We need to feel safe in our relationships, in our jobs, in our state of health, in our homes, in our countries.

We certainly do not wish to find ourselves in a situation where we have actually lost our loved ones, our relationships, our health, our jobs, our homes or our respective countries.

And that is what this blessed National Security is all about. 

It is about protecting, safeguarding and enhancing the quality of life that each one of us, each individual making up a nation, has a right to expect.

National security is about combating all the phenomena that threaten our everyday existence. 

It is not just about protecting us from Al Qaida, Al Shabab or other terrorist or criminal attacks which can kill us quickly and violently, but also about protecting us from the slow annihilation that abuse/misuse or lack of use of power, can produce.

Now if we really want to stop and think with a clear open mind for a while, we quickly realise that the most harmful of our enemies, the most soulless of the enemies of this little nation, have for a very long time operated from within our jurisdiction, under our very eyes, often with our blessing, often but not necessarily with our vote of confidence, but also very often with the tacit consent that silence provides.

In the last 30 years in particular, our national security has failed to protect us as a people from the heavy and relentless destruction of enormous swathes of our natural, healing, environment.

By endangering the sustainability and quality of our most precious resource: water, 

by failing to have in place a sustainable energy policy that safeguards our supply but also our air quality, our health, by perpetrating the abject failure of our public transport system to attract commuters to abandon their cars... by abusing our architectural patrimony both by action and inaction... all carried out while subtly destroying the free press and buying as much and enough silence to let it happen under our noses.

By allowing this to happen, our National Security has failed us, because it did not secure for us, that which is and should remain ours as a nation. By its failure, our water is heavily poisoned by nitrates in large areas of the country, our air is dust and particle laden by emissions and exhaust, and we often unknowingly consume foods inundated with pesticides, hormones or the latest one.... manure.

The psychological and physical health of our people is paramount and comes before any economic or other 'progress'. We should be protected from hazards to our health. We do not want care for diseases we can avoid. We want to simply avoid those diseases preventable by good governance.

I, for one, had hoped and believed that this aspect of National Security would be given due importance with the change in government.

As things stand, the picture I see is just as gloomy or even worse, as what was subtly done before is now blatantly justified.

In the name of economic (certainly not human) development, and certainly not in the name of social justice but possibly the opposite, many environmental/planning policies are being put into place without the necessary cumulative impact studies. The ODZ policy on its own might seem innocuous for instance, but if assessed within the bigger and ultimate picture of building the massive area rationalised in 2006, assessed within the Agricultural Policy that is still in the making, the High Buildings policy that will destroy Malta's landscape as we know it, and a myriad of other  highly congesting, mind oppressing, health compromising, Maltese uniqueness destructive policies, it is obvious that this aspect of our National Security is being blatantly abused.

And this is not to mention that central figures in this administration have too many fingers in too many pots, not only emulating the Old Nationalist administration, but even taking choice elements on board to properly protect and safeguard the cartel from possible attacks!

No free media, no opposition, no National Security where it matters most.

It’s not too late to change tack. The power lies with the people and the people have put their trust in us to keep them safe, secure, healthy, dignified.

The choices we make now will preserve, enhance or ruin our nation.

It’s still up to us, but it will not be so forever.