A Walk in the City Park

We went for a walk in Porto City Park today. It's a large park tucked between Porto and Matosinhos. A walk along the periphery of it would take about an hour.

It's popular with joggers, yoga enthusiasts, picnic goers, and people out for a walk and some fresh air. As such, it's always been a place with much resistance to the mask mandate. Still, I was surprised to see that not even one in 20 were wearing their masks as recommended.

This has happened without any big manifestations. There was an anti-mask demonstration in Porto back in September, but that was so ridiculed by the pro-masking establishment that it only served to make things worse. The real force behind the park's successful return to normal has been the Portuguese culture.

The Portuguese are meek, in the original meaning of the word. When authority calls on them to do something, they follow then fade. This is a culture they've developed since Roman times. Even back then, the Portuguese were notoriously unreliable subjects. They would play along for a while before fading their loyalty into nothing.

Unfortunately, culture is not the same as intelligence. There's no thinking going on behind this behavior. The average Portuguese is not an intellectual with deep understanding of why they do these things. Hence, there are hobby-fascists everywhere during the follow stage, and the fade is erratic. Happy outcomes materialize out of nothing but a reluctance to do silly things over prolonged periods of time.

But it's nevertheless encouraging. Portugal has a culture well adapted to the sort of madness we're currently encountering. Other countries don't have this same flexibility. Germans are notorious order-followers. Italians are hopelessly feudal, with strong fascist tendencies. The French are always up for a fight. The US has a macho culture centered around guns. Australia is a nation of prisoners and guards.

It remains to be seen how the madness pans out, but I suspect that culture will become increasingly important. What was once a well coordinated push for tyranny, with every nation following UN recommendations, is becoming something of a cultural revival. Every nation, state and district is responding in ways unique to their culture.

The parallels with the fall of Rome are striking. The Goths are emerging from Scandinavia. The Suebis are doing their thing. Huns are on the move. Things are getting tribal. It's a mish mash of cultures, and no clear strategy. Left unchecked, centralized power will disintegrate, with hundreds of tiny nations taking its place, each ruled in accordance to its own local culture.

Porto City Park

Por Joseolgon - Obra do próprio, Domínio público, Hiperligação