READERS WRITE
THE LOVE BOAT
Oftentimes we gild something to cover its flaws but an aberration is generally difficult to disguise to prevent recognition. On January 7, The Azamara Pursuit cruise liner docked in Buenos Aires port and it made headlines because its passengers were all apparently swingers. We can imagine what happened on board but the details were difficult to pry into because the whole project was concealed behind a veil of utmost secrecy. However, the cruise makes a statement: the swingers on board have tried to give their sexual practices the red carpet treatment to make it appear as carried out by well-off respectable individuals but they fool nobody. The word swinging may function as a euphemism but deep down it is downright promiscuity. I grant these people that two consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want with their sex life but they are trying to sell their invention as a respectable practice and that most of us won’t buy.
Adrian Insaubralde, Santa Fe
WORRYING SIGN
The current feuds, disputes and bitter quarrels between the ruling coalition and opposition in Argentina are really shameful. On top of that, within each coalition there’s also “payback time” (“pases de factura”). It’s very much like a couple breaking up on really bad terms, arguing and insulting each other in front of their kids, who are helpless witnesses of a dramatic and violent situation caused by the irresponsibility and selfishness of their parents. Mind you, I’m not blaming this failed administration only. None of the opposition parties seem to rise to the occasion, either. And that’s really worrying, bearing in mind that 2023 is an electoral year.
Irene Bianchi, Ringuelet, La Plata
BLOOD TRANSFUSION
When considering the future of Argentina in the medium and longer term, a new administration which promises to turn around the longest decadence any country in the world has known will forcibly have to consider stimulating a new wave of immigration, similar to the one which started some decades before the beginning of the 20th century. This is so because a very large part of the present citizens have lost, or never learnt, the culture of work. In fact, by now there are many families which already have their third generation living off social handouts. Cruel as to say so may seem, most of these persons are by now unrecoverable for a productive society. This is the main reason, yet not the only one, why it is becoming an urgent necessity to bring in new blood.
Obviously such a new wave must be allowed in following strict conditions, such as the ones existing in countries like Canada and Australia and, to compensate for the tremendous population concentration existent in and around Buenos Aires, must be arranged so that the newcomers settle in underpopulated areas. Many will disagree, saying that there isn’t enough work to offer in our uneven economy, but this difficulty also existed in older times. It has to be understood that fresh blood also creates a fresh economy.
A very important consideration to be added is that, in these times, the amount of displaced persons around the world is enormous. Consequently many new immigrants would in fact be refugees, people fleeing from wars and famines just like in the old days, people you can count on to work hard searching for a better life. Thus was our enormous middle class built in better times, which is exactly what we once again need, because: “It’s the Republic, dammit”!
Harry Ingham (ex-refugee),
City