sábado, 5 de enero de 2019

Progress is a stubborn beast.


Progress is a stubborn beast. Too fast for some, too slow for others, it marches on steadily, relentlessly, oblivious to sticks and carrots.
Recently we have witnessed an attempt to hobble its advance. Reactionary forces worldwide are intent on slowing down the pace of change. This is only to be expected – the rich and powerful do not give up their privileges without a fight. We say that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. But when it comes to wealth and position the opposite is true. It is harder to have had and lost than never to have had at all.
Ah, the old world order! White, straight, male and god-fearing. A place where boys wear blue and girls wear pink, where gays are outlawed or cured, where atheists are damned both in life and death, and where lesser ethnic groups just get on with the menial tasks. I know my place!
Nostagia for days that will never return. The world has moved on, woken up, grown up. Hence this desperate turning back of the clock. Trump, Bolsonaro, Salvini and the likes, modern day King Canutes ordering the waves to retreat. Let them rant, let them hold their illusions, have their swansong.
 They are the past.
They cannot last.
We carry on.