First, let us not simplify the challenge. There are no
blacks and whites. It is not a contest between saints and demons, not one
between salvation and damnation. If anything, it is closer to a fork in the
road where uncertainty lurks - whichever choice is made. Someone in the media
has called it a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, another between
Apocalypse and Salvation. The reasons are not far-fetched. They are firmly
lodged in the trauma of memory and the rawness of current realities. Well, at
least one can dialogue with the devil, even dine with that creature with the
proverbial long spoon. With the deep blue sea however, deceptively placid, even
the best swimmers drown. The problem for some is deciding which is the devil,
which the deep blue sea. For most, instructively, the difference is clear.
There are no ambiguities, no qualifications, no pause for reflection - they are
simply raring to go! I envy them.
Let all partisans of progress however constantly
exercise self-restraint in assessment and expectations. Facts remain facts and
should never be tampered with. Verification is nearly always available
from records and – the testimonies of witnesses. Yet memory may prove faulty,
so even those who were alive during any political regimen should exercise even
greater caution and not get carried away by partisanship in any cause, however
laudable or apparently popular.
