→ All that which aims to stay in the format of the politically correct and to hold a moral superiority, a clean conscious and an ability to judge, should consider these ten fundamental commandments, that were written by the Mexican writer, Enrique Krauze in the year 2000, director of the magazine Letras Libres.
.
*001_
.
Immerse yourself daily into the baptismal waters of your sound consciousness. Each morning, in front of the mirror, admit your exemplariness without false modesty. You have do not forget the monopoly of the concern for all the condemned of the world, the shunned, the persecuted. You are the voice of those who have no voice. Because of this, whatever the subject of your writing (sports, entertainment, culture or politics) slip in at least one reference at your personal mercy.
.
*002_
.
For natural symmetry —the world, we know, is black and write—, never fail to mention the villains, above all, the government and businessmen (I advise you not to get involved with the Church). Apart from “nationalists” that you don’t need to enlighten, scathe the businessmen for their twofold sins: if they employ they exploit, if they dis-employ they impoverish. It is always useful to reprimand the government. The inverse is pure poison: an approving gesture as subtle as it may be could cost the life, or worse, the devotion and complicity of your readers.
.
*003_
.
Disqualify, always disqualify the arrogant, ignorant fools that do not share your opinion. The “reactionary” and “conservative” adjectives have lost their edge, but “neoliberal” and “rightist” are still lethal.
.
*004_
.
Do not accept unless aggressively the incidental errors of the good intensions you defend: so-called abductions of territory, institutions, streets and squares; intended criminal acts of different kinds, imaginary destructions of works, schools and cultural symbols; supposed derangements of sacrosanct and very bourgeois democratic customs. Pettiness, falsehoods, exaggerations. In any case, attribute them to a crisis, to desperation, or the infallible remedy to the vast, impersonal forces of globality.
.
*005_
.
Don’t loose the opportunity to summon, or at least to sign, angry protest letters: we demand, we condemn, we reject, etcetera.
.
*006_
.
If you can’t organize or lead protests, involve yourself in those that appear, and make sure they photograph you. With an air of purpose, at the height of the circumstances, make fiery declarations in front of cameras and microphones.
.
*007_
.
Make sure to be present at the mournful anniversaries of the great progressive heroes. Write obituaries. Recur with frequency to the noble art of inscription: «To Longino, on his strife».
.
*008_
.
Appeal to the sentimentalism of your readers. Win their hearts. Don’t put them through the arid torment of thinking. Quantifying, pondering, grounding, proving, refuting are all futile games of the so-called scientific method. Don’t sink so low. Write from the instinct, not from the calculation. Use the impetuous stomach rather than the soft brains. Get angry and move anger. Tell the client what he wants to hear, give him what he wants to read.
.
*009_
.
Stop Yankee imperialism, with its jets of blood and mud. Be merciful with the inverse imperialism, the defeated soviet: have mercy, he didn’t know what he was doing. Consider that the crimes of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot have been exaggerated by reactionary historians; and if they really did happen, even if they were millions (doubtful, you didn’t see it) they were executed in the way of History and in the name of Utopia. Underpin Castro but then highlight his achaivements in this great revolution. Name your son Ernest. Discover yourself before the romantic figure of the Subcomandante Marcos: do a pilgrimage to the Lacandon Jungle, surf through his internet page, proclaim that there is no more reality than The Reality.
.
*010_
.
If the misfortune occurs that you belong to a political party that triumphs in state or local elections and you see yourself in the pitiful need to govern, apply the dialectic to your life: act as if you were still the opposition, put into practice nine previous precepts. In extreme cases declare yourself in permanent assembly and protect against yourself.
.
