And this brings me to our
second philosophical topic.
Universalism
Universalism is the concept according to
which all human beings share the same nature.
Throughout history many movements have
claimed to draw their inspiration from this concept, some
religious, others political. Today universalism has another name:
globalization. For which, incidentally, television and multimedia
share some of the responsibility.
I am more interested in the cultural aspect.
I always find pleasure in noting the elements of a heritage we all
share. It reminds me of genes: everything stirred up and mixed
together.
Here, in Cyprus:
- There are British genes: you drive on the
left
- There are French genes: the cathedrals and
castles recall the period of the Lusignans, Frankish knights who
governed from the 12th to the 15th century
- There are Italian genes: in 1489 the
Lusignans ceded the island to Venice, which stayed until the 16th
century
- And many more…
We can draw one conclusion. By its
geographical position Cyprus is obviously an unavoidable staging
point. All the invasions bear witness to this. Even EBU takes
advantage: for the transmissions from the Sydney Olympics to
Europe, the best staging point was Cyprus, which reinjected them
into the Eurovision network.
Stoicism, universalism: two visions of man:
the wise man or the man who shows solidarity, but man first and
foremost; which brings me to my third school of thought -
humanism.
Humanism
Humanism views man as a finality and a higher
value. Existentialism or Marxism are examples from the 20th
century. I prefer the vision of the Renaissance, when the humanists
proposed to make men more worthy, learned and human.
In this vision there is room for beauty, taste and zest for
life. In Cyprus we find all three:
In Cyprus beauty is prized: Aphrodite, the
most beautiful of all, chose to be born here.
Life is good in Cyprus. Famous people have
put down roots here. Remember Lazarus, of Bethany, whom Jesus
resurrected four days after his death. It was here, at Kition, that
he spent the end of his life 30 years later.
The Cypriots love a joke.
It seems a saint is honoured here called
"Ayos Mamas", whose speciality is to be patron of those who cheat a
little on their taxes! I would be happy to tell you his story, but
it is rather complicated. At all events, it involves a lion, a
sheep and tax collectors, and the upshot is that Ayos Mamas gets
tax exemption!
Conclusion
I like this saint! He provides me with a
conclusion!
As you know, a burning issue at present is
the protection of copyright works against piracy; it is an
important issue in which copyright has to be reconciled with
listeners' freedom to record.
I am sure we shall find relevant solutions,
but hope that Ayos Mamas will help us to use our imagination and,
like him, reconcile morality and common sense.
