"Che ragazzo serio!"

When I asked my Italian friend E to have a look at my blog, the first thing she said was "Che ragazzo serio!", which would translate into something like "Oh god, you gotta be kidding, this is far too serious dude!". She obviously referred to the prevalence of politics and society related writings and in particular to the absence of personal and light subjects in my oh-so-wonderful blog.

It is actually not a coincidence that these three words were uttered by this lovely lady from Florence. "Ah, Florence! Of course, that romantic city with its refined taste for food, fashion, arts (etc.) and its la dolce vita lifestyle; that's why!" I hear you shout, but that's not the reason. She's actually Neapolitan and not very fond of Florentines (and for some strange reason the Florentines are not very fond of Neapolitans either). The reason is in fact much simpler: she just hates politics and stuff.

There's a Turkish proverb that says "Look at one's friends and you will know what one is like". I must admit that this is largely true for me. Most of my close friends either study politics and society (or anything that is related, including humanities) or are highly interested in the subject. Most of the time they're advocates of cultural pluralism and often also anti-nationalist, or anti-rightist in general (which does not imply that they're leftist).¹ It must be for this reason that they haven't remarked about the general course of my blog so far; they must be thinking it's great! (or don't you?)

Only a few of my friends, among who E, do not match this general description and I think that is a very good thing. They keep me reminding of things of which I myself wouldn't think in the first place. I mean, at first I had no intention to write about personal things, but now the idea doesn't seem that bad at all. In fact, most of the bloggers that deal with politics and society, also write personal stories. It's not an unusual thing.

I guess a blog would simply be too heavy if politics and society would be its only contents. A personal, easy digestible writing now and then, would in this respect surely do good. In any case, it would give the blog more personal traits. After all, it is not some organization or whatever that keeps this blog running, it's me!

Obviously there are still many things to learn for me, but that's just how things go. Let us not forget that this is a process, not a project!

1. Needless to say, my friends are not as one-sided as depicted in those few sentences. Let us for the sake of convenience skip a comprehensive examination of their interests and activities as a whole, and assume that they are all multifaceted intellectuals.