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11/11/2010

Bicentennial year: Many experiences, little learning

“D’ où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous?
Où allons-nous?”
Paul Gauguin

To wonder about the reasons to celebrate or not the existence of an alleged national soul today formally proposed by the government, perhaps it is wiser to ask about the reasons why today we can celebrate or commemorate something special for our independence. Is possible answer yes to this question if we accept that independence wasn't a revolution, but rather an endorsement of the value of tradition, which in our case is ad hoc discursive legitimacy of republican ideals with an itch reformer and a free or self-conscious development: we are all because we are nothing.
It seems that in our bicentennial year we have seen a summary of all our experience for over 500 years, 300 natives and not only 200 Republicans, which certainly defines us: earthquakes, political elections and other disasters such as the Mapuche situation or mining, as well an incomplete development in all spheres of our social life.
The starting point is geographical: We are the place where we live. Everyone agrees that we are reflected on the nature of our seismic land, we forget easily because the reconstruction has always been essential: the chilean is nothing and all at the same moment, all time we are at the tightrope, such as when accidents happen, we know that the life continues, and if there is an earthquake, doesn't matter nothing more than the restoration.
So, the resignation and too the tenacity shows the response to oblivion... the independence is the best and the worst of ourselves, because in the first place it is the declaration of our vocation for liberty, in the same lines of an earthquake, in the sense that this allows can recognize the dignity of all men, but also the hard reality is here to say us the discourse isn't so true, because exists a lot of poverty, marginality, meanness, and always we prefer bad copy of the foreign instead of create new options. On the other hand, with the independence we accepted on the words the idea of revolution, a contradiction with our good weighted effect of the reforms and our humanity.
In conclusion, we can look back and celebrate but not swallow the lies about the national soul and the united country. Chile is all because is nothing.