I had to cross the Rialto Bridge yesterday for errands. There are only three bridges over the Canal Grande, and when the vaporetto and traghetti are overcrowded, the bridge is the lesser evil.
Annoyed with myself, I elbow my way through the crowd and back again. Finally in quieter, shadier alleys, I think about why this upsets me so much and why I can't stay calm. Maybe because there's more at stake than just an overcrowded tourist attraction?
Thousands of tourists press shoulder to shoulder, each with smartphone raised for the perfect selfie. All have come to see the "most vulnerable city in the world" - a city literally sinking into the sea, whose foundations are being eaten away by salt water, whose residents are fleeing from the onslaught.
But no one SEES this vulnerability.
Instead: conquest photos. "I was here!" The 10 euro entrance fee? Not an invitation to mindfulness, but a license to consume: "I paid, so the city belongs to me today!"
It's about taking space. Everyone takes what they need - the best spot for the photo, the entire width of the bridge for their group, all the attention for the perfect selfie. "I paid, so I'm entitled to this."
I know this logic. Not just on the Rialto Bridge.
Taking space works the same everywhere. Interest groups occupy interpretive authority. Corporations buy political influence. Parties claim the "true people" for themselves. Behind it all, the same attitude: "Who pays, calls the shots!"
From this emerges the Netflix logic: paid, therefore entitled. Monthly subscription paid - that's the taxes. Unlimited streaming unlocked - those are the rights. No further obligations. When dissatisfied, there's the "thumbs down" button - that's the protest vote.
The perversion: the more I pay, the more "belongs" to me - we believe. This is how moral responsibility becomes economic transaction. This is how shared space becomes private claim.
A wise observer once wrote: After generations of successful democracy, people forget what this social order demands of them. They only see what they're entitled to.
That's our problem. We consume freedom like tourists consume Venice. We enjoy rights without taking responsibility. We take selfies in front of democracy instead of living it.
But maybe we're getting to the heart of the problem here. Democracy lives from what it cannot guarantee itself. From our daily ethical engagement.
Liberal democracy made us a promise. Your rights will be protected. Your freedom will be guaranteed. Your property will be secured.