Life Skills

Feudalism, Capitalism or Both?

I am wordless and speechless. I don't know what else to say about Silvana Paternostro rather than how she is everything but Colombian. Paternostro left colombia at a very young age, consequently turing her back on Colombia. Now, she returns thirty years later crying on how her country is falling apart, but doing nothing but than to criticize it. She comes back to Colombia with the pretext  of showing the world the truth about Colombia, while in reality she simply focuses on the smallest portion of Colombia's population: It's elite. Paternostro fails to comprehend that not every Colombian household is the same. 

Paternostro describes that Colombian household "have masters and servants living as if it were eighteenth-century feudalism” (Pg.72). In fact, only ten percent of the country can afford having maids, or drivers. Nevertheless, she fails to comprehend that Colombia isn't the only country that has maids. Millionaires in America, or Europe live in mansions and have butlers, maids, gardeners and drivers working for them too.  It might be that Paternostro doesn't agree with the hierarchical system of maids and masters, but this isn't a phenomenon only occurring in Colombia. Her mistake is she only acknowledges it as if it were occurring only in Colombia.

Furthermore, she confuses hypocrisy with an act of kindness. She is bewildered by how the servants "smile, laugh, as if they enjoyed life at [her] grandmother's" (Pg. 153). Does being a maid, or even an employee mean we have to be unhappy? She criticizes the system and wonders if it's "paternalism or feudalism" (Pg. 152), when it's really neither. The truth is that we live in a world of hierarchies, controlled by a system called Capitalism. This means that there is a worldwide pyramid of authority in which owners are on the top and employees on the bottom. There is always going to be someone with a higher position than you. We aren't always on the same level of authority. Simply because the case is much primitive in Colombia doesn't make it neither slavery nor feudalism. Hiring maids, gardeners or chauffeurs is the same as hiring an economist or a teacher. It follows the same pattern and rigorous order as any other work position in the world. There is nothing wrong with being kind, or having some generosity with one's staff.

Paternostro places Colombia in a place were everything that is not American or is foreign to her, is anachronistic. If she had a problem with the way of how the world works, instead of solely attacking Colombia, she must realize that it isn't the only country that implements this structure. Paternostro portrays the problem as if it were uniquely Colombia, when it is not. The text is incomplete, and profoundly biased. She influences her text by her personal opinions and prejudices of her country, making it an erroneous and narrow-minded text.  

Germs, Guns and Steel

In Silvana Paternostro’s memoir, My Colombian War she gives the impression of being a very narrow minded woman. She doesn’t analyze the situation Colombia is currently facing, and abruptly jumps into erroneous conclusions. Instead of finding the cause for the violence in the country, Paternostro blames it on nothing. She says there are no reasons for any violence whatsoever in the country, that Colombian’s murder others just because it pleases and makes them happy. That is everything but true. There are reasons behind the violence that has engulfed my country for decades. Violence in Colombia comes from politics, guerillas and drugs, not because people are delighted by it.

Paternostro directs her frustration towards the erroneous, and blames it on the violence of my country: our country. She intensely articulates her amusement at the way people are shot in Colombia for seemingly no reasons at all. Nevertheless, she doesn't realize there are veridical reasons behind said shootings, even if they aren't justifiable. Mainly our country’s continuous violence branched out from the once imposed since independence. The violence that once was due to political differences was then fought for political liberty, and then for drugs. People don’t choose to kills others just because they find it fun. Many were trying to defend their rights, their freedom of speech, their liberty to express their ideals. Likewise, though nowadays bloodbath isn’t for freedom of speech, it still follows the same ideals. People are tying to defend themselves, and that’s how violence appears.

What she fails to comprehend, however, is the fact that no country is perfect, not even her beloved idolatrized USA.While she is impressed by the fact that "more a dozen women have been killed by death squads, identifying themselves as the Squadron Against Unfaithful Wives" (Pg.155), she isn't impressed by american teenagers shooting five year olds as a call of attention. Lately, there has been a constant flow of news about shooting in America. They are about how an eighteen-year-old shot twenty innocent people in peaceful a movie theatre, or how someone else shot a thirty kindergarteners, or a high school students. She fails to understand that violence not only affects Colombia, but the world as a whole too. She shouldn’t be surprised by shootings, as they are quite common all around the world. Both in peaceful countries like the states, or in violent ones like Colombia. She doesn't comment on the fact that in Middle East countries women are castrated by their husbands by rather stupid acts. The human race is a violent one, and there is not much that we can do. 

While in the states people mourn over their dead relatives, who were shot to dead watching a superman movie, or at school for no valid reasons whatsoever. Colombia is filled with drug lords, mafias and guerillas. Though neither justification is acceptable, my country has had a history of violence that is neither easy to stop nor will do so rapidly. She has to accept the fact that not every country is a first world one, or that every country is supposed to be perfect. Colombia, like many others as well fights every day to stop its persisting violence.