Flynt
and Ortega: Can one be called more obscene than the other?
Nicaraguans
fed up with politics as usual believe the answer is clear
La Prensa, Nicaragua
The 'Porn' of Corruption: Apologies to Larry Flynt
"I'd like to beg forgiveness from
members of the porn industry for the comparison: porn stars never pretend to be
pillars of virtue or chastity the way but politicians, judges and lawmakers do
… both political and sexual actors earn good salaries, but the fans of explicit
sex are satisfied by the money they spend; while citizens are not."
We in Nicaragua have
witnessed political corruption for so long, that it seems quite stupid now to
try and disguise it as a virtue. We share the sentiments of North American
Justice Potter Stewart when he tried to define pornography in 1964: "I
can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it." Perhaps we don’t
know how to define corruption in legal terms, but we recognize it when we see
it.
The difference is that Judge
Stewart had to rule on the 1958 Louis Malle film, The Lovers, in which he
found no "obscenity"; while we Nicaraguans see real corruption
everyday life, in the plunder committed by former President Aleman and the
cynical decision of the [Nicaraguan] Supreme Court to free him. The
politicians, judges and members of the National Assembly who support and
profited from the decision are all living under a shameful cloud of debasement.
[Editor's
Note: In 2007, President Daniel Ortega managed to hold on to power by
making a pact
with former President Arnoldo Alemán, who was in jail at the time for
corruption. In part for his release, Alemán's supporters backed Ortega,
allowing the FMLN to maintain a majority. This is the second time the two men
have 'made a deal' to stay on top].
The comparison between
pornography and corruption requires a few more lines of explanation, but first
I'd like to beg forgiveness from the members of the porn industry for the
comparison: porn stars never pretend to be pillars of virtue or chastity the
way but politicians, judges and lawmakers do. Politicians aren't themselves
affected by the crisis; meanwhile the U.S. adult entertainment industry, in the voice of Larry Flynt, has asked Congress for $5 billion to
confront the decline in sales.
One can fake an orgasm in
front of a camera as easily as love of country or the solemn reading of a
shameless ruling from the court - whereas people in porno work harder than
corrupt officials.
To seal the comparison, both
political and sexual actors earn good salaries, but the fans of explicit sex
are satisfied by the money they spend; while citizens are not - they feel
swindled and unhappy. The shameless corruption plaguing our country is too
damaging for us to remain apathetic, or we face our own failure as a nation.
The situation demands that each of us intervene in order to reverse this
disease that afflicts us - even if it may seem to have no cure.
There's nothing more
revolutionary than democracy. We Nicaraguans mustn't let it fail by watering
down blame to such an extent that it absolves everyone from guilt. For those
who unfortunately still fail to comprehend, the first step toward our nation’s
recovery is to grasp that it has been people like Aleman and [President Daniel]
Ortega, judges of the Supreme Electoral
Council or the Supreme Court, many members of the National Assembly, many
mayors and the rest of the offspring of fraud, who have brought the country in
ruin.
It is enough to observe the
opulence in which these people live and the poverty of the average person to
realize why our country still contests Haiti for the title "poorest nation
on the continent." This isn't fair. Everyone in Nicaragua should have the
chance to thrive, because our land is very rich. It isn't true that one needs
to be a genius to realize well-being for all. But how to explain the great
fortune of Humberto
Ortega [son of President Daniel Ortega], Bayardo Arce [head of the ruling
FSLN's newspapers, radio stations, and television programs], Aleman himself,
etc.? Did they invest in the stock market? Did they win the lottery? What the
hell is going when we continue to accept such infamy?
The nation’s capital and
those who today watch this barbarity installed in their easy chairs should know
that it will be impossible for them to avoid ruin under this system. The
country will not become an eternal paradise of monopolies and tax-free trade
zones with illiterate semi-slaves. True leaders will emerge, capable and
stronger than the baseness that now usurps power. They will be given the chance
to govern with justice so that this beautiful country shines instead of going
dark.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Our people will know who to
choose. We Nicaraguans have no inclination to be slaves or down-and-outs, much
less thieves or murderers - even if these are now the dominant anti-values. All
of those false democrats and 21st century pot-bellied socialists who have no
idea how much work is required to produce toilet paper, who haven't worked a
single day in their lives and who are accustomed to live like millionaires off
of the wealth and efforts of other, are destined to disappear from our history.
Winston Churchill said,
"The moral quality of a civilized nation can be measured by its system of
justice." What qualities of morality do we practice when Aleman and
Hurtado are now at liberty to commit more of their crimes right under our very
noses?
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