The word “post” has now entered into the diction of the academic world. It means a historical period has ended and a new one has dawned in the shadow of the previous one. But this new period is a totally different period even though it departs from the previous one. This particular significance was coined in the 20thcentury.
The use of ‘post’ to form compound words such as post-modern, post-post-modern, post-humanist, and now the term post-truth, have become standard expressions. However, with the term post-truth, the meaning of “post” has taken a negative innuendo. When applied to modern i.e. post-modern, it simply means a departure from modernism. Now applied to truth, as in post-truth, it has started to signify deceit.
As a historian, I do not believe in post-periods. They are not the best periods to refer to. The term ‘post’ is presented in literary criticism as an academic advancement and now ‘post’ stands for a historical narrative or period that went berserk. This term is becoming synonymous with academic failure. In a nutshell, it is an academic construct that has gone haywire.
After an academic onslaught in Europe where, in the age of truth, Christmas was represented as an obsolete event that offends diversity, in the age of post-truth, the Christmas spirit is returning with a vengeance. The British Prime Minister, Theresa May had no qualms about speaking up in terms of Christmas and openly attacked those who were pushing to annihilate the Christian Christmas spirit in the UK. President Elect, Donald Trump is bringing back Christmas. The American Left, in the name of truth, sought to push Christmas out of the calendar. They have lost their battle with history.
The truth is that in this era of post-truth or better still post-truths, many still feel the need to celebrate Christmas. In Malta, though we are continuously reminded that our country has joined the liberal and progressive bandwagon, many still celebrate Christmas in a truly Christian spirit.
In Malta, post-Christmas has become synonymous with generosity. It carries no concepts of deceit or untruthfulness. Historically, Boxing Day was the real post-Christmas Day for the Anglo-Saxon world. It was the time when Victorians used to put back the Christmas decorations into their boxes, bringing to an end the Christmas period. In those days, post had no negative philosophical connotation.
When I was young, 26th December represented the day when toys that children received as presents at Christmas met their deserving end. Also an expression entered our language, mill-Miliedsa San Stiefnu, in reference to the Catholic Church celebrating the feast of St. Stephen on the day. In recent times, 26th December has become synonymous with l-Istrina. However, in the past, l-Istrina occurred on 1st January, when children, in particular those of the elite, were given gifts of money on this day as an auspice for a prosperous year. Indeed, the word derives from the Latin strenna, which means gift. On the other hand, the ultra-rich exchanged presents on the feast of the Epiphany, 6th January.
On this day of 26th December, the President of our Republic, Marie Louise Coleiro-Preca, continues the tradition of collecting money for the needy. I do believe she is genuinely worried about the plight of those in need and on a personal level, she has no problem to speak about Christmas. I sincerely augur that this year’s l-Istrina will be another overwhelming success.
While our President is today fully concentrated in collecting money for those in need, her thoughts and priorities are also focused on safeguarding the well-being of the nation. The spirit of the welfare society is only one aspect of her mission.
The month of December is also synonymous with another event linked to the President of the Republic: the traditional discourse on Republic Day. This year’s speech focused on the abusive use of social media to foster hatred. But Coleiro-Preca’s speech went beyond issues of hate language. Hate language has always been prevalent. It has only been accentuated in the age of truth. Her speech was an appeal for our country to avoid entering into useless battles. She was addressing not only bloggers but also the Government and the Opposition. President Coleiro-Preca is definitely allergic to these ‘post’ concepts. The element of conflict that is fuelling our society is, in part, the result of these concepts, the product of the age of truth.
Was it not a feature of the era of truth that social cliques were formed to control power? This actually happened irrespective of the Government of the day and this element is destined to carry on dominating our political agenda. But when our society is dominated by cliques or lobbies, those who are excluded are bound to get upset and likely to rebel against the system. Social media is giving them a means to voice their anger. Thus, I honestly believe that the President delivered a positive speech on Republic Day when she listed a number of caveats for the Nation, which, in my opinion, are aimed at safeguarding our people from entering into one of those irrelevant “post” periods in our Island’s history. Her speech was not only intended for particular bloggers; she was also addressing our institutional forces.
Again, religion comes in handy to explain better what I wish to say. During an ecumenical meal organized by the President, the pastor of the Church of Scotland, who today happens to be a woman, made a very wise remark. The Rev. Kim Hurst, from St Andrew’s Church of Scotland asked the President how can we expect people to respect religious diversity when Government is failing to show respect to Christians. Rev. Hurst was, in particular, offended by the way her community is being addressed in official Government correspondence. What this indicates is Government’s lack of knowledge regarding the various religious minorities and frankly this is not acceptable. Lack of knowledge, which is tantamount to ignorance, leads to lack of respect for one another.
Everybody has a right to respect, hence it is difficult to believe that Government has good intentions when it does not respect the faith of others. The laws currently being proposed in the name of diversity by Helena Dalli do not augur well. Instead of respect, these proposals are going to nurture antagonism and are having negative repercussions on our society.
It is pointless for our Government to rely on the enactment of laws to inflict fear in the name of diversity. History shows that intolerance resulted out of fear. People start to become intolerant because they are afraid. Despite all the good intentions, these laws are destined to fuel a climate of anger. Fear does not bring respect but anger, and anger is the worse antidote for tolerance. Fear and intolerance are overcome by being generous towards the other. Generosity stands for truth and inclusion. Generosity will never go through a “post” period for it is not governed by legal provisions but by persuasion. Religion and faith have a good track record of motivating generosity.