We live in times when dissent has become treason, and criticism has been elevated to the status of a crime. We’re not talking about declared dictatorships, but about disguised democracies — democracies where debate is allowed, as long as it doesn’t bother those who hold power. Many countries have turned into theatres of illusion: stages of fake freedom, where the main actors do not tolerate questions — only applause.
Democracy dies slowly when thinking differently becomes a sin. Ideas must be challenged with ideas, with arguments, with reason and intelligence — never with insults, threats, or attempts at silencing. Plurality is the soul of freedom. When that soul is sold in exchange for forced unanimity, what remains is a hollow political body pretending to breathe.
No one — absolutely no one — is above criticism. No political party should be treated like a religion, nor its leaders like untouchable gods. When politics is confused with worship, free thought is killed. The citizen is replaced by a believer, argument by blind faith, and the vote by veneration.
It takes courage to say it: freedom of choice is an inalienable right. And choosing differently is not betrayal — it is simply the act of citizenship. If, in a country, those who criticise the government are treated as enemies, and those who change their minds are called sellouts, then democracy is no longer being lived — it has become a camp of obedience disguised as a homeland.
There is no true freedom where fear of speaking reigns. There is no progress where disagreement is forbidden. And there is no future where the youth are taught that thinking differently is dangerous. Democracy is not a regime for the obedient, but for the conscious. For those who ask questions, challenge, denounce, and propose — even if it makes others uncomfortable.
Because if there’s anything more dangerous than a declared dictatorship, it is a fake democracy. In those, applause is mandatory, silence is complicit, and truth is whatever the leader wants it to be. And when everyone thinks alike, it’s because no one is really thinking anymore.
Rotterdam, 06.05.2025
Malundo Kudiqueba
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