent, uncertain, blurred. It is old. And it is increasingly clinging to a white coat, to a drip, to a white bed from which it rises less and less often.

Our People has learned to have a deep respect for those who remember their youth as if they had lived it yesterday. But in respecting it so deeply, it has gone beyond. Too far. And too much does not exist in Nature because there is always a limit, a boundary. Even the Universe has its boundaries.

Our People does not have children because there is no space for our children, there is no space for our young. That space is now occupied by the elderly. Our People knows this; it has understood it for years, and it accepts it. Indeed, pensions are important; a healthcare system largely engaged for the elderly is important; a healthcare system aimed at keeping alive, at all costs, those who have a past but no future is important. These are the things that are truly important for our Country, as the current Politician loves to repeat. He repeats it so many times that the People has ended up believing him. Because our blanket has always been short, indeed very short, and the current politician has always decided to pull it from one side because what interests him most are the 14 million voters over 65 years old. And it matters little about the few nurseries, the crumbling schools, the universities without resources, the insufficient sports facilities, the ghost internships, the young researchers who go abroad, the ridiculous funds for Start-Ups and for Companies that create new jobs for the young. These things can take a back seat. Our people has come to terms with it. And does not have children.

Our People listens to the Politician who says "Let’s protect our grandparents" from Covid-19 and applauds. It is right; he is right. Just as all our TV and newspapers applaud him. It matters little if to save our grandparents we stop the Country, risk an unprecedented economic crisis, and jeopardize our own jobs, our families, our children, our future. It matters little; the priority is to save the grandparents. And we applaud.

Our People listens that it is a global pandemic of the virus; the WHO says so; the most authoritative voice in the world on health matters says so. Then our politician, along with TV and newspapers, is applauded even more. Then we look at other Countries and the Americans, and we cannot explain why all foreign politicians do not take as an example the strict measures adopted by our so applauded politician. We just cannot explain it. Some Countries close schools, universities, stadiums, give suggestions on how to wash hands, on distance, and the possible mask. But in substance, nothing more, nothing more than what our people has already seen years ago on the occasion of other contagious viruses. Our People cannot explain why the number of deaths recorded in other Countries is significantly lower, much lower, in percentage, in relation to the population. And when they hear the foreign Leader talk about courage and that his people will face the virus without fear, they are horrified. They do not understand; they cannot understand why some Countries seem not to worry so much about this virus, about their grandparents, about those who are extremely fragile, about those who are already very ill; and they wonder why they do not protect them from Covid-19 as our applauded politician has done: with draconian spirit and firmness, with drastic measures, with red zones, with the veto to leave home and the total blockade of the economy.

All this while Nature observes, observes, and lets it happen. Because it knows that the fate of a People is already marked if it does not respect the Laws dictated by it. Those Laws that a people should always remember, never forget. And among these Laws, among the most important, there is the one of the role that Nature has assigned to us at every age, even the role of bidding farewell to life when the time has come. Overturning this Law by prioritizing the third (and fourth) age over the others, is fatal. It means extinction. And our People has been overturning this Law for some time with lucid and persistent obsession.

       Anselmo Petraroli

WHY I AM IN THE WORLD

I am here to try to make this world better starting from my world. And my world is those who work with me, the people who are close to me, my family and my friends, my acquaintances, my clients, my suppliers, and all those whom I have the opportunity to meet even just for an hour. This is my world

So, every day, I try to help those who want to improve themselves or redeem themselves. I reward merit, praise the proactive, and those who, in difficulty, strive with honesty and loyalty to seek - even with a thousand sacrifices - a better life for themselves and for others who are part of their world. These are the deserving. To the deserving, I am capable of giving the best of myself, dedicating to them, whenever I can, the time and energy they deserve.

Just as every day I fight to marginalize the parasite, the inept, the cunning, or the slave of their own mediocrity; and my sworn enemy is also the liar, the false, the disloyal, the vile, or the insidious envious, just as the arrogant know-it-all. And I despise the greedy as much as the stingy, just as those who look only to their own personal gain. Because these wretches, all of them, suck resources and energy from others, harming them. They are the detractors of the group to which they belong and, more generally, of humanity; for this reason, I marginalize them without too many scruples and, if necessary, with pure cynicism; life is too short to waste time and vital energy on them in vain. Time and energy that should instead be spent on the deserving. Because to help and try to redeem a wretch, it takes the energy equivalent to helping and redeeming 10 deserving people in difficulty: for the good of the world and my world, it is best to dedicate oneself only to the deserving, leaving the wretch to their fate.

Today all human knowledge is on the Internet, just a click and navigate to the right sites: it takes little to acquire knowledge without boundaries. Therefore, the ignorant have no more excuses.

