The Wonderland at a glance

Leonardo da Vinci has taught us that we cannot love anything until we understand it. “Nothing,” he says, “can be loved or despised without first having knowledge of it. Love grows from a great knowledge of the object of desire, and if one has only a little knowledge, then one can only love a little, or not at all.”

And that applies as well to our “country,” says Guglielmini. A Frenchman cannot love his country if he does not know its history, nor can an Englishman love and respect his country without knowing its history, nor an Italian, nor German etc…That would be too easy. Human animals, before taking to a place and habitat, needs to explore, to know it, learn about amenities and such, find out if there are other competitors around, creatures to be feared, etc.. And only then can they decide whether or not to sign on. And once signed on, they need to be ready, if necessary, to fight in defence for their habitat, even to death. For how can, we human animals, how can we feel worthy as esteemed citizens of our country and place if we do not know its nature, its laws and its history?

In “Wonderland”, Orazio Guglielmini discusses this very objective: to know the story, the heart and soul of one’s country.

Guglielmini, in his book  addresses Rossi in this way: “Did you ever wonder,” Rossi, who we are? No? Too bad for you, you should have. However, I will tell you. Let’s start with this: You should know that everything historical is yours. That is to say that thanks to national and individual, historical events, you have appeared and are all that you are. The historical facts of your country, both ugly and beautiful, is your cultural DNA. This cultural DNA does not change  the historical facts. Of course, if we know them and recognize them as they are and not how we want them to be, then perhaps we can do something to defend ourselves, and improve ourselves”.

“There is no use denying your identity. This is a sign of weakness, an inferiority complex, a neurosis. To deny the historical past of one’s country is to deny the past of one’s life. This, for better or for worse, is our nerve, our mirror, our  identity. If one denies his own history, if one recounts only positive episodes while removing the negative ones, besides being a sign of infantility, it also ends the analysis”.

“And so, while the Germans had Kohlhaas, who was hungry for revolutionary justice, the French had a woman with balls, Joan of Arc, the English had Robin Hood, a hero who stole from the rich to give to the poor (worth noting here that we have always acted in the opposite: we steal from the poor to give to the rich), the Swiss had William Tell, a man of the people, a real and true killer of parasites, the Spanish and South Americans had Zorro, another staunch defender of the people, and us, in “Wonderland” we had the Infant Jesus.

“Children, who imitate the English and the other heroes mentioned, live in a culture of reality, they grow strong and proud, but the children of the “Wonderland”, however, grow into saints, along with the villains, like Christ, always turning the other cheek!”.