The Madness We Need: Don Quixote de la Mancha, WeGlad, and the Fight for a Better World
Alonso Quixano may have died, but Don Quixote de la Mancha never will. He rides through the ages, undaunted, reminding us that the true madness is not in dreaming of a better world, but in resigning ourselves to the one that is.
In Don Quixote’s eyes, Sancho Panza was not a humble peasant—he was a governor in the making, a man braver than he knew. Dulcineawas not a simple country girl—she was a noble lady, virtue waiting to be seen. The women standing outside a tavern were not prostitutes but elegant ladies chatting, taking the evening air.
Don Quixote did not accept reality as it was presented to him; he shaped it with the force of his belief, embellishing it with meaning, lifting others up, seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
And so can we.
The world will always offer reasons to surrender—to cynicism, to despair, to the cold comfort of saying, this is just the way things are. After all, we are told, we are Homo Oeconomicus—self-centered, purely rational, disenchanted beings. But Don Quixote does not agree. And neither do I.
Miguel de Cervantes’ courageous character reminds us that resignation is the greatest illusion of all. However grim the news, however weighty the world’s suffering, we don’t need to be spectators. We can be creators of a better world, no matter how small our actions may seem.
The choice always remains.
Let us remember and honour the words of Viktor Frankl, a man who endured humanity’s darkest night yet refused to surrender his inner light:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
To see with the eyes of Don Quixote is not to escape reality, but to awaken to its possibilities. It is to insist that justice, dignity, and beauty exist—not as distant ideals, but as realities we can shape through our actions.
Like Don Quixote, my friend Petru Capatina refused to see the world as it is and instead saw it as it should be.
For many, Europe is an open-air museum, a breathtaking display of centuries of history—but for those with disabilities, it is too often a labyrinth of insurmountable obstacles. Cities that seem welcoming to most become impassable for people with mobility challenges.
Petru chose not to resign himself to this reality. Instead, he created WeGlad —Welcome Gladiator, a movement to make accessible what today is inaccessible for people with disabilities. Through innovation and technology, WeGlad is turning an inaccessible world into an inclusive one—ensuring that people with disabilities can move through life with the same dignity and ease as everyone else.
Petru reminds us that mobility is not a privilege—it is a fundamental right:
Improving every day
“Mobility is more than motion, it is the flow that connects talent to its opportunity. Break that and you will break life.”
We can check out WeGlad’s website to learn more and support its mission. Through the app, we can map the accessibility of streets and public spaces, helping to turn obstacles into opportunities. The heart of this movement is not just about mapping spaces—it’s about changing lives.
To me, the tragedy of humanity lies in its failure to recognize its inherent greatness. Too often, we define ourselves by what we do—our jobs, achievements, or material possessions—while remaining blind to the vast, immeasurable essence of who we truly are. We skim the surface of life, absorbed in external pursuits and transient outcomes, forgetting to explore the inner depths where our potential and purpose reside.
This disconnect is not merely a personal loss but a collective one. By failing to acknowledge and nurture the greatness within us, we limit our capacity to contribute meaningfully to the world.
The world is not yet as it should be. But that is no reason to bow to it. It is a call to rise.
Don Quixote rides on. So does Petru. And so can we.
