Ines Lopez

Dear citizen of the world,

I hope this letter finds you well in this ever changing times. Forgive me for taking up your time but as I have been watching the political news these past few months I had a thought about the future that I felt I wanted to share.

I was born in Spain 43 years ago. I have been following politics since I am a teenager, including USA politics. I have a decent understanding on the differences between these two systems. I always hoped Spain would import some of the things I found positive about the USA system:

– open lists for elections. In Spain you don’t vote a person, you vote the party and lists are closed. Your ranking in the lists is often based on who you know more than your merit. This means you have to obey the party line and do what they want no matter what if you want to be in politics.

– politised judiciary system. Spanish judges very often declare their allegiance in one way or another to a political party.

– political accountability and decency. Over the years there have been corruption cases from all key Spanish political parties. This has been happening since I remember, it is not new. They sometimes get caught but rarely they apologise or leave office. Sometimes they get prosecuted but convictions don’t tend to stick (for those few that get prosecuted).

– accountability, transparency and responsibility about public spending. Unfortunately Spain has a lot of institutionalised corruption, as a result of the closed lists and the “favours culture” that has dominated the country for decades. For example it is still common practice for developers to give bribes to local authorities to ensure their projects get approved. The tender process for public contracts is more like a smoke screen. Construction contracts are often given to people with ties with people in a position of influence. It is more important who you know than merit.

– respectful political discourse. Since I can remember there are two Spains and they are not able to engage in constructive conversation with one another. I was shocked the first time I visited the USA in 2003 and I saw one Democrat and a Republican talking about the Iraq war. They had opposite views on the subject but were able to speak about it calmly. It showed me that the Spain and world I wanted was possible somehow.

– using political office and high level positions to pocket money privately. There are many instances of this, starting from the top, the former King of Spain Juan Carlos and one of his sons in law, who used the Royal brand to get contracts and money into their personal accounts. 

I will stop here, I don’t want to make this too long. Considering the above I feel very sad that there seems to be a transition for the USA to become more like Spain, instead of the other way around. 

I think that would be bad news for everyone. For all of the USA citizens because the government wouldn’t be there to support them in any way. But also for the citizens from other countries.

Without examples of decency and accountability in political systems it would be much harder to demand that in places where it is not born naturally. You don’t know what you don’t know and it is very sad to see new generations getting used to the extreme bickering or disconnecting from politics all together because it is so toxic that is not appealing.

If the majority detach from the conversation about how society should work, only the extremes would make their voice heard and extremes are never good positions to build something where everyone would thrive to their highest potential.

I would urge you to be objective and critical about anything you read, even this letter. Feel free to research the points I made about how Spain works and make your own conclusions on whether USA is becoming closer to it or not. Look at how Spain’s economy is right now and discern whether you feel that is a future you would want, if you are a USA citizen. Think about your own country if you have another nationality. How would you like it to work?

Going back to why I am taking the liberty of writing to you. 

Perhaps you are a citizen with very strong views about politics (whether left or right). No matter your inclination I would hope that corruption, lack of transparency, waste and unfairness are not traits you enjoy in society. These issues should not be political. Opposing them should be the norm because those behaviours don’t benefit anyone except those at the very very top. And let’s be honest, how many people are able nowadays to get to those super high end positions?

I would encourage you to stop bickering about the other side just because. That is not constructive and makes everything going in circles. Don’t let anger or fear run you. I know it is tempting. I’ve been there. Anger and fear are extremely powerful but they are just part of the human experience. They can lead you to incredible personal growth if you work with them, instead of them working on you. There are ways we can deal with them and release them so you don’t let them consume you and influence everything you think and feel.

If you have been detached from politics because of how toxic they have become I would implore you to reconnect with them and start demanding politeness and civility. I know sometimes conversations get very heated and it can be very unpleasant. It is easier to walk away or stay quiet. I believe that if enough people request respect in a respectful manner to each other, the media and politicians, all of them would have to adapt to what the people is demanding.

It may take a while but at least you would be doing something to improve the situation rather than look away and hope it gets better. If you struggle expressing your voice there are tools you can learn: how to set limits consciously and politely, how to raise your point without offending and how to request respect, respectfully. I’ve also been in that learning process.

Without people in the middle expressing a voice, the likely scenario is that things become more and more polarised. There are many examples of extreme political movements that even started as elected movements and ended up reaching horrible and disastrous proportions throughout history.

Currently political chaos seems to be the currency in many countries. Whether because of wars going on in the land or the effects of a foreign war coming onshore. And whilst that can be demoralising, confusing and enraging because of all the change and fear that chaos can bring, chaos can also be a window of opportunity for something new to be created.

There are things that could be improved in almost every political and government systems: health care as a human right for everyone, access to education, labour, food and shelter. As a fellow human being wouldn’t you want to have these areas of your life secured, so that you can focus your time, knowledge and skills on things that you enjoy and be compensated handsomely for your efforts and merit? How would you spend your time?

You may think this is a naive or crazy question. We have the technology and the means to change the way we live for everyone, without having to take anything from anyone. There is no need to see any other human being as an enemy, we are all sharing the same boat (planet earth). I truly believe that a new world can be built upon this principle.

So perhaps all that keeps changing brings an opportunity for a different system to get attention in the amidst of all the chaos.

I hope when the opportunity presents itself you are there voicing your opinions with civility so we can all add our points of view and create together something for everyone and something we can all be proud of. A true society for the 21st century.

Kindest regards and best of luck.

Ines Lopez