I hear President Pujol on Catalunya Ràdio delivering a message for this National Day, with the most vibrant tone that his 96 years allow him. He still retains the craft of a politician who has dedicated his whole life to addressing the hearts of the people. He may lose strength in his voice and clarity in his diction, but not his skill or his intention: "We have the capacity to build a great Catalonia".He speaks from a full awareness of the present (“the country is experiencing complicated moments, of disillusionment and of people who are losing hope"). He returns, of course, to the core of his thought: the Eleventh of September is the "celebration of all those who live and work in Catalonia and want to be Catalan", and he prescribes going there, knowing that there is moral discouragement: "Faith and optimism can be spread if there is a desire and will to continue being and to move forward".To instill some kind of faith or optimism in people, governments must speak, above all, through deeds. The disillusionment and hopelessness that Pujol speaks of are based on real facts that have to do with the state of public services, the impoverishment of the majority, the frustration and disbandment post-Procés, and the umpteenth confirmation that autonomy falls short in solving problems that require sovereignty.And yet, in Pujol’s fading voice one can sense, without reproach, the reminder of the activists who did everything when there were no tools, because the beginning of all things is not the legal framework or economic funding, but the will. In the Kennedy-esque manner, it is a do not ask what Catalonia can do for you, but whether you still believe in it and are willing to join forces to return to it.
