criativity and inventiveness

Salazar once noted that "Portugal nasceu à sombra da Igreja Católica". Indeed, if it were not for the protection of the Church, Portugal would not have succeed at independence from Castela. This has often led me to think that Portugal might well be the most Catholic of all countries because its relation with the Church is not only religious or cultural. It is also political. It was the political power of the Church that made this small country possible.

This is to say that my attempt at a cultural characterization of Catholic peoples applies first and foremost to the Portuguese. I would like in this post to refer one other of such features, which is the other side of the aloofness which is so typical of the Catholic man (see post below). Since Portuguese people (and other Catholic peoples) tend to remain aloof for extended periods of time while the world is changing under their feet, when they come to terms with reality it is generally too late ("Eles deixam tudo para a última da hora"). Everything acquires then a sense of urgency and all the decisions which should have been taken over the years must be taken now.

It is under such conditions of stress that the Catholic peoples exhibit their most extraordinary and finest qualities, to name only a few, their criativity, their imagination, their flexibility, their incredible speed to change, their inventiveness, their spontaneity and their profound sense of community, for when change is needed - and needed fast -, nobody is left behind.

Catholic peoples do not get excited with, and they do not like, the monotony of routine and order that is typical of Protestant countries. This is what precisely makes them aloof. Catholic peoples are rather moved by the unexpected and the unforseen, the foreigner and the risky, and the stress and sense of urgency of having to act under those circumstances. It is then that they can rise to the status of giants.