We read all too frequently of policies which threaten to reduce social provision in Trump’s USA, and there are certain politicians who would do the same in the UK. We probably remember Thatcher’s 1987 assertion that ‘there’s no such thing as society’; her policies ensured a drift away from social provision in the general sense, and a move towards reliance on ‘personal responsibility’. Cameron’s launch in 2010 of ‘Big Society’ (yes, society!) shifted responsibility for social support away from the state – at least partially – to ‘encourage people to take an active role in their communities’ (volunteerism).
As active members of a charity, my wife and I see how much provision of support of all kinds falls to the voluntary sector nowadays. However, whichever way one looks at it, society in the sense of a mutually supportive community, DOES exist. A grouping of people which ‘furnishes protection, continuity, security’, mutual support and companionship. Related to the concept of ‘society’, it will be interesting to consider the related concepts of ‘community’ and ‘solidarity’.
One for all…
As I walk to the village gym, when here in Spain, I often indulge in a bit of banter with three middle-aged brothers with learning difficulties, out for a stroll with their cuidadora (carer); some time ago I nicknamed them ‘Los Tres Mosqueteros’, which they find highly amusing. Alexandre Dumas’s novel is one of conflict and violence, but the motto of the musketeers: ‘One for all and all for one’, provides us with a useful principle, perhaps a definition of a caring society. According to dictionary.com this catchphrase is explained as ‘All the members of a group support each of the individual members, and the individual members pledge to support the group.’ Hence, mutual interest, solidarity.
Society exists for mutual support… solidarity. Talking of which, some of us might remember the Polish movement lead by Lech Walesa: a very bright pupil in one of my Spanish classes in the early eighties, Theresa P, always wore her Solidarnos badge with pride. Solidarity among the Polish workers led by Walesa resulted in Poland throwing off its Soviet communist shackles, and eventually to his becoming its president in 1990, having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. Solidarity among peoples – not division and conflict – is what guarantees peace, Mr Trump!
All humans are equal
Talking of communism… when I was becoming politically aware as a youngster, my dear father told me one day how he created a bit of a stir in the staffroom of the Catholic school where he taught, by suggesting that Jesus was a communist. He was right, of course! Christianity teaches that all of us are equal, all human beings have equal value. However flawed the implementation of communism has been where it was allowed to supersede the rights of the individual, the actual word ‘communism’ means ‘as one’.
In his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo asserts that “The value of persons, does not depend on what they achieve or produce. There are rights that apply to everyone simply by virtue of being human, and no human power can legitimately deny or arbitrarily limit them”: we are all equal. The context of this encyclical was concern at the growing power of AI, but surely this is also a reminder to the technology billionaires, who seek to control us all, of true human values – and the value of all human beings as equals.
So, what about community? If a community is characterized by unity, solidarity and security, it can form an important component of a functioning society in which the rights of all of its members are guaranteed. As so often before, our Spanish village provides many excellent examples of a functioning unified community, contrasting with the latest troubling news from the UK and the divisive, provocative, demagogic statements of irresponsible politicians and billionaires.
Keeping fit together
So much is done here to enhance the quality of life for all citizens, not least the elderly. Over-65s benefit from free access to the swimming pool and the village gym, the purpose being to keep people fitter for longer. When we arrive late morning, a group of elderly residents are just finishing their circuit-training and cardio-vascular exercises. One elderly friend, who has compromised mobility, cycles 20 or 30 kilometres a day on an exercise bike; her Paraguayan cuidadora wipes her forehead and passes her water-bottle. This same elderly lady has won a regional award for her portraits and still-life paintings, a skill acquired in free art classes for senior adults in the village.
The municipal authority is very supportive of the primary school and the nursery school, children’s sport, the village music group and so on. They celebrate religious festivals and other events in such a way as to bring in visitors and promote the village: events such as the annual 10k race, the swimming gala and, very recently, a local classic car rally for which the village provided a check-point in the village square; each car was provided with a gift of local produce and tourist information.
The Museo Morisco hosts regular exhibitions of art, literary presentations and language courses. The Asociación de Mujeres organises many activities, and has crocheted brightly coloured circles, which, linked together as awnings overhead, provide shade from the burning sun… and pretty shadow patterned on the street below. Like many Spanish villages, the community offers two or three excursions each year to other parts of Spain -village ‘away-days’.