I despise the stupid, as they are capable of harming themselves and others. I find the uneducated who presumes to know insufferable. I can hardly tolerate people who do not apply themselves with tenacity and who give up at the first difficulties. I disdain those who, to justify their existence, constantly draw attention to themselves. I detest hypochondriacs, I detest people who wallow in self-pity, I detest those who do not trust others by default, I detest those who have a pessimistic view of life without reacting, I detest those who mystify and manipulate everyday truths and historical ones, I detest those who believe in conspiracies, and I detest those who take refuge in alcohol or drugs. I am instead a proponent of the law that prevails in nature: the natural selection of the best where - as far as the human species is concerned - the best is not necessarily the one who excels but the one who, with trust and optimism, commits to the maximum doing good for themselves and others.

I admire successful people. And by success, I do not mean the imposture of popularity. Successful people are those who love their work, performing it with dedication and passion, who have reached an economic condition that allows them every day to choose their own life, and who love and respect the people who are part of their world and are loved and respected by them.

I help anyone or fight against anyone, without ever making any distinction of blood, skin, or social class. I can help the deserving stranger, I can abandon my own blood to their fate if necessary. And this for the good of all my kind. Because this world will only improve if we stop privileging the ineptitude or mediocrity of those who do not deserve it, even if they are our own children. We must exalt meritocracy, we must reward only the deserving, whether they are strangers or family or acquaintances, it does not matter. Because it is the deserving who make this world better.

Anselmo 2019

ADVICE FOR LIFE

A.M. one day told me: "I always feel happy and do you know why? Because I expect nothing from anyone."
Expecting something from others only hurts. Problems always have a solution; the only thing that has no remedy is death, and it is wrong to consider it a problem. Do not allow anyone to insult you, humiliate you, or lower your self-esteem. Shouting and insults are the tools of the poor in spirit and of those who do not know how to reason. We will always meet people who will consider us guilty of their troubles, but the truth is that, almost always, each of us receives from others what we deserve. We must be strong and rise from the falls that life reserves for us because, after a dark and lonely tunnel, beautiful things come if we have been able to get back up. And by getting back up, the bad turns into good. Enjoy life because it is short; for this reason, love it, live it intensely, smile at others with confidence, and remember:

Before discussing... Breathe
Before speaking... Listen
Before criticizing... Examine yourself
Before writing... Think
Before hurting... Feel
Before giving up... Try
Before dying... LIVE!!

The best relationship is not with a perfect person, but with one in which each individual learns to live with the other's flaws, admiring their qualities. Try to be as sincere and loyal as possible because it is when we lose credibility that the world collapses around us. Those who do not value what they have will one day complain about having lost it, and those who do harm will one day receive what they deserve. We spend our days depriving ourselves of the pleasure of giving, believing that the meaning of life is to take, to have others give to us and take, without thinking that we are thus building our future on sand. If you want to be happy, make someone happy; if you want to receive, give a little or a lot of yourself, and surround yourself with positive people and be one of them. And remember, sometimes when you least expect it, there will be someone who will make you live beautiful and unforgettable experiences! There is no person who cannot change and improve, but they can only do so if they decide, with determination, to want to change for the better in their life by starting to listen to those who can help them. While if you really want to help someone, do not make the mistake of giving them a fish every day, but teach them to fish. Never ruin your present because it is with the present that you build your future. Never be ashamed of your mistakes; we all make mistakes, but when you realize you have made a mistake, you must not repeat it, because then you will indeed have to be ashamed of yourself.
If it is true that anyone who uses drugs, whether light or heavy, occasionally or constantly, would NEVER offer drugs to their children for their own good, then it will be clear to you why you must immediately distance yourself from those who offer you drugs, because they are people who do not want your good.
Do not get high because drugs are insidious; they make you lose control of your life without you realizing it, and when you do, it will be too late. Drink occasionally, if you want, but avoid getting drunk because alcohol is as insidious as drugs and, like drugs, will drive away the best people from you while bringing closer the worst. Always take care of your mind and body equally. Have fun but keep your life in order.
And remember that a strong person, even with tears in their eyes, adjusts to say with a smile, "I am fine." Angels exist and are among us, Angels who are simply human beings who have made their lives a mission. And at least one Angel among them, if you can recognize them and treasure these suggestions, will protect you. I am sure of it.

N.B. This text was inspired, in part, by considerations sent to me by friends, and in part is original, that is, flour from my sack.

