Mattarella’s lesson to No Vax “Trust in the Science: Get a Vaccine”

by Rafael Marmo

The “moral urgency” of what the president’s institutional mandate represents is not politics. The ‘urgency’ of Sergio Mattarella’s recent speech from Quirinale is the official and definitive reaffirmation of the value of science and the vaccine as the only solid way out of the epidemic, along with recognition of the example (Professor Pietro Carmina de Ravanosa, doctors, health workers, volunteers) as an ethical standard that society should and can Patriot and “patriot” to inspire him in the work of “reconstruction” of the country. First and foremost for the younger generation.

Of course, politics, also understood as a “high” lesson extracted from the constitutional references of life and refined by the complex and turbulent seven-year experience of the presidency, is not absent. Hence the double reference that the Head of State, having removed the field, as if an inconvenience, from the knot of his readiness for re-election, feels that he must pass on to his successor: “The public interest. Hence the preservation of the public interest. The role, powers and prerogatives of the institution which he receives from his predecessor and which – exercised in full until the last day of his tenure – shall pass intact to his successor.”

But as soon as it is time for the break, Mattarella stands to confirm, perhaps, the next exit from the scene, evoking and explaining, with clarity and depth, the “urgency” closest to his heart. Thus, without mentioning No Vax, he presses, praising “the merits of those who, trusting science and institutions, have taken the recommended precautions and have chosen to vaccinate: almost all Italians, whom I want, once again, to thank for their maturity and sense of responsibility”.

Therefore, trust the science, but also a harsh and dry condemnation of the attitudes of those who question the only real weapon that we lucky ones have. Because I remember – I insist he moved – the sense of helplessness and desperation we breathed in in the early months of the pandemic in the face of the dramatic scenes of the virus victims. to coffins transported by military vehicles. To a long time, confinement is necessary for everyone at home, in schools. In offices, in closed shops. to the collapsing hospitals.” In conclusion: “What would we have given, in those days, to get the vaccine? Research and science have given us that opportunity, much sooner than we could have hoped. And wasting it is an insult to those who didn’t get it. And for those who can’t get it today. Vaccines have saved many thousands of lives, and I repeat – significantly – reduced the risk of disease. ”

But if the vaccine is the tool, then the example and the collective energies are the moral background of the nation that has allowed us to rise again: “Thanks to the responsible behavior of Italians.” Thanks to this, the “invaluable human heritage”, consisting of “the self-denial of doctors, health workers and volunteers. Those who worked hard to fight the virus. And those who continued to perform their tasks despite the danger.” Even who, like the professor who died in the Ravanosa meltdown, in the students’ farewell letter, traces the path of their commitment: “Use the words I taught you to defend yourselves and defend those who do not have these words. Be a spectator but heroes of the history you live in today. Come in, make Your hands are dirty Bit your life Don’t adapt Commit yourself Never give up Pursuing your goals Even the most ambitious Put them on your shoulders Who can’t You’re not the future You’re the present Please: Don’t be indifferent Don’t even be afraid to take risks Don’t make mistakes…”. Model, concludes chief. and it’s enough. You can go home