ten years

I am really concerned with the future of our country, as I see it going down the tube day by day. So far, those of my readers who have followed my arguments certainly have noticed that I have been writing mostly in abstract. However, abstract thinking is not an end in itself. Its purpose is to isolate the essentials of a situation or a problem, so as to make it easier to find solutions for them.

Thus, my ultimate purpose is very much a concrete one and can be formulated as follows: if I had the power, what would I do to prevent the country from falling into that very dramatic economic, political and social situation I see it falling right now?

My answer is the following: as the very first priority, I would write a law sending for ten years in jail anyone who attacks the reputation of any of his fellow citizens without very solid foundations for his or her claim. This would include slander, libel, calumny or simple badmouthing.

I am quite confident that this single law and one single application of it - that is, putting in jail for ten years just one man or woman who had commited the crime of defamation - would turn Portugal into a prosperous country again in less than one year. I have no doubt about it.