Anselmo 2013

THE LIES NO LONGER HAVE SHORT LEGS

Once upon a time, lies had short legs, now they have lost them altogether.
A hard life, indeed, for liars who are now cornered and their lives risk becoming a hell. Yes, because the advent of technology and new means of mass communication is seriously compromising their very social survival. We are indeed living in a new era characterized by communication tools that were unknown just a few years ago: the internet, social networks, computers, smartphones, tablets, webcams, invisible recording microsystems, and we communicate through SMS, emails, voice messages, photos, videos, posts, and much more. Moreover, a phone conversation is not only interceptable by the competent authorities, but it can also easily be recorded today with a smartphone by the caller or the receiver. All of this leaves an indelible trace even if one tries to delete as many communications as possible, not to mention that even if we delete uncomfortable communications on our device, they still remain in memory for our interlocutor who could misuse them. And if your partner, parent, or close friend is technologically savvy, goodnight, you risk having no secrets from them even if you set fire to your smartphone, tablet, or PC! Because they may have already taken steps to record and archive all your communications in real-time with appropriate software. But that's not all.
Today, social networks have become incredible vehicles of information and constantly undermine our privacy, paradoxically even if we are not registered. For example, even though I am not registered on Facebook, some time ago I received a phone call from a friend who asked me what I had gone to do in Brescia; since I had not informed him about it, I asked him how he knew I had been there, and he informed me that a mutual friend, also passing through Brescia, had seen me there but then, being with a client, had not had the chance or time to stop and greet me. Then on Facebook, he wrote about the incident to the friend who informed me about it; clearly, I had nothing to hide since I was in Brescia for work, but this episode speaks volumes about how information travels at the speed of light on the Internet. And if one considers how many times users of a social network write the most disparate information and news about acquaintances, or feel compelled to respond with lies to some questions posed by friends while answering others sincerely, then it is easy to understand how many messes can be made. Still on the topic of the Internet, it is my habit to research information about people applying to work in my company (when you want to conduct a targeted search on anyone, I suggest searching by typing on Google, always in quotes, first the name and surname e.g. "Mario Rossi" and then surname and name "Rossi Mario", carefully checking for any cases of homonymy); in all cases, the resumes we receive are always immaculate, yet I have managed to trace information on the internet about two candidates who had been convicted of aggravated fraud.
Also consider the multitude of people who love to meddle in others' affairs - that is, people, as they say, who do not mind their own business -; well, these people thrive on the new communication tools because it allows them to carry out and perpetuate their passion with subtle mastery, using any means at their disposal. And it is no coincidence that personally, years ago, I received an anonymous email that contained detailed information (which later turned out to be, alas, absolutely reliable and truthful) warning me about a person I trusted blindly. If we broaden the horizon, just remember that services like those today performed by the Iene (which unmask crooks and scoundrels thanks to new technology made of practically invisible recording systems) would have been impossible to carry out until a few decades ago. Just as thanks to technology, it has been possible to scientifically study the body language of individuals, and how they behave when they lie.
And so what to do, if I tell lies I must distrust everyone trying to adopt possible countermeasures? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, first because it would be useless and then because one would still live as miserable wretches. THE SOLUTION IS INSTEAD ONE ONLY, LIKE IT OR NOT: TODAY more than ever IT WILL BE OPPORTUNE TO BEHAVE WELL AND STRIVE TO BE AS SINCERE AND TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE.
Because our credibility is the cornerstone of our human relationships and if we lose credibility, the world is destined to collapse on us. Because the eye of God has truly materialized through new technology and it will be wise to take note of it. Because if one wants to continue telling lies, then, it is good to know, prepare for a life in Hell. YOU CAN BE SURE OF THAT.

Anselmo 2013

DAD, WHY ARE THERE BAD GUYS?

