The material wealth that has been generated for Maltese families often leads to more self-confidence and independence. With it also comes a more individualistic mentality, a more self-centred life and ambition which can also lead to arrogance. When wealth is not part of a national well being and development, it becomes a tool in the hands of individuals and drives them away from family and consciousness towards more unscrupulous and unconscious choices.
As history and psychology shows, people are driven by fear and unconscious desires. The pursuit of wealth may become a force in our lives due to the past conditions of our family and the experience of lack or over dependency and so, no sense of freedom. That shadow that lives in our unconscious and may be nurtured by hunger or by indoctrination is often the target of politicians for them to make slaves of us and keep us under their influence and power. The idea may be that money brings freedom but the truth is that you become enslaved by it.
In Norway, when the country grew wealthy from oil, it put all that money into reserve and did not spread it around the people. People continued to work to earn their living and as the country grew wealthier it spread the wealth around in ways that could benefit everyone.
Those voters who disregard the national interest and simply choose to endorse a system or persona that most reflects their personal interest or shadow and who seem most similar to them are simply victims of habit.
Wealth without healthy education is never going to lead to real personal development. It will contribute to a higher self-esteem but ultimately that self-centred person is going to face loneliness and a rather nervous state and remain in pursuit of money.
Politicians who prey on this vulnerability are themselves weak and dishonest. A kind of divide and rule policy that runs counter to the good of the people and the country as a whole.
In its purpose, the European Union strives to ease the shadow we have in our unconscious and externalize a system of solidarity and conscious thought and choices. When we go to the polls in a few weeks’ time, we are electing representatives that sit in a parliament that is for inclusion and intra-national co-existence forming one body of economic and social power. Once you are elected you work for national interest but in the context of European values and you cannot detach from the unifying policies that go to make up the EU.
To take your place in the Parliament, simply to undermine anything that does not reflect your own political views, is to make a mockery of your seat. If you feel that your political views should be advanced above any other, then stay in your country and work for that. Don’t take your causes to the EU so that you can drive up popularity for a political party or person. Go there to work for the common good, for the national interest and for the European citizens.
Malta being where it is now, with a full-throttle on individualism and self-rule at any cost, it is indeed very hard to see how electing members of the right quality and intention can be achieved. There are some valid candidates and identifying them can be tricky but caution is needed.
The cost of corruption is of little interest to those who easily dismiss it as the reflection of our own nature. In fact, it may even make them feel better. At any rate, there is always the l-Istrina charity collection to massage our egos and quiet our doubts. And a donation from the Prime Minister from the sale of passports fund is a Maltese way of doing things and nobody need interfere in how we got the money in the first place.
If voter turn-out is high for the EU members of Parliament, this is not out of pride, belief or education. It is to follow the sub-conscious which tells them to protect their source of income. Not the EU funds, but the spin-off from the EU.
What Malta needs now is good representation at home. Matters of common good need to be put back on the agenda, people need to respect an education which goes beyond street level and they need politicians who can be identified as offering something which people need if they are to live in peace and enjoy a good standard of living. The point will also come when trust may be lost and trust may be gained. Betrayal is most often the cause of losing trust whilst intelligence (mental and emotional), confidence and honesty are the ways to gain it.
Financial independence without working for it can lead to arrogance, as we see. That arrogance may actually start to extend to the perceived benefactor. At present we hear the Prime Minister speaking to people in a way that he is demanding they suspend judgement and go for unconditional trust. Is that boat sailing?