2024, the demise of the politically correct left

(By Steven Arrazola de Oñate)

For the fourth year in a row I would like to share my New Year’s letter with you. Two years ago I predicted that 2022 would be the year of Freedom. After all, at that time we were still dependent on an unscientific, insane and totalitarian QR pass to gain access to cafes and restaurants. Uninhibited parents were not even allowed in the changing rooms with their children after sports. It was even worse with our northern neighbors. At the time, they were still in an almost complete lockdown, which meant that a lot of sympathetic and intelligent Dutch people came shopping in Antwerp. A bigger middle finger to their hugely illiberal prime minister was almost unthinkable.

Last year I wrote that 2023 would be the year of The Unmasking. It’s certainly up for debate, but I’d rather see and drink a glass half full than a glass half empty. So I would dare to say that it was effectively the year of revelations. Not long ago, a large part of the population still completely believed in the safety and effectiveness of the imposed injections as the salvation from the corona crisis. But when I talk to my best friends now – those who have received three or four shots – I hear them unanimously say that they will never accept such a shot again. They realize all too well that many in their area became ill, not from COVID but from the injections themselves.

By the way, it was never about those injections. What people want to do with their bodies honestly leaves me completely cold. However, what I have been really angry about all this time is how our government has limited our fundamental rights with half-truths and, above all, with many lies. It made me angry that the media, which should actually be the fourth estate, did not provide a counterpoint but rather served as a mouthpiece for the government. That propaganda approach reminded me of what happened in Germany in the 1930s. If I dared to mention this at the time, there was a loud protest. Fortunately, this is now increasingly recognized by renowned scientists and within a few years it will also be looked back on in this way. The sad consequence of both the political lies and the attitude of the media is that there are now many people who simply no longer believe anything that is told on television. Unfortunately, they assume that if the media says A, it must actually be B. This disturbing trend means that many more people today believe that viruses do not exist or even that the Earth is flat. That is of course very sad.

I think we partly owe the Unmasking that took place this year to Elon Musk. Just over a year ago he became the owner of what was then Twitter (now X). He did not allow critical posts to be immediately removed from his platform. Suddenly, many more people had access to information that showed that countless scientists and doctors worldwide had a completely different view of the entire Corona issue. These messages spread like wildfire, meaning that traditional TV experts no longer had the sole right to provide information. Of course, an immense smear campaign against Elon Musk was soon launched worldwide. He was ridiculed and mocking reports appeared about his alleged stupid investments and huge losses. But in recent days, the same media had to admit that Elon Musk has seen his total net worth increase by as much as $101 billion by 2023. This almost doubles his wealth in just one year, making him the richest person on earth once again. Personally, I don’t think it is entirely healthy for someone to amass such immense wealth, but I am pleased that this man also uses his money for positive purposes. One of those goals is to bring out the truth and re-strengthen freedom of expression.

It was actually quite comical that the European Union spent a huge amount of energy this year trying to banish X from Europe. They argue that this must be done to protect freedom of expression. Ironic, isn’t it? Protect freedom of expression by restricting it. The major media outlets have extensively discussed and defended this news, but the great thing is that more and more people have realized the absurdity of this this year. In my view, this process seems unstoppable, and that is why I am extremely hopeful about 2024 and am convinced that this will be the year in which the politically correct left is on the decline. For several decades, this specific club has acquired increasing power. They occupy the highest positions in politics, the media and have great influence on our universities. In their circles, where there is more than enough money, they are convinced that their worldview is the only correct one and that everyone should conform to it. Anyone who does not want to go along is labeled as a dangerous extremist who must be silenced in every possible way. Within their circles they adhere to beliefs such as the immediate banning of fossil fuels, the exaggerated threat of CO2 to our planet, an excessive presence of nitrogen in nature, the abolition of meat consumption, the disappearance of cash money, the erasure of national borders and national cultures, the idea that there are countless genders beyond male and female and, above all, the idea that the government should have total control over the lives of its citizens.

If you dare to ask questions about climate policy, you will immediately be labeled as a climate denier. This is again an effective way to silence people. There is hardly anyone who will deny that the climate is constantly changing. Should we do more? Honestly, I don’t know the answer. What I do know is that the impact of human activity on our climate is relatively small and that the measures taken across Europe in recent years are an astronomical waste of our hard-earned money. The politically correct left seems intent on expanding this policy even further in the coming years, taking even more billions from our pockets for a minimal effect on global warming. But fortunately the lie seems to be slowly being punctured.

A few weeks ago there was a poll in the Telegraaf in the Netherlands. Of the 7,488 participants, no less than 81 percent indicated that they disagreed with the statement that extra attention is needed for the climate. The same percentage said they were not really concerned about climate change. The Dutch are sometimes a bit faster than the Flemish, so the percentage of critical citizens will probably be higher there than in Flanders. Nevertheless, I suspect that this position is now also shared by the majority in Flanders. My hope for the coming year is that we move from climate fear to a more realistic approach to the climate issue.

The power of the left-wing gang has gradually increased in recent decades, and with it their arrogance. Fortunately, pride often comes before a fall. Corona was the icing on their cake because they managed to scare the population so much that almost everyone slavishly followed the most absurd measures to combat the virus. However, their exaggerated behavior has made more and more people realize that we should no longer tolerate that behavior and manipulation. While the politically correct left claimed that vaccinations, face masks and lockdowns would stop the ‘dangerous’ virus, more and more people began to see through the lies and oppose them. These critical thinkers were often harshly dismissed as spreaders of disinformation and even as ‘dangerous to the state’. Fortunately, time has favored these critical thinkers; fear is always temporary and lies are eventually exposed.

Today, a large majority wonder why the politically correct left has lied to us so much. This clearly resulted in the Netherlands in the elections on November 22. The traditional, politically correct left-wing parties all took a beating. And this is just the beginning. In the Netherlands they will now do everything they can to portray the big winner of the elections as a danger to democracy and other unfounded accusations. They accuse the winner of things that they have mainly done themselves in recent years. The result will be that even more people will see through the lies of the politically correct left and the PVV will become even bigger in the next elections. We already see this in the polls. On November 22, 1 in 4 Dutch people voted for Wilders, but this has now risen to 1 in 3. New parties such as BBB and NSC are also doing well, while the traditional parties have become almost irrelevant. We will see this phenomenon throughout Europe in the coming year. Also in Flanders, the politically correct left-wing parties CD&V, Vooruit, Open Vld and Groen will be almost completely decimated after June 9, 2024. People are tired of their lies. The media, which mainly employs politically correct left-wingers, will continue to support them but it will not make a significant difference. Their game is over and that is truly a blessing.

My resolutions for this year? I mentioned above that I was angry, and I was. That anger was often my motivation to keep writing. After all, I didn’t understand why so few people could see through the lies. However, because I was often angry, I also attacked politicians and television experts ad hominem too often. As a result, my actual message sometimes got snowed under. In the meantime, the anger has diminished and I have gained some more life experience. From the new year onwards you will find no or much less anger in my texts. That is my good intention. Of course I remain critical, because there are still many lies that need to be exposed. I will continue to write, but you will mainly find hope and possible solutions in my texts and less emphasis on anger.

Tonight most people will be celebrating, which is a wonderful tradition. Unfortunately, it has also become a sad habit for young people to burn cars and cause other destruction in major cities across Europe. It will happen again tonight. This is unfortunately a result of the over-indulgent behavior and policies of the politically correct left. What message do you think our Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden will convey after the vandalism in our capital? She will probably repeat her speeches from the past years word for word. She will acknowledge the facts, praise the security forces for their appropriate action, announce a task force to prevent such incidents in the future, but above all emphasize the alleged great dangers of the extreme right. The good news is that next year everything will change for the better. People are fed up with the lies of the politically correct left.

I would like to end with the wish that in the coming year you will mainly do what makes you happy. The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, but they make the best of everything. Even in the most challenging circumstances, you can still make your year something wonderful. Happiness is almost completely independent of external factors. It is where you find it, rarely where you look for it. It depends more on our willingness to embrace it than on our efforts to obtain it. So even if this year seems challenging at times, you can still make it a wonderful year. Because no one else but you determines your happiness. Only you. I wish you a warm and wonderful year full of positive energy and hopefully we will meet each other somewhere in good health. And then I would like to toast that together. Cheers.