This is the question that my little boy Tullio Aurelio, 5 years old, asked me. Nice question!!! I exclaimed. At the end of the writing, I will tell you how I answered him.
I make a necessary premise to avoid any misunderstanding: I am a man of heart and common sense, who abhors wars and human atrocities, but who stubbornly (alas, with little success) fights against human wickedness.
That said, why are there bad people?
First of all, it is appropriate to clarify that the bad people I am referring to are particularly those who commit criminal and unlawful acts as well as all those who, breaking the law, cause harm to others while deriving a tangible advantage. It is necessary to clarify this because the masks of human wickedness are infinite.
So, do bad people exist because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit or because there perhaps exists a deity called Satan opposed to God, as many believe?
I'm sorry, the answer is much more banal, much simpler, and much less fanciful.
To illustrate my modest theory, which I will call “CAIN BY FORCE”, let’s start now from some considerations.
Imagine that bad people have never existed. Imagine that Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, just to name the most popular, or even a common criminal like the “monster of Florence”, have never existed. Moreover, imagine that the history of man does not recount a single war, a single battle, a single skirmish, a single murder.
Imagine.
Imagine and now ask yourself a question. If man had never killed his fellow man over the millennia, how many billions of men would today occupy the earth? 20, 50, 80, 100 billion? Also because man has shown that he can survive excellently any famine, disaster, or plague that mother nature, over the millennia, has reserved for us. I therefore leave the arduous calculation to mathematicians who are willing to apply themselves to calculate how many we would be today. Would we perhaps be too many? Would we have perhaps proliferated indiscriminately? And would our planet have had and has the necessary and sufficient resources to support impossible numbers of human beings, also considering the increase in life expectancy?
Man was perhaps the first living being to become aware of being the strongest and the cleverest compared to all other living beings. But that was not enough. Man was certainly the only living being to become aware of being able to defend himself from the pitfalls of nature better than anyone else, being the first to instrumentalize the resources and means that nature itself offered him. In practice, man, in some way, managed to defend himself from natural phenomena and managed to overpower and “dominate” other living beings, in reality, he no longer had natural enemies and no longer had obstacles for an unlimited demographic development of his species. When man became aware of this, one of the mechanisms that seeks to regulate the balances, albeit mutable and always precarious, of nature must have been triggered. Who could ever stop this mad rush to the indiscriminate invasion of planet Earth – which would inevitably break the balances of the ecosystem – if not man himself, becoming aggressive to the extreme towards his fellow man?
For this reason, man has become “CAIN BY FORCE”, and is neither better nor worse than all other living beings. Every time someone tells me that animals are certainly not capable of wickedness as men are, I smile. Animals, for their luck or misfortune, have far greater survival problems than men, being in daily struggle with other species to stay alive and also having to defend themselves strenuously from natural phenomena.
Bad people, therefore, are among the mitigating elements of an indiscriminate demographic development of the human species. BUT NOT ONLY.
Now imagine that the “Holy Spirit” (if one ever exists) pervades the souls of all men, just everyone, and that all, as if by magic, become good, indeed very good and therefore honest.
Imagine.
Imagine how nice it would be to be able to trust anyone and know that no one can do us harm or cause us damage!
Imagine…
Well, then know that soldiers, judges, lawyers, security guards, prison guards, security personnel, inspectors, all unemployed at home. Producers and retailers of security devices, alarm systems, and control, bankrupt. News broadcasts reduced to a single daily or even weekly edition due to lack of… bad news, many journalists would have very little to write and argue, many movie scripts in the trash. Church proclamations torn, creators of underwater video games, unsold antivirus systems, many insurance policies now useless, producers of personal defense devices closing shop. And finally, millions and millions of people laid off from arms factories. And these are just a few examples.
The problem is that a world without bad people today would be an unimaginable economic catastrophe.
I want to tell you an incredible experience I had the chance to live in my youth. I was 21 years old and a fun evening in a nightclub was suddenly interrupted by a fight among boys. They were beating each other up until the police arrived. The most demonized of the boys was forcefully restrained by a policeman who recognized him, as he was already known to the authorities. While dragging him away by the arms and with his hands behind his back, the boy growled at him in a thick dialect, “Treat me well and with respect, because without someone like me you would be unemployed.” Extraordinary! It was an illumination for my intellect!
This also allowed me to understand, after the fourth car radio purchased due to three thefts suffered, that by buying the same product four times in a short time (being able to afford it, unlike those who stole because they could not afford the car radio), and then installing an alarm system that in 1983 cost me £800,000, I was actually developing… the economy by distributing wealth! Paradoxical, right?
Do good people therefore need bad people? Difficult to admit, indeed impossible to admit, no, no, it cannot be so but… it is so. Moreover, sometimes it seems that some good people have an excessive tolerance (perhaps due to factors related to the collective unconscious) towards bad people, they nurture them, let them graze, overly grace them so that they can continue to play their role as a vital resource for the same good people. However, this is not the context to delve into this delicate topic also because, regarding the economy, we should revisit some market rules and its already precarious balances.
Let’s return instead to the fact that bad people are, or at least have been, among the mitigating elements of the indiscriminate demographic development of man.
Fortunately, today bad people seem to have less demographic impact than they did in the past. And the great wars are now an outdated tool for solving the problem of human demographic development. The last two world wars are proof of this: regardless of the fact that they represented unspeakable atrocities, they were the driving force of new technology and medicine, particularly surgery. For this reason, even though the human species in 1945 found itself counting millions and millions of individuals less, the last two wars subsequently contributed to “strengthening” the same human species, providing man with even more powerful tools to defend himself from nature, improve technology and quality of life, and to repopulate the planet even more.
And then? Then we must seriously pose the problem of human demographic development, we must pose a moral question. Yes, moral. But what will this blessed morality be that has been written about so much, perhaps too much?
