Fatalism is a terrible recipe that blocks action. Without falling into naive optimism, there is only one way to face the future: rolling up one's sleeves. Confronting the complicated moment we are living in head-on, using the rearview mirror to learn from the mistakes of the past, but with a long-term view, looking forward. What kind of Catalonia do we want to leave to the next generations? What country do we imagine for 2050? The honest answer to this question is what, despite all the setbacks, continues to mobilize individual and collective energies with surprising strength and creativity. There are many who are doing good work. Giving them a voice and visibility is what we do at ARA on this National Day.
Of course, this does not mean denying the harsh reality. Catalonia is living through a difficult present, with serious situations such as the educational crisis, the lack of affordable housing, the collapse in transport and mobility, the deficit in renewable energies, or the decline in the social use of Catalan. The list could be longer, of course. These and others are problems, it goes without saying, that are difficult to solve. Partly due to the entrenched deficit in the funding of the Generalitat, which is urgent to reverse before it is too late if the Spanish political context changes, which seems to be advancing towards a PP-Vox government. But also due to our own failings within the framework of a Western and global context that is by no means easy: the rise of authoritarianism, here and everywhere, is putting the democratic rule of law and social cohesion against the ropes.
The deception of identifying easy and weak enemies, and of promising simple solutions, is making headway among a good portion of the people. Also in Catalonia. It is true that this populist reaction is born from decades of frustration due to the impoverishment of the middle class, the result of a slow and negligent response by traditional parties to consecutive crises: that of the financial bubble, that of COVID, the climate one...; in many cases, also due to the disappointment of the 'Procés'. But an irrational and emotional flight forward, of a xenophobic nature, will only manage to deepen the crisis.
Defeatism and fear are putting the country at stake. We cannot allow it. Democratic Catalanism, born a century and a half ago precisely to regenerate a rotting system (the Spanish Restoration regime) and frustrated by the loss of the overseas colonies (from which Catalonia had also nourished itself to make the industrial leap), has always relied on a constructive spirit. On drive and courage. On addition within difference. It is urgent to recover this character by adding all the contributions of a complex, increasingly global society. In this, we also have an advantage that we should not renounce: that of being a country with experience in welcoming and integrating people with diverse origins. Undoubtedly, it is an added challenge, but it is unavoidable. The Catalan nation will be diverse or it will not be. Just as fatalism is fatal, purism does not lead anywhere.
It has been said many times: the National Day does not celebrate a defeat, but a struggle. We must continue fighting and working, day by day, with determination, keeping our feet on the ground without renouncing our ideals, to advance towards collective progress, towards a better society with opportunities for everyone.
