Every country has its own rhetoric to endure. In Italy, after twenty years of Fascist bombastic rhetoric, and fifty years of hypocrite anti-fascist rhetoric, and ten years of unbelievable Berlusconi's rhetoric, it seems like we're back to the anti-fascist one, which undoubtedly is the lesser of the evils. But, how much sick the rhetoric about the Resistance can make me?

It doesn't really bother me when it comes from our politicians: "our Constitution was born from the Resistance against fascism", "in the Resistance are the roots of our Republic", "Democracy wouldn't exists in Italy if it wasn't for the Resistance": for those voices are as weak as they are remote to me. Sure, they can be heard more distinctly now that Berlusconi, that hideous prick, is not in charge anymore, but to me they're just meaningless symbols used to draw their phrases to their ends, they don't count.

But, when it's from voices of friends, people I know, or bloggers whose writing I enjoy (sometimes), I really have problems with it.

With my friend R., for example, I just stopped arguing about it, because the Resistance it's just so perfect a myth in his imagination there's no possible actual debate about it. In his idea, if you have objections about the absolute relevance of the Resistance against Mussolini in our lives (something that happened sixty years ago), you are probably someone who would not fight against Fascism now, if it showed up again.
Bad argument, you know? Because, what do you know, really? Maybe fascism will be here and you won't recognize it because it will have a face friendly to you, and unfriendly to me. It will be called like your favorite party, or your favorite website, and you will be in the crowd clapping. Life is so unpredictable.

And Babsi: "The history of Italy cannot prescind from those sentenced to death [in Fascist prisons]" (it never did, actually); "This country is really ugly because its memory is short and it doesn't respect those who founded it (...) I sort of despise those who do not honour communist partisans"
Communist partisans. No thanks, I do not honour them. So, Babsi, despise me, please.
Not that I think that their contribution and sacrifice to Italian History it's not important. It obviously is, although there was Liberal and Christian partisans involved too. Most remarkably, there was the considerable help of U.S. and U.K. in the matter too: 'cause without their help against the Nazists, no "Resistance" alone would have make any difference. So if you want to honour Communist partisans, it means you should also honour the American and British flags, or generals, which is probably something you don't want to do in this particular moment.

It's not like Fascism and the fight against Fascism are the only things that existed in history, anyway: because romantic and generous events (whether the idea we have of them is plausible or not) are countless. Should we feel them all?
Personally, I have better dreams.

No, I don't honour Communist partisans: because I did not come into this world to honour anybody. This sort of honouring is a waste of time and a bitter lie to me.
I think you can only respect and honour someone you knew personally. Stendhal, for example, honoured and respected, in his own words, "only one man: Napoleon". For the good reason he knew him in person, because there is no another way to judge anybody.
Sure, you can sympathize and dream and wonder and be thankful to many persons you read of. I am thankful for the existence of a bunch of characters from the novels I read, for example.
But this social and political "honouring" and "respecting" is just sick hypocrite demagogic bullshit and it deserves all possible mistrust.
If I was living at Mussolini's times, it would be different. But I'm not. Fascism, for me, is all that wants to submerge me in its rhetoric. Disney, for example. Football teams. The fight against Cancer, against Terrorism. The heroes of the Resistance.

I don't feel this urge of constantly picturing myself among the partisans to feel I'm less privileged, or to imagine that I actually have enemies, or that I don't live in the privileged world that keeps all the rest in poverty as I do, or that I am not unfit to the battle as I am.
I'll leave these chimeras to those who enjoy them. Let me live my times without this lie, please, 'cause they're hard enough.

Finally, about the point made by all the mentioned rhetorical phrases: I couldn't disagree more. Italian democracy it's not based on the Resistance against anything. The Italian Republic, as it was born from the hashes of Fascism and WWII, it is based on the complete surrender to Mafia, the American ideology, the Atlantic Pact, and all sort of various patronages (the Vatican, camorra, 'ndrangheta, magistrates, Unions, corporations, FIAT, nepotism as a method, etc): it is based on the strict limitation of any individual freedom outside of these patronages.
Second, it is based on the Yalta divisions, according to which Italy was a country to be split among the communist party and the democratic-Christian party, with the latter at the government and the former at the opposition. Berlusconi's perfect dream is Stalin's dream. A country where, as noted already, nothing was supposed to change, ever, because the equilibrium among west and east Europe was too weak to stand an authentic Italian democracy. Stalin didn't want it just as much as Truman didn't.
Third, Italian democracy is a lie, because Italy it's not a real democracy but an oligarchy (I think I have remarked this point already). So, am I supposed to be thankful for this oligarchy? Because there's still freedom and a little justice, should I honour those who froze this country under this oligarchy with its phony factions?

Sure, I go under a lot of pain when I see our Constitution tore apart by the arrogance of folks like Berlusconi.
But not because this Constitution, and this mafiosa parliamentarian democracy, are something to be thankful or respectful for. It's only because, as experience teaches us, the worse is always to follow, that's all.