In my opinion, very simply, morality is the respect for the rules for the survival and development of a group. Yes, of a group, but which group are we talking about? For example, we can consider the citizens of Florence as a group. In that case, the citizens of Florence must respect the rules for the survival and development of their group, possibly even at the expense of another group, for example at the expense of the citizens of Pisa. Just as we can extend the concept of group to the residents of Tuscany, or to Italians, just as European citizens can be considered a group and so on. I like to consider the Group as the entire world population, without any distinction whatsoever.
Every now and then I enjoy, but not so much, reading those who strive to write “Italians, have children” meaning Italians as a group. Or, even worse, I have to endure the anathemas of the Catholic Church and other religions opposed to contraceptive methods: they believe it is appropriate to promote fertility and indiscriminate proliferation. They could also be ignored if it were not for the fact that they are seriously dangerous.
For those who urge Italians to have children, I would like to remind them that there can exist a “Italian group”, just as there can exist a “French group” provided that they are considered as groups perfectly integrated into the Group of humanity. In this context, we can also talk about “Italian group” because characterized by the same culture, education, language, history, and unique traditions in the world, but on one condition: the “Italian group” as a Subset of the Set of Humanity. That said, if the so-called “Italians” do not want to have children, that is all well and good for the benefit of the Group of Humanity, and if the children are born to immigrants, it matters little. Our duty as Italians should indeed be to instill and transmit our culture and values to immigrants, which must be defended strenuously. In this way, even a child of Nigerians, black as ebony, born, raised, and educated in Italy, will be 100% Italian.
For those who instead promote indiscriminate proliferation, I want to remind them that humanity cannot grow infinitely, at the risk of breaking natural balances and the ecosystem, considering that the planet's resources are not infinite but rather quite limited. No matter how much renewable sources are employed (absolutely essential), how many human beings can the planet really support? Are we already too many today? Or can we become 10, 20, 50, 100 billion individuals? What is the limit? Because the limit exists as the universe itself is limited, not infinite.
As already mentioned, nature has not succeeded and does not succeed in stopping the uncontrolled growth of man. Of course, nature defends itself. It has tried and continues to try in every way to defend itself, in order to save its ecosystem and its balance. And then plagues and new widespread diseases like Cancer or viral diseases (e.g. AIDS), then homosexuals (yes, indeed, Catholic gentlemen, homosexuality is a natural factor!), then sterility and then the spread in the collective unconscious of the lack of desire to have children (this is spreading especially in more developed countries) or the practice of abortion. But all this is not enough at all, man is growing at numerically exponential rates and therefore, sooner or later, unsustainable.
Today I consider the Chinese Government absolutely moral, which has imposed precise constraints and established a ceiling on the demographic development of its people (for the benefit of the whole world), while I consider the Catholic Church absolutely immoral which promotes uncontrolled proliferation.
Many would like, myself included, for all humanity to have an acceptable and dignified standard of living. However, this would mean that billions and billions of individuals begin to consume like a European or American or Vatican citizen.
I would like to know, for example, how much water per capita is consumed in the Vatican. I would really like to know. In Italy, we know that we consume about 250 liters of water a day, against a European average of about 170 liters; the United States consumes over 350 per capita per day. Just think that the ongoing war between China and Tibet is due to water resources. China, without the water from Tibet, would die of thirst. Did you know that? Aside from the bad people of history, such as Hitler and Stalin who, for the lust for power, massacred millions of individuals, I do not feel like judging the Chinese as “bad”.
Scholars should seriously engage in rigorous calculations to understand how many living beings the earth can be populated by. Yes, rigorous scientific calculations, but elaborated on simple ratios. For example, one could refer to one or more parameters related to the resources that nature offers us, among these water. By quantifying the water resources of a given territory or nation, if one wants to refer to the parameter determined by the UN which is at least 40 liters of water per day per capita, then calculate how many people could be populated in a balanced way that territory or nation. But the water parameter alone is not enough, it is only indicative. Other parameters should be considered, such as the productive capacity of certain essential agricultural or food products (for example wheat), raw materials, and many others. I leave it to the intellect of the scholars of the subject to indulge in the matter. Clearly, all these data, initially elaborated territorially, could then be developed on a global scale also considering possible trade exchanges.
I understand that the theory of “CAIN BY FORCE” is difficult to accept and digest, also because it is contrary to many religious dogmas, but it would be enough to become aware of it for the good of humanity.
It is therefore time for all men, without further delay, to pose the moral question related to the demographic development of man at a global level. We must pose the problem of respecting the rules for the survival and development of the group, meaning by survival and development not certainly how many-more-men-inhabit-the-planet, but the quality of life of a group - composed of a just number of men - who live in harmony with the environment and with the ecosystem, therefore in balance with nature. And meaning by Group the entire world population. If we are not capable of doing this - wanting to avert a 3rd world conflict which, as already mentioned, would not solve the problem except temporarily - we run the risk of triggering 100, 500, 1000 wars whose cause will increasingly be the procurement and supply of natural resources, like the wars between China and Tibet, between the United States and Iraq, and how many others are ongoing that no one talks about.
“Dad, why are there bad people?” At the question, I was taken aback, also because the fairy tales about tempting little devils are far behind me.
“Nice question Tullio, really a nice question!” In reality, I did not know what to answer him and I was buying time.
“So Dad, will you answer me why there are bad people?” he pressed.
But what could I possibly answer to a five-year-old? “Dear Tullio, who are the bad people you know?” “Many, there are bad people in playstation and also in cartoons there are always bad people.”
“Well, bad people are there to play, but children and people are good”
And he replied, “And then why are my friends Michael and Alberto bad and always hit?”
“Because they do not listen to mom, dad, and the teacher, they are disobedient, and children who do that become bad!”
“And why don’t Michael and Alberto listen to mom and dad?”
I was in a black crisis. “Listen Tullio, why do you listen to mom and listen to me, even if… not always?”
He looks at me for a moment almost bewildered “Because…” then his face lights up “Because we always give each other lots of kisses”
“There, you see, perhaps Michael and Alberto do not listen to mom and dad because they do not give each other many kisses. That’s why they are a bit… naughty”
Then he looked at me with his sweet little eyes and asked me, “Am I really good, dad?”
“You are good Tullio, indeed you are a very good child.” And I gave him a kiss.

