After my life-changing experience following Manuel Rosales throughout the presidential campaign in Venezuela last year, I returned to London convinced I had wasted some of the most productive years of my life. Reflecting on this experience and discussing it with my good friend and former business partner Fran Gómez, I realized he was right when he said, “you can’t help those who don’t want to be helped.” The people I encountered during the campaign were entirely distrustful of me, seeing me as an out-of-touch elitist, a true representative of the class that Chávez labeled as oligarchic. My assertion that, from the private perspective of their rights, Chávez was the only viable option—given the truth of the old saying “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush”—was met with disbelief. More specifically, when I sent a group email highlighting how damaging it would be for us, as an opposition, if Chávez did not secure the UN seat, I faced a barrage of condemnation, as they simply could not grasp that no one was more effective than the caudillo himself, unleashed and free to spew his nonsense on the UN floor for the entire planet to witness, to convince the international community of his utter madness. It was a shame to see that opportunity go up in flames with his ranting about the devil. What could have been truly remarkable and absolutely hilarious would have been witnessing the UN headquarters in New York transformed into his very own Alo Presidente broadcasting station. In any case, that was truly our loss, not his.
So, I decided some time ago to stop wasting my life and energy on a lost cause. Recently, another extraordinary gain from my journey in political activism, the meeting and friendship with Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho, allowed me to succinctly express my feelings regarding the previous commitment:
In my life, knowing that as a philosopher and thinker you also know this, there comes a time when a man starts evaluating his position, role, impact, goals, and future in the grand scheme of things. This orphan-like attitude has been a constant in my case, and to be honest the four months I spent in Venezuela late last year—most of it deep within the political monster—opened my eyes significantly. I consider myself an honorable man, with a strong sense of patriotism, who loves his family and stands firm on what you would call Judeo-Christian moral values. As such, I was thoroughly disgusted with what I witnessed and concluded several things: firstly, that I had squandered the last four and a half years of my life desperately wanting to help a people that does not want to be helped. The term collective fool could equally apply to the Venezuelan people, and I am not part of that; I refuse to waste another second of my life fighting against such gross collective irresponsibility. That’s why Chávez is where he is, and that’s why he will remain in power until the cows come home.
So I decided to move on, forget about an utopian country that exists only in the minds of a few idealists like myself, and focus on raising my children according to the values I cherish. I moved to Spain, which, by the way, I hadn’t planned. Now I will do everything possible to settle here for a while and earn some money in the meanwhile for the political activism that left me ruined, hated, and lonely. Nevertheless, not all was lost; I have met fantastic people like you, and for that alone, the effort was worthwhile. It’s time to reconnect with myself.
Olavo shared his thoughts, which I consider worth sharing with those of you interested in them:
Regarding the new chapter of your life: Goethe once said that talents develop in silence and solitude, character in the turmoil of struggle. These are the two pillars of personality. You’ve developed your character to shine like a “exemplum vitae humanae,” an exemplary life. Now you turn inward to nurture the other side of existence: educating yourself through the education of your children.
As a father of eight, I can assure you that raising children is the easiest task in the universe: all you have to do is educate yourself and fulfill your duty; they will follow your example without any effort on your part. Some practical advice, drawn from lived experience: Interfere very little in your children’s lives. Let them be free most of the time, only protecting them from a distance and letting them know they are safe because a loving father is looking after them. Allow them to make their own decisions in most areas of practical life, keeping the weight of your authority for very important matters. Good governance is a trustworthy guardian that interferes very little in the daily lives of citizens. The height of your authority is measured by the rarity of your interference. A good father is exactly the same. Let your commandments be rare and few, but if you have to give them, give them once and for all. Let your words then be few and authoritative. Orders should not be debated or explained, but obeyed. If your children ask you “Why?”, respond calmly and lovingly: “It’s because I decided so, my little angel.” They will love you for that.
One of my recent writings from Venezuela stirred some controversy. Then, as now, I viewed things from a different perspective. Then, like now, the sun shone on my face and the future looked as bright as in the above image, which is the first thing my eyes see when I wake up in the mornings these days. I still read the news regularly, though my reaction has changed. Now it’s a mix of bewilderment and pity: bewilderment because it’s like watching a freak circus; I am amazed at how far the chavista’s stupid behavior can go. It seems to be a limitless medium, where normal and rational practices of civilized societies cannot exist. Pity, because with such behavior, they are pushing Venezuela and its 25 million citizens into a black hole, and the consequences will be paid for generations.
My fellow bloggers are sounding more and more like I used to: while the brainless bolivarians push and radicalize the ‘process’, educated, intelligent, and moderate people are losing the calm that once characterized them and expressing total dismay, anger, frustration, and desperation in their daily entries. It’s a shame.
On an international level, media outlets like Reuters these days allow articles to be published, such as “Venezuela a hot spot in global drug trafficking,” something I’ve been denouncing for over a year now. Similarly, we see how international bodies are no longer willing to tolerate Chávez’s propaganda. So, considering everything, I can sing victory in what I once set out to do, which was nothing other than to show the world the truth about Venezuela. In fact, that was the name given to my site when I started. The truth is out. It’s time to enjoy the show that will follow.
The post Changing Course first appeared on El Faro del Morro.