Easter, the passage

I have always had the utmost respect for the religious beliefs professed by others. Religion, like ideology, is a choice that obeys the heart and values ​​of each individual. However, I do not believe in an existence without faith. Nor do I have faith in a life without God. In the worst moments, there is a force that comforts or encourages us, that soothes our troubled spirit or ignites us to fight against injustice.

Whether it's Christ, Jehovah, or Buddha, who goes by a myriad of denominations and has millions of temples erected in his praise across the planet, it is in Him that those who – like me – believe, celebrating his image reflected in the advances of science, in the brotherhood among men, in the smile of a child, in the breastfeeding mother, in the teacher who educates, in the doctor who heals, in the supportive friend, in the worker who produces, in the farmer who sows, in the nations that celebrate peace.

Easter takes on unique importance because of its symbolism. Far beyond the simple chocolate eggs and the long holiday, it has a moving historical significance. For Christians, Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion and death. For Jews, it is the celebration of the exodus from Egypt and the conquest of freedom in the promised land.

Easter is rebirth and a new beginning. It carries within it the message that it is necessary to keep moving forward, always onward, accepting life's challenges not as misfortune or conspiracy, but as obstacles to be overcome with the courage with which Christians gathered in the catacombs, defying the Romans and celebrating their faith.

Easter is about reunion and reconstruction. It encourages us to dream even more generous dreams, of a better, more developed, more supportive country, with more brothers and sisters lifted out of poverty and integrated into the middle class, as more than 40 million have been in the last 10 years. This reminds us, in a way, of the beautiful story of the Jews during Passover, when they left slavery in Egypt and crossed the desert and the Red Sea in search of the promised land.

In the Mediterranean region, for the oldest societies, Easter also symbolized the transition from the harsh European winter to spring, with the first blossoming of the trees, with the forests becoming colorful after many months languishing between the white of the snowstorms and a sad, hopeless gray.

And what about a country that has rediscovered itself? And what about us, who have left behind centuries of poverty and hardship? What does this date mean?

Brazil is experiencing a perpetual Easter today. We have been resurrected after decades of social neglect. We are laying the foundations for the economic power that has earned the world's admiration to also become a social power, with a very strong middle class, as President Dilma Rousseff has already predicted. Thanks to the success of Lula's two terms as statesman, the Workers' Party government has an unwavering commitment to consolidating a social state where a democracy of opportunity prevails, based on full employment, access to credit, effective social programs in housing and education, among other initiatives that have changed the lives of tens of millions of Brazilian citizens.

There is a constant struggle to free our people from the few, very few, shackles that still bind them to the past and to backwardness. It is a struggle of life against death, of love against hate, of solidarity against pettiness, of progress against backwardness. It is a struggle waged every day, with the same courage as those Christians who professed their unwavering faith in the darkness of the catacombs. It is a passage, a "Passover," as painful and as beautiful as that of our Jewish brothers and sisters in the desert in search of freedom after leaving slavery in Egypt.

Like them, who wrote historical pages, Brazilians overcome new challenges every day on their way to a great future. It is Easter for a great and remarkable people.

 

(*) Delúbio Soares is a professor