Sometimes it is more difficult to answer a 5-year-old than to write these pages.

Anselmo Petraroli

                                                       “Life is not as you are told, but how you know how to interpret the story”

THE MAN AND THE MICE THAT GO TO CHEESE

The man is truly an extraordinary animal species. The human species has been the only one, for example, capable of assimilating and gathering within itself - over the course of its evolution lasting several million years - the behavior of different animal species. In fact, in the human genus, we find dominant and submissive subjects, the bold and the timid, the industrious and the lazy, the productive and the parasites, the proactive and the opportunists, the vain and the reserved. It seems like a banality, but when we say, in jest, that a person "is as vain as a peacock" or "lives like a parasite" or "is just a vulture" or we compliment someone because "they saved like an ant" or because "they never let go of the bone," we are simply stating a truth that has anthropological roots. And although it may seem like a bold statement, all individuals, from the dominant to the submissive, from the productive to the parasite, etc., have been functional to the development of man, just as in nature all the different species are complementary and indispensable to the balance of nature or an ecosystem. Moreover, man has also been able to develop entirely different individual abilities, so we find individuals who have a predisposition for manual skills and the effective realization of works, or for physicality and body coordination. Just as there are individuals predisposed to logic or the development of mathematical calculations, or to the ideation of works, creativity, and ingenuity, or predisposed to thinking and acting for the good of the community: when a man gathers all these last virtues, we call him a genius, while the good-for-nothing, conversely, is the one who possesses none of the aforementioned abilities. Last but not least, man has developed the seed of the so-called "evil", that is, it includes the "bad ones" who, even today as in the past, are indispensable for humanity (read regarding "Dad, why are there bad people?"). Yes, the bad ones, those who horrify us when we read certain news stories, those bad ones whose wickedness often wears different masks. For example, we are horrified when kindergarten or elementary school teachers are discovered abusing innocent children with unheard-of acts of violence. Just as we recoil when we discover a pedophile priest or one who has abused a weak and defenseless person, or it seems inexplicable that a firefighter is caught in the act of committing a crime while setting fires in a forest; and we remain incredulous if a nurse is found committing premeditated murders of defenseless patients. It is certain that the faces and masks of evil are countless, among which those just mentioned, but there is a type of evil that is often underestimated by most but is actually very dangerous for the community: I am referring to the evil of politics. That evil which, to stay within our borders, many Italian politicians (NOT ALL, clearly) have spread over the last 30 years. How is it possible that people who should be examples for all citizens in ethics, morality, honesty, industriousness, values, and principles, people who should be of the highest profile from every point of view, have often turned out to be incapable, inept, opportunistic, and parasitic or dishonest scoundrels? How is it possible, in Italy, that an incredible mass of people of the lowest profile has invaded politics, from parliament to the senate, from regions to provinces, from municipalities to public administration companies?
The answer is simple, very simple, and has roots in human nature. And this answer makes sense for all the masks of evil described above.
Unfortunately, a human being characterized by a parasitic profile or a deviant personality or unspeakable perversions will do everything to put them into action, and if a job or profession allows it, they will choose and pursue it without hesitation. That is why it is not surprising when we hear news stories involving teachers, priests, firefighters, or nurses, just as we cannot be surprised at the misdeeds of our politicians. THEY ARE ALL RATS GOING FOR THE CHEESE.
Is there a remedy for this disgrace? Of course, there is a remedy, also thanks to the eye of God, as I like to define new technology and computer science; thanks to them we can create almost insurmountable obstacles for those who choose a profession or activity to put their deviations or parasitism into action. For example, if someone aspires to be a kindergarten teacher, but harbors violent and aggressive instincts towards children, knowing that there are cameras everywhere in schools that record everything, would they perhaps choose to do that job?
If an Italian politician were required to "strip" - before elections and during their term - that is, to be willing to be checked 360 degrees, even putting their private life at stake, how many of them would choose a political career? The aggravating factor is that Italian politics has attracted a horde of people of such low profile because, in addition to allowing them to put their parasitism into action or to see their ineptitude and incapacity rewarded, it allows them to do so with impunity.
BUT IF WE WAIT FOR SOLUTIONS FROM THOSE WHO ARE THE PROBLEM, WE WILL BE IN FOR A LONG NIGHT!

