In recent weeks, students have been the protagonists of revolts in Serbia and Italy. The Serbian “student list” has won parliamentary elections with a large majority, ending the 14-year rule of Aleksandar Vučić. In Italy, demonstrations led by students have been met with an exceptionally high level of repression and have ignited yet again a conflict between the government and the judiciary.
Even though sociologists sometimes say that “the youth” as a social category is a product of the 20th century, students and their protests have been a fixture of Western societies since the foundation of universities in the 12th century. Protesting students embody ethical rage and courage, as well as naivety. Their feverish activity usually peters out in the course of a year or so, which is what the powers that be usually count on.
This is not to say that student-led protest never achieves results. They can bring a society over a tipping point; they can keep alive hope in dark times. In short, they perform very relevant functions in the social body. Looking, however, at the results of the Serbian elections as the dawn of a new era, or trusting that the Trumpian government of Meloni in Italy will be negatively affected by the street protests, is a bit naive as well.
A true intergenerational alliance is what usually changes the game. This is, in fact, what is happening — at least in part — in both Italy and Serbia. In Italy, professors have been seen joining their students in an attempt to shelter them from unprovoked police attacks. In Serbia, professionals of different stripes have been on the ballots with the students. Whether such alliances will be backed up by more robust political structures remains to be seen.
I grew up in a world in which politics was a noble profession; I am getting older in one in which politics is a vile affair. There is an apocalyptic element in this, meaning that politics have likely always been corrupt to some extent but, in an era dominated by ideals, we could hardly become aware of that. At the same time, the ideal element is badly needed today, despite the awareness of corruption and manipulation. Students bring a powerful energy of clarity and idealism into a social body which is muddled, tired, and confused.
This week, a friend of mine said that a truly functioning democracy exists when people are in charge of their emotions. As long as they either repress or mindlessly follow their emotions, fascism will ensue. Another friend said that he is seeing the world as divided between conscious and mindless people — rather than between believers and unbelievers as he used to think. These are valid comments to me, pointing in the same direction.
I am more and more convinced that the growth in awareness of one’s feelings and their interaction with one’s thinking is the key to the survival of our species. Gaining awareness is, however, a very slow process for most people, while the issues seem urgent. I am somewhat comforted by the knowledge that revolutions in history have happened when a sufficient yet relatively small percentage of fired-up people could push the majority to leap.
As a consequence, however, such a leap is not deeply rooted in individuals. The convictions expressed might represent more the mood of an era than anything deeply held. I have witnessed how falling back from apparent awareness into muddled waters can happen. I have also witnessed stunning maturity with a clear grasp of issues where I did not expect it.
Our species developed very fast in the past few millennia. The differentiation between thinking and feeling — arguably one of our major achievements — is not finished. Complete separation (i.e. repression of feelings) or total identification (i.e. lack of thought) are recipes for disaster. A nice balanced interaction between the two should be our polar star.
The resurgence of the student archetype among us is to me a promise. It represents the passion and the ideal, feeling and thinking both on fire, energized for a better world. But it is up to people of all ages to form alliances and harness such energy for transformation.
Banner Image: St. Scholastica Day Riot, Oxford University, 1354. From a 1907 Oxford postcard. Public Domain, on Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you feel the student archetype in yourself? How do you balance thinking and feeling? Do you know any actual student group or movement that you could engage?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox and Adam Bucko, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest
Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Meister Eckhart: A Mystic Warrior for Our Time
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality
The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human
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