The pro-abortion lobby is trying to create a media storm to take the public by storm and if they succeed in their intent, there will be calm.
‘Calm after the storm’ is one way of translating the title of Giacomo Leopardi’s poem La quiete dopo la tempesta. The poem, or canto, is divided in two parts. In the first part, Leopardi celebrates the return to normal, everyday life after the storm. In the second part, he reveals his true thoughts: life is sorrowful and the only joys we have are short respites from pain.
Leopardi is not just the greatest Italian poet of his century and one of the world’s greatest poets of all time, but probably also the most pessimist of them all. And although pessimism is a sin against life, his philosophical verses make you stop and reflect on the meaning of life, and how nature plays with us as if we were little dolls in a doll-house.
His extreme, depressive pessimism helps us to assess our own lives in their proper perspective.
When I read about the pretended right to terminate the life of a fellow human being in the foetal stage of life, I cannot help but remember Leopardi’s poetry. This poet from the Marches in central Italy suffered from a severe deformation of the spine; he must have feverishly desired a medical way out of his predicament. Unable to find any, he sought refuge in poetry.
When I read about the handful of ladies who, being a bit of a handful, stood outside Parliament in Valletta to declaim their vision of life and death, I thought about Leopardi because those who are in favour of abortion justify their position by arguing that terminating the life of an unborn child can be a way out of suffering, of a harsh predicament. Unlike Leopardi, they do not seek refuge in merciful poetry, but in the cold steel of the abortionist’s merciless tools.
The closing lines of Calm after the storm are graceful and replete with shades of meaning. Leopardi first addresses Nature (1), then he refers to humanity in general (2):
(1) You scatter sorrow with a free hand, grief
Spontaneously appears, and the happiness, that so often
Through a freak of nature and some miracle
Grows out of trouble, is a great reward.
(2) Humanity
Dear to the gods! Happy to find
Some breathing room
From sorrow: is blessed
When all sorrows are finally relieved by death.
(Translation by John B. Valerio.)
Police action upon miscarriages
And now to the ġbejniet and frejjeġ, as one Honourable Member of the House more or less put it, only to retract it soon after, a few days ago.
Somebody has recently claimed that ‘women who suffer miscarriages are investigated by the police’. I have asked a few people in the know and was told that it is completely false.
If it were true that the police routinely investigate miscarriages, it would be a striking example of rampant injustice at justice’s inception!
The same person also claimed that ‘militant misogynists call for women to undergo pregnancy checks before travelling and when returning, to the country, with some calling for pregnant women to have their passports confiscated for the duration of their pregnancy’! This is so outlandish that it even fails to deserve a proper rebuttal.
I think those who participate in public debates should be careful not to spread untruths. I understand that some people have this penchant for termination, but why terminate the truth.
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And now for something completely different, and, thankfully, lighter. (Frankly, nobody likes writing about abortion, but the way events are unfolding leaves one with no other option.)
Christabelle’s Taboo: eclectic, chaotic, oneiric – potentially a classic
I watched Christabelle’s Taboo video a few times, and with each new viewing, my admiration increased exponentially.
This is one helluva of a short film. It is eclectic, in the tradition of the films of Leone and Tarantino. More importantly, it is oneiric, dream-like.
The video is so mind-blowing, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
So let me make a premise. In my very scarce free time, I watch, almost studiously, the films made by the great directors: Leone, Kurosawa, Eastwood, Tarantino. Not so much for the story (particularly in the case of Tarantino) as for the camera work. Each time, I notice and learn something new.
Upon watching the Taboo video, I immediately realised that this was the work of a real artist. The director is Gordon Bonello, somebody I do not have the pleasure to know personally, but I have become a number-one fan of this talented director.
The music of the song is very good and the tune catchy. The lyrics are intelligent, pithy, and memorable; the refrain is especially good. Christabelle’s singing is nuanced and her voice never tires you and it is really an excellent song; it is five-star material. But the video! The video is of superior quality: its five-star deluxe.
I have not managed to find out who wrote the script. The plot line is insightful and original in its dream-like faux chaos of shots, scenes, and sequences, and, most significant of all, its cinematographic references that make the short film a brilliant pastiche.
Whoever was responsible for the casting – just look at the old man’s facial expression: priceless! – has a discerning eye: every single actor has features that remain impressed in the viewer’s memory.
And it’s not just their looks. The acting is impeccable and self-confident: just study the looks in the actors’ eyes. These actors know what they are doing and they do it superbly. The whole thing is dynamite!
But the real star of the show is the director. Mr Bonello has managed to create an oneiric video that – like all dreams – makes no sense and makes a lot of sense at the same time. This is Art with a capital “A”. Kudos!
All these people make me proud as a Maltese! Best of luck for the song contest, but, more importantly, best of luck for your futures! The talent displayed in this project deserves to grow and bear fruit.