The tragedy of humanity is not the fact that there are bad people or parasites. Whether we like it or not, they are "physiological" and "functional" to the system, and we will have to learn - unfortunately - to coexist with them and to contain them. THE TRUE HUMAN TRAGEDY IS WHEN THE "BAD ONES" OR THE PARASITES OR THE INCAPABLE AND INEPT ONES COME TO POWER. BECAUSE, AS THE HISTORY OF MAN TEACHES, WHEN SUCH INDIVIDUALS COME TO POWER, IT IS A DARK NIGHT. ALWAYS.

Anselmo 2012

THE NEW HEROES*

When I was a boy, heroes and superheroes were called Tex, Zagor, Superman, Spider-Man, Devil, the Fantastic Four, Batman and Robin, all of whom are back in vogue today. I collected their comics, and every time I bought them, it was always a new exciting adventure.
Today, at forty-five, I have realized that heroes are quite different and do not resemble at all those heroes who populated my childhood.
The new heroes are seemingly normal people who do seemingly normal things. Seemingly.
The new heroes are people capable of working hard, diligently, with a spirit of selflessness, because they know they do it not only for themselves but for the common good.
And the higher the position or role they hold, the more they are able to establish authentic, true relationships with their collaborators, with humanity and humility. While they treat the powerful without any reverential fear.
The new heroes know how to endure, today more than ever, an immeasurable amount of indoctrinated incapable people, aware that the difficult part is not knowing, but knowing how to make use of what one knows.
The new heroes are those who witness the daily slaughter of a political class, all of whom are inept and incapable, and who every day have the strength to ask themselves what they can do to change this country for the better.
They are those who do not resort to shortcuts or tricks to achieve a goal or an objective, aware that the path to take is often steep and fraught with obstacles, but that their courage and willpower will help them traverse it.
The new heroes are an example of loyalty and dignity for their children, for their spouse, for everyone. They know how to remain upright and honest among the dishonest, and abhor slander, considering it one of the worst human abominations.
The new heroes are those who, with silent and deep pain, decide to give up what they have created themselves and to which they have held as one holds onto life, because they no longer recognize themselves in it. And if this makes them burn to ashes, they manage to be reborn, like the Phoenix, more beautiful and stronger than before.
When they set an ambitious goal, the new heroes give blood, sweat, and passion, and do everything, more, and much more, and even more to achieve it. If they succeed, they rejoice, without any boastfulness. But when exhausted they do not succeed in their intent, they have the strength and courage to change their goal and set another, different, even more ambitious one.
The new heroes do not need luck because they know that when one builds on it, one builds on sand.
The new heroes are sometimes the salvation of one or more people but can proudly say that no one has ever been their salvation, because they are capable of taking care of themselves and others.
It is difficult to see the new heroes on the cover or on the front pages of newspapers. They do not need it. The new heroes are satisfied with the recognition and esteem of the people they live, work, suffer, fight, hope, and rejoice with. And this is what makes them true, great, heroes.
Anselmo 07

* Published in the monthly FOCUS – July 2007

MEN, LITTLE MEN AND QUACKS

WHY WE SEEK CERTAIN VIRTUES

Have you ever wondered why, in love, the universal desire would be to find a partner with many virtues, namely possibly beautiful, intelligent, spirited, rich and, if it is a man looking for a woman, also young? A question that seems trivial but is not trivial at all; certainly there are too many trivial considerations on this subject, filled with clichés. In fact, if a woman seeks a rich man, she is labeled a whore, if an older man seeks a young woman, he is called an old pig, if someone seeks physical beauty, he is called superficial and materialistic. In practice, all considerations are the result of ignorance. In fact, what primarily characterizes all living beings, including the human species, is the instinct for survival; and this instinct is certainly not limited to ourselves and our person, but extends indissolubly to our lineage, that is to our offspring.
For this reason, whether you desire to have children or already have them, whether you do not wish to have them or are no longer able to procreate, in each of us nature has indelibly instilled (until death) the instinct for survival that is one with the instinct for procreation: and this instinct regulates everything in the relationships between the two sexes. And so it is natural to seek a beautiful person because we will probably generate beautiful offspring, thus socially more sought-after children; it is natural to seek an intelligent or spirited person because we will probably generate offspring that will fare better in life; it is natural to seek slim or normal-weight or even better athletic people because this is an indicator of physical well-being, so we will assume that the offspring will be healthy; it is natural for a woman to seek a rich man because this can provide security for her children and the stability of the family; and it is natural for an older man to seek a young woman because it ensures fertility for many more years; just as it is natural to be strongly attracted to popular or famous people, because the offspring would gain enormous benefits from it. All this is natural, it is created, it is biology, it is anthropology. But too many do not want to accept these simple laws of nature, contesting them and babbling the useless.
It is clear that the environment, the education we receive, the cultural factors support and determine in each of us the preferences for one or more virtues that we instinctively seek. And so if we were born in a very poor environment and have suffered hardships, we will probably seek a rich partner. If we were born in an environment that instilled in us the taste for beauty and aesthetics, we will probably seek a beautiful partner. If we were instead born in an environment that favored intellect or intellectuality, we will probably seek a cultured and intelligent person. But environmental and cultural factors are limited exclusively to support what is a natural instinct.
It is certain that, in the end, the vast majority of people end up falling in love with people who have only one of the virtues described above, and this happens because they themselves usually have only one to offer. And those who have no virtues at all will often have to settle for a person similar to themselves. But if someone is endowed with more than one virtue, they could and should aspire to an equally virtuous partner. In any case, it will always be possible to live a sublime love story. But, please, let us stay away from clichés and ignorance.

