Aurelio Porfiri
There are several recently released books that offer an interesting perspective to reflect about. One of these is Preserving the soul – Manual for aspiring patriots by Italian journalist Francesco Borgonovo, published by Lindau in Turin, Italy. It is an interesting read also because Borgonovo does not allow himself to be caged by being politically correct and says things with a certain air and with well-accepted clarity. Of course, you don’t have to agree with everything in the book, but many things will make sense to those who seek certainty in a time of squared doubts.
Obviously, the author highlights the value of the word “preserve”, which should not be seen as an offense because it means defending, defending the home, family, God, country and all that is precious and noble we have inherited. Following Italian thinker Claudio Risé, Borgonovo emphasizes the defense of one of the most afflicted categories, that of the father: “The father is the one who invites us to look upwards, he reminds us that our roots are planted in the earth but also, and above all, in the sky, and it is from there – from above – that the force that radiates the earth and soul comes”. And this value of paternity must be defended: “To defend means to carry the sword: to fight to protect what has been entrusted to us and, at the same time, to eliminate the superfluous, to follow an ascetic path to get rid of what weighs down and overflows”. They seem to us to be very beautiful and profound words that are not easy to find written in an era of politically correct and cancel culture. And the author must deal with this too when he says: “He considers himself immune”, that is, free from the duty to return the father’s gift, the munus. This immunity is sought in every field, it is the disinfection that must be applied to the body (so that it is not contaminated by disease) but also to culture. As the Italian philosopher Marcello Veneziani noted, it is as if the West were trying to disinfect its past. The cancel culture that demolishes the statues, the politically correct that censors the great literature, the accusations of racism against the white-dead males who have shaped the culture of Europe are all symptoms of this ingratitude, they are emblems of the immune paradigm that dominates today and opposite to the community one”. In short, a good book that represents a healthy reading for all those who do not want to give up and continue to think for themselves.
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