On Rationalisations

13 April 2024, near Ziegelbrücke, Switzerland

Santo Cruz do Sul, Brazil. Recently, during discussions on Brazilian and world politics that were characterised by sympathy or antipathy for this or that so-called leader (who, needless to say, is not leading at all but being led by the wishes, demands and the applause of the ones who voted for them), it all of a sudden and with a so far unknown clarity, hit me that what we were saying were nothing but rationalisations of deeply held beliefs.

Our arguments were based on the informations we preferred. None of us at the table was in the least interested in changing their world view but to change the world view of the others. All of us expressed our emotions dressed up as the result of rational thinking. The differing information provided was seldom really considered but almost automatically dismissed. Yes, but ... we all do that. Sure,  the "I never thought of that" does also occur yet it rarely leads to an attitude change. Differently put: our discussions essentially fill the void, they also entertain and occasionally inspire but above all they rationalise and try to make sense respectively of what we feel. And that, sadly, is not often comforting.

Whether one likes the US or Brazil has little or nothing to do with politics, it's to do with basic feelings that we rarely control. We mostly do not know where they come from. "My" US and "my" Brazil have to do with landscapes, music, people I like, and vibes. Also, in case of the US, with the sixties. It goes without saying there are also things I do not like, the habit of both countries to rarely come up with a decent political figure, for instance, yet that has not prevented me of feeling well there.

The other day, when I argued that Russians were particularly cruel (concentration camps in Siberia as well as their habit of invading and occupying other countries), a woman at the table opined that people were the same all over the world. Needless to say, I do not disagree. Moreover, examples are easily found in case you want to prove that no country and no people are shining proof of civility.

But are we really all the same? If so, it clearly wouldn't matter with whom or where we live. Well, to me it does, and it is not only because of the climate. And, quite obviously, to others this matters too. It might also be noted that migrants usually do not stand in line in order to get into countries like Russia, China or Saudi Arabia.