It is moral to state aloud what you are, it is moral to be consistent in affirming your own beliefs, it is moral to think in the long run, it is moral to affirm your own identity. It is moral to have the courage to say you are different from the others, even if the others represent, for the time being, the majority.„The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” (Thomas Jefferson)
The Democrat-Liberal Party, whose unofficial slogan is „shut your mouth!” did it again: following the public declarations of some preeminent members of the party regarding the high level of corruption in the governing party, Elena Udrea took a hard stance, warning those who dare speak against the party interest in the press without notifying the leading party institutions beforehand shall be sanctioned: „Corruption is against the law. In order to be able to say that someone is corrupt or not, you cannot rely on the press. There needs to be a clear decision by a court of justice, otherwise everyone could believe that the other is corrupt just based on hearsay. I believe that we need to be very careful before making such allegations.”
Freshly elected as president of the Bucharest Democrat-Liberal constituency with 98% of the vote, Ms. Udrea considers that any sort of criticism against the leadership of the party must be swept under the rug and dealt with inside the party. This is true even in the case of those members who have been officially accused of corruption but whose cases are suspended by a Justice system all too subservient to the party in power. Even those few cases in which the Court has taken a decision, such as the conviction of the Mayor of Craiova, Antonie Solomon, are cleansed and purified through reductio ad absurdum, for, after all, we all have a relative which has been convicted, isn’t it? What counts is the votes, and not the character of the person who gathers them. But, since this process requires peace and tranquility, no matter how many cases are opened or how much time the leaders of the local party constituencies risk spending behind bars, the principle „innocent until proven guilty” must be nailed to the forehead of each and everyone of the candidates!
Let us exercise or imagination and try to conceive a country where everything is officially right with the world. An immaculate “brave new world” where the omnipresent leader, aided by his team formed by the most progressive elements of society, takes only the wisest of decisions. Corruption has been officially eradicated. The corrupt elite has been reeducated and redeemed in the spirit of work while the eyes and ears of the party state are watching so that those will not relapse into their error through, Party forbid! some private initiative. A familiar landscape, isn’t it?
Personally, I rejoice reading in the press about kickbacks, ethics violations, governmental fraud and unconstitutional acts. I am grateful anytime I see a new campaign lie revealed, or another cheating scandal; anytime I see those elected officials being escorted for questioning; anytime I hear criticism from the civil society and from the opposition – either the one outside or within the governing coalition. These are signs that Romanian society is fighting through its antibodies, the press is still and thankfully (mostly) free while the rule of law is strengthening, slowly but irreversibly, in spite of the foaming at the mouth of those who find themselves under the media spotlight. Thus, to celebrate St. Nick’s and the official commencement of the Holiday season, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and that you will keep on watching! Only in this way we will manage to preserve and enrich that fabulous gift we received twenty-one years ago.
Laurentiu Luca
„The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” (Thomas Jefferson)
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