Enough!

The time to say “Enough!” has arrived. To serenely and firmly proclaim that humanity cannot continue to suffer the interminable trauma of a system that has given rise to the present multiple serious crises (social, financial, food, environmental, political, ethical...).

The time has come for a great citizen mobilization against the dominating powers (economic, energy, military, media), so that a great transition may immediately commence from an economy of speculation and war (4,000 million dollars invested daily in weapons and military spending while –I will never tire of repeating- over 70,000 people die of hunger) to an economy of global sustainable development, which will rapidly reduce the enormous social injustice and inequity and the progressive (and possibly irreversible) damage to the environment.

The time has come to prevent and to sanction attacks that, through renowned rating agencies, the “market” is making on governments, those impoverished “rescuers” who must now slash their own budgets or risk financial collapse. Those who supported “less government and more market”, assuring us that the markets were “self-regulating” and that tax havens would disappear, must now retract those statements in public and correct the grave damage done.

The time has come to replace groups of plutocrats (created by President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher that have proved to be totally useless) by a strong United Nations, endowed with the personal, technical and financial resources that would enable it to fulfill its noble mission (of ensuring international security; guaranteeing democratic principles; freedom of expression and access to accurate information; of coordinated action to reduce the impact of natural and man-made catastrophes; protecting the environment; providing appropriately applied guidelines for social and economic development)...

The time has come for passive subjects to become full citizens; for the silent to participate; for spectators to become actors... now that modern communications technologies make distance participation possible.

And above all, through cyberspace the time has come to stretch our listless bodies; to awaken to a new day in which the reins of our common destiny are no longer in the same secular hands.

The academic, scientific, artistic, that is, the intellectual community must lead the process that will enable us in less than a decade to make the “new beginning” proclaimed in the Earth Charter.

The time to say “Enough”” has come, the time to rise up, and as José Ángel Valente expressed in his poem, the time to refuse to give up.

The time has come.