Principles or vegetables?

2025-07-09 09:11:00, Opinione Ardi Stefa

Our society faces profound political and moral challenges, and it is very difficult to differentiate between representing the public interest and protecting narrow interests. Therefore, the fundamental question that is increasingly raised is: Are we guided by principles, or by “vegetables”? Where “vegetables” are a symbol of personal interests, small in purpose but large in consequence. They are the benefits that make individuals keep quiet about the right, choose silence instead of responsibility.

Principles: The Root of a Sustainable Democracy

Principles are the values ??upon which a just and functional society is built. They represent order, justice, equality, meritocracy, freedom, and responsibility. Politicians who are guided by principles do not use power as an instrument to enrich themselves, but as a means to improve the lives of citizens. They set standards that remain unchangeable, even when faced with the temptation to make “small” exceptions in the name of circumstances.

But unfortunately, these principles are often set aside when the "vegetables" come on stage, the narrow interests that poison politics.

“Vegetables” are those personal, clan, or short-term gains that often dominate political decision-making. When politicians sacrifice the public good to protect the interests of a handful of people, when laws are written to protect clients rather than citizens, when appointments are made not on the basis of merit but on the basis of connections, then it is clear: vegetables have replaced principles.

What all our crises have in common is precisely this: a politics that suffers from a lack of moral compass, stripped of any sense of public responsibility, locked in the narrow circle of self-interest.

Principles build the state, "vegetables" destroy it!

They destroy it when decisions are made not for the common good, but to preserve power...

When appointments are made for friends, not for merit...

When silence is bought with favors...

We no longer have politics there, we have a market. And in this market, everything is sold: dignity, justice, the future.

We need to talk about this. Because this is no longer a political problem. It is a moral problem.

Once upon a time, principles were the foundation on which a society was built. Today, for many, they have become an obstacle. Because principles don't let you steal, they don't allow you to manipulate, they don't make you comfortable with injustice. That's why "vegetables" seem easier. They are quick. They bring you power. They give you profit.

But do you know what they don't give you? They don't give you a future.

Is this fate inevitable?

No! History has shown that even in dark moments, societies have known how to choose the right. There have been individuals who, faced with the temptations of “vegetables,” have chosen to defend principles, at personal cost, but with long-term benefit for society. They are perhaps fewer, more despised by the system, but they are indispensable. Without them, society slides towards a quagmire where everything is for sale and everyone is usable.

Everyone has the opportunity to make a choice: to support those who follow principles, or those who only serve their “vegetables.” There is no excuse for indifference. Silence in the face of abuse is cooperation with abuse!

Principles are not a luxury, they are the foundation of any state that wants to be more than a scheme for personal gain.