This September 18 we have seen the Chilean flag raised in millions of homes, buildings and public spaces. Chileans are celebrating and we celebrate big under this symbol that is one of the few that we still share and gives us a sense of identity.
We identify with “the tricolor”, our “crazy geography”, known borders, empanadas and red wine, cueca, copihue and the national anthem, but they are not enough for a shared identity that unites us. Much more is needed to build a country project of which we all belong and feel part.
Symbols need to be provided with content and for these to be shared. Chile and the world are facing a change of era. This phrase is not just a slogan that sounds good, but a reality that we have not yet faced seriously and decisively. As an example we can mention the climate and energy crisis, the role of technologies in our lives, the introduction of artificial intelligence in the productive and information system, mass migrations, the better understanding of the diversity of humanity, the concentration of wealth and the battle for control of raw materials.
Facing this stage of transition is the great social and political challenge, but as those in power today say, in their various manifestations, they are issues of minority groups in an identity agenda that does not take care of the real problems of the people.
It is necessary that there are people who address the most pressing problems of the current situation, but those who are capable of proposing ways to address the challenges of the changing times are essential.
Chilean society, aware of this need, voted overwhelmingly for a constitutional change whose first attempt failed, and apparently, the second, with the pendulum in the opposite extreme, is also going straight to failure.
The bill that would force educational establishments to raise the flag and sing the national anthem that is being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies and that was voted favorably in the Education Commission is a threat and an opportunity.
A threat in that the worship of the flag can translate into extreme nationalism, jingoistic, unifying opinions, xenophobic, exclusive, isolationist and conflictive with the rest of the world. Or an opportunity, if together with the proposed act, we develop critical thinking in the students to defend, reinforce and promote democracy, justice, freedom, diversity and solidarity as a basis of relationship between Chileans.
I hope that everyone who has a chance to influence makes efforts to have a flag that unites us in civic values and that education is capable of promoting them.
Marcelo Trivelli
Seed Foundation