The village pays respects
A few days ago, we experienced an unexpected example of community: as is customary at a funeral, most of the villagers follow the coffin and the family to the cemetery. The spouse and family of the recently departed stand close to the niche, and the those who wish go to express their condolences. When we did so at this recent funeral, the widow’s immediate response was to ask how my wife’s cancer treatment is progressing: even in her grief she showed concern. A significant element of the sense of community is altruism.
Two days ago there was another interment, this time of an Irish lady who had lived here with her husband for decades. She had had to return to Ireland owing to health problems, and her ashes were brought from Ireland to be intered with her late husband. Around 40 or 50 villagers came to pay their respects, including the mayor – even though she herself has very recently lost her own husband.
A few months ago, the community came together, gathering in the square for a minute’s silence in memory of young woman who had been swept away by the river – normally little more than a stream, but then swollen by heavy rain. The same manifestation of solidarity and respect happened after the death of the mayor’s husband. The community showing solidarity in grief.
Respect in the home
This respect for all in society is reflected in the current campaign on the town-hall Facebook page and in the plasma screen display in the village square. In a country once notorious for the machista attitudes of its menfolk, men are being encouraged to play their part in the home and to take their fair share of household responsibilities. Like all local villages, a sign at the entrance to the community states its opposition to machista violence. My favourite corner of the village is the one which celebrates the contribution of women, who ‘get up each day to make the world a better place.’
Looking up to senior citizens!
A few weeks ago, on Sunday 24 May, we celebrated el Día de los Mayores; not the ‘Mayor’s Day’ as per the – presumably – Google Translate version on the posters and Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) Facebook post, but ‘Senior Citizens’ Day’. The word ‘mayor’ is a ‘falso amigo’: essentially in Spanish it just means ‘older’ or ‘greater’, whilst in English the meaning has become very restricted and specialised. Whatever… at this annual event, over-65s are feted: treated to a free lunch in the village square, accompanied by music, in this case a performer called Leo. The food, provided by a local restaurant, was both plentiful and tasty, along with the free-flowing drinks; our choice was ‘tinto de verano’, a bit like sangría, but less potent and very refreshing on a hot day!
About 150 of us ‘mayores’ enjoyed the conviviality of the occasion, and there were prize hampers for all those who had reached the age of 65 during the last year: a celebration of age, just as babies born in the last year are ‘presented’ to the patron saint of the village on her feast day. Enjoying our lunch, we chatted with other Brits, a Russian couple, a local Spaniard with whom I usually indulge in some banter in French (he lived and worked in France for decades, and his children and grandchildren live there), a (French-speaking) Belgian, a Cuban woman who transpired to be a retired dentist… and so many others. We have Danish neighbours who come and go like us, and Dutch friends who live here permanently. We once had lunch with them at a local restaurant, and went halves on the bill… yes, we went Dutch, which they found rather amusing. Life here in a small Spanish village is truly cosmopolitan!
Celebrating difference
I have described elsewhere another annual celebration in our village: el Día del Residente. Many residents of the village from the 40 or so nationalities here come together in the main square, setting up stalls to display and offer culinary delicacies of their home countries. A celebration of the cosmopolitan nature of the community, a welcome to the residents who have moved here from dozens of European countries.
Indeed, the multicultural nature of the village is manifested in the growing number of Moroccan agricultural workers, and people from various Latin American countries working in the hospitality establishments; both of these elements also provide much of the workforce for the comprehensive provision of cuidadoras and asistentas (home help).
… and all for one!
A few days ago, Spanish friends explained to us the Ley de Dependencia introduced in 2006, which provides appropriate care, according to the level of need, disability or age, to all citizens in need of it. Hence why we are so used to seeing elderly people being taken for their daily stroll, meeting friends, catching up with gossip – and having contact with life beyond their homes. This is the service which has transformed the lives of our Tres Mosqueteros.
In so many ways, this is a community which protects and supports its weakest and neediest members: this is how all of society ought to be: ‘one for all, and all for one!’