Aside: the homosexual question. Regardless of true sexual deviations (which, it is good to clarify, concern both heterosexuals and gays), homosexuality is instead a natural factor, absolutely natural. Homosexuals indeed play an important natural and vital function as, by not generating children, nature has appointed them to mitigate the indiscriminate demographic development of the human race. In this light, considering the serious risk of overpopulating the earth whose resources are limited, homosexuality will spread more and more naturally. It will therefore soon be necessary to recognize their rights worldwide. What does a homosexual prioritize when seeking a partner? Even in them, the instinct for survival is dominant, certainly more directed towards themselves and their person but not for this reason less natural and less noble than that of heterosexuals: because, as already mentioned, homosexuality is a benefit for all humanity.

Anselmo Petraroli

LETTER TO LITTLE TOMMY

Tommy Tommy,

My love, my love of dad.

You know, I loved you as if you were a son from the very first time I saw you, with those little angel eyes.

You know Tommy, I loved you right away because I am a dad who loves. A dad who loves his child, a dad who loves children. A dad who loves them madly because there is nothing in the world more helpless, defenseless, and weak than a child.

I trembled for you, I was anxious for you, I felt an indescribable pain asking myself a thousand times a thousand and again a thousand how it could have been possible to take you away.

And yet I always told myself that you would come back home, I always told myself that it was not possible for such a monstrosity, I always told myself that your mom and your dad would hug you again soon.

But I am the usual foolish naive unprepared idealistic optimist. And when the news came, a storm struck my heart. I cried Tommy, I cried like I never think I have cried in 45 years. You must know, dear Tommy, that I am a tough guy to cry. Perhaps the last time I cried like this was when they killed so many innocents in the attack on the Twin Towers and when they massacred other innocent children in the Russian school.

I cried heavily and while I cried, a devastating rage grew in me, a deadly hatred for your murderers. Give them to me, I thought, give them to me, I’ll take care of it, give them to me that I will rip their hearts out. Yes Tommy, yes: at that moment I would have wanted to rip their hearts out with the sheer strength of my hands. Yes Tommy, I would have wanted to do this, I, who have a gentle heart.

Tommy Tommy, but how could all this have happened? How could they have ever killed a little angel like you? A little angel who cried desperately, scared, lost, frightened by those horrible ogres.

I cried so much Tommy. But now that I have finished crying, now that the pain has become mute, but not for that less intense, now that my rage and my hatred are clear, I have to hear and listen to a chorus of idiocies and banalities.

I heard talk of the death penalty. It’s an idiocy, Tommy. I am against the death penalty, but for very different principles than those of Catholics. You know Tommy I am an atheist, and for me, the only life is this one. And so I would let your ogre murderers rot in prison for life, sure that the guards and the other inmates would make their lives impossible, indeed a hell.

I heard talk of forgiveness. Another idiocy. Forgiveness in these cases is immoral. Yes Tommy, anyone who forgives your ogre murderers is immoral. Anyone, even the Pope. Because it is immoral to claim that one must always and anyway forgive. Because whoever forgives and allows the forgiven to return to crime and cause harm to others is immoral. Because whoever forgives such an indecent act is immoral.

Dear Tommy, in all this chorus of idiocies and clichés, I am sure that at least you would have understood, when you grew up, that morality is simply a set of rules to be respected for the survival and development of a group and, in a broader sense, of all humanity. But unfortunately, my little sweet Tommy, even though morality is such a simple concept, too many people do not respect these rules. And it’s not just the criminals.

Because you see, dear Tommy, you are a victim, and along with you many others unfortunately, not only of the ogre murderers but also of other immoral people. Immoral is the politician and the legislator who dictate insufficient penalties for very serious crimes and who moreover allow a cunning lawyer, also immoral, to find the legal loophole to obtain benefits for his criminal clients. Because immoral is that judge who misapplies the law. Because immoral is that law enforcement officer who does not do his duty as he should. Because immoral is, dear Tommy, that person who gets emotional in front of a movie or who cries for nothing, but who in front of the real tragedies of life feels sorry just a little or even doesn’t care at all. And I am immoral too for witnessing this outrage and doing little or nothing to stop it.

Forgive me, forgive us all dear Tommy.

A kiss forever, with immense love.