There was an incredible moment last month. A group of subversives had collected in a square, in Florence: leftists, anti-vaxxers, no-mask people. People who were supposed to be "internationalists." Yet, when the little band that was there started playing the Italian Anthem, people rose up and stood on attention. It was a beautiful and moving moment: some people had tears in their eyes. Strange, because we all know that there does not exist such a thing as "Italy" -- there only exists a curious boot-shaped strip of land that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. And people living there, people who don't know each other, and who sometimes hate each other. Yet, some kind of entity that we call "Italy" exists, and it exists in the memory of our forefathers who fought to make it exist, even though it could only exist in their minds -- and ours as well. The land has a soul, all lands have a soul. This is our land, and we can perceive its soul. And we, just like our ancestors, can't let our land be squashed into nothing by the Powers of the World, as it is happening right now. And this was why we rose up when we heard the National Anthem. I wish I had a record of that moment, but I don't. What I can do is to show you a clip from a movie, "Dragon Blade" (2015). A silly movie under many respects, but it has moving moments, such as this one. Maybe it is silly to stand up when you hear a certain music. And yet, and yet.......
Note added after publishing this post: yes, I have a record of that moment! Maybe not as beautifully crafted as the movie scene above, but the magic is there (courtesy of Clara)
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