Our country is in the grip of evolution and it could go either way. The reality is that we risk going down into the abyss of a lawless state or finally re-achieving the security, justice and success that we deserve.
An arrogant and single-minded government can claim authority simply because they have a strong majority. But that is not how it works in a democracy. Indeed, the true strength lies in ensuring that every citizen enjoys their human rights and opportunities to live in freedom and equality. Having a strong support does not mean that others do not dissent or are subjugated to a submissive life where protest means danger to your life or means of living.
It is not a straight road to justice. In fact it is a long and treacherous path. Revealing the truth can hurt and can endanger the enablers of injustice. When the Attorney General allegedly advised the police to go slow on the investigations into Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri’s offshore companies, he used the excuse of unrest in the country that would potentially arise. Others may come to the conclusion that it was the result of the inquiries that would be exposing the persons under investigation and their personal undoing that was the motive for the advice.
This was being done against a background where a journalist was risking her life to go after the rot and complicity that had overtaken the administration and was standing up to the threats being made against her. All the while, those responsible for the questionable activity were enjoying protection and assured of liberty to do as they please.
A strong support, though, does not ensure that dissent is eliminated. Courage of conviction is a power in itself. Free press is a vocation at the service of the nation that defends and seeks truth and justice. The word that can uncover the fraud. The sense in the chaos. The light in the darkness. It is persecuted and threatened on many fronts. Financial difficulty, SLAPP lawsuits, criminal libel (which has now been removed but which in the recent past crippled writers) and the misinformation fed to the people on a massive and deliberate scale by those in whose interest it is to divert the attention of the voters.
Uncovering corruption, fraud, crimes and dereliction of duty is a long and arduous task which requires dedication, purpose and courage. That is why journalists are awarded for their work. It is not only those who are out reporting on war and natural disasters who are placing their life at risk. Actually, wherever there is oppression and democracy and justice are no longer freely and fully assured, then anyone who speaks out is at risk or someone of their family may be. Yet, it is this inalienable group of people who most trouble and worry those who think they are above the law. With no law enforcement to fear, the protected become irritated to the point of rage and violence.
Few though they may be when they first gather, those who take to the streets and protest will grow to a good representation of the other voice that was silenced, of the reality that life exists in a very different form than the one being fed to the masses. The controversial lawlessness, the insecurity of impunity and the implications of this on the name and reputation of our country creates a state of consciousness that is hard to eliminate and ignore. From here the power of the few is challenged and the might of the pen reaches to the core of the issues and exposes the injustice for all to see for themselves, that greed and abuse of power and position is not protected by majority votes, or by a captured State.
By co-enlisting households into the capitalist market and at the same time raising pensions and employment the government more or less assured itself of a co-dependent population, one that would not betray itself by betraying the crimes and the jeopardy of those who had been hand-picked to organize the project.
Enemalta was the symbol of all that had gone wrong for the Nationalist Party and the emblem of what the Labour party in Government would return to the people. As Electrogas it became the vehicle for the worst kind of exploitation of the same clients who paid for it, the consumers. But along the way the power station became the greatest scam that people have ever witnessed and nevertheless, its temple of the new god. No amount of logic, intelligent analysis, common sense or Easterlies could knock that LNG tanker off course. In time, it became the certificate of competence, the achievement of justice for the common worker and a path to financial gain.
From there, allegiance was ensured and wherever projects went, the people followed.
Until the day came that the projects grew greater than the Labour party itself and risked the very hold that it had on the people. In a rush of panic, the alarm was raised and the trapdoor opened to start receiving its’ hitherto celebrities.
As power now swings from government to social justice and activism for truth, the ground is crumbling and the rats are scurrying. Yet many remain skeptical that the populist tactics of Joseph Muscat and his acolyte Robert Abela will be shifted anytime soon.
That taste of money and conviction was quite pleasing and hard to relinquish for many. But the time is coming when a choice will have to be made. Stay with the delinquents and the frauds who have themselves betrayed you or become free and independent citizens of Europe and Malta, governed by common-good policies and not just duped and souped-up projects that have enslaved us to the cult of fame and robbed us of our home and country.
The life that lies ahead of us depends now on the choices we make. The direction up to now was costing us so much more than it was worth. We need to change the way we see reality. There are especially individuals who have lost any sense of reality and perspective and who live in a false sense of security and a mentality of impunity. They see themselves as having a right to do as they please and get rich out of it simply because they have shown it is possible. The people were given the “Life-skill” in Labour support and what it can do for you. Starting from the big businesses down to the criminally convicted.
Time has come to take back our life from this illegitimate possy.