The future of the hero is in the memory of the people.

If this succinct phrase encompasses the excitement of well deserved fame, it is missing its much needed corollary: the future of the people is also contained within their memory.
Those in power whatever their persuasion know this only too well and covering up of events from the past is the common currency of politicians who want to control the people without having to undergo the cruel spotlight of the recent past, a past which often does not suit their agenda.
The past is lobotomised, refused entry, dressed up in another guise according to the whims of those who lead out fellow citizens. There remains but the official version of the past, one that is repeated endlessly, is ever present with its symbols and ceremonial rites. This well preserved past occupies centre stage and prevents the more troubling events of the real past from outmanoeuvring the misrepresentations encountered in daily life and their twisted truths.

Be reassured when I speak of politicians I am not targeting just the party faithful and other newcomers who have been elected to office by official means promising the masses that they will resolving a false set of problems. I am targeting the whole class of individuals who direct our daily lives. You could contend that their management of our lives is even more perverted, false and corrupt precisely because it is based on denying facts from the past, covering them up or ignoring them. And don’t be deceived, a pre-established strategy of covering up or ignoring the past is more dangerous than denying the past: it stifles all debate, to the great relief of the official stranglers of the truth. Covering up the people’s memory is often in direct proportion to the need of those in power, either elected officially or acting in parallel, to override democracy… for those living in a democracy or not. For those in government or the elites that serve them, for those who make up official bodies, in the army, the police, as well as the faith denominations and the technocrats of all sorts, and of course amongst the friends of those in power, it’s a game of who can forget the most, the quickest.

This twenty-first century is a past master in social manipulations, covering up frenetically each individual’s allegiance to a certain class or clique. We are all consumers who are managed under the guise of democracy. We are all subject to the laws of the market, laws that the high priests reserve for the exclusive right of their caste… at any price. This price - either in human or financial terms - is paid for, as it should be, by others. This caste is propped up by an official forgetting created by the burial of essential facts from the recent or distant past.

The powers that be do not want to justify their existence, nor what it costs