Did you ever notice how us Maltese have developed an unfortunate habit of qualifying a position against or in favour of something with a counter-position? Let me give you a few examples:

It could be none of the above, or a mixture of all of them. I don't really know for I am no sociologist. What is sure is that this culture of caution is all pervading. It is especially prevalent in most politicians; such that we are not exactly sure what they actually stand for. This is precisely why you come to have some respect for politicians such as Dr. Adrian Vassallo, who are consistent and unashamed of their beliefs, even though you may or may not disagree with them.

Being in favour or against something with certain reservations is not bad or deplorable or anything of the sort. But when you see a consistent pattern of cautious speech/actions you begin to wonder whether there is something more to it than meets the eye. To be honest though, sometimes it really pisses me off, especially when the X but Y position is just ridiculous and illogical. In any case, it would be an interesting to study this, I guess. 

In Finland there exists a peculiar situation as to which is the national anthem. From the little I have read the 'de facto' anthem is Maamme (Our Land) but this has not been officially recognised. Otherwise the popular Finlandia hymn is also widely supported. One particular rendition of the hymn holds a very important and strong message of international fraternity and world peace. Perhaps 'national' is a misnomer. These are the words:

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;

but other hearts in other lands are beating

with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

This is my song O God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

I just donated $50 to Unicef in order to aid homeless children in Myanmar. I urge you to follow suit. Any little will do.

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The purpose of this blog is simple as it is complex. In the wake of the Malta Labour Party's third electoral defeat or, rather, the Nationalist Party's third successive win since 1998, there seems to be a growing need for a new kind of politics in Malta. The serious revelations that Malta is becoming more corrupt and that freedom of expression and press is dwindling is alarming. The political ploy of consigning oneself to the rules of the game, i.e. to constrain what the politician(s) truly believes in due to the fear of damaging his party or of losing votes does not auger well. This leaves a considerable amount of people who desire change unrepresented. This blog is therefore the antithesis of the current rules of the game. Here liberal thought and expression are not only allowed but highly welcomed as long as they do not trample on the rights of others. That is my only restriction. Eugene Ionesco once said:

"Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together."

And who are we if we are void of all hope and dreams? As a progressive I dream about the following changes for Malta:

• A secular State where the Freedom of Religion is endorsed and whereby it is wrongful to have a particular belief imposed on the citizen.
• A radical division between State and Party
• A free and inclusive society where citizens, by working together, are able to determine their own lives.
• A nondiscriminatory society of equals regardless of being black or white; male or female; straight or gay; Christian or atheist; pro-choice or pro-life; young or old; of sound mind or mentally infirm; working class or middle class; and the list goes on.
• A society which promotes peace and combats injustice and oppression of freedom and civil liberties
• A State and society that oppose the destruction of nature at all costs and highly promotes the use of alternative and clean sources of energy
• A State where the best Health care and Education are free for all
• A State based on meritocracy; which rewards hard work and guarantees job security
• A society where women are more involved with work and have a higher representation and participation in the political sphere

John Lennon once said:

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as One."

Welcome to Progressive Malta!


NOTE: 'Progressive Malta' was the original name of my blog. Youthful delusions of grandeur aside, I ultimately personalised the name because it was not my intention to blog about progressive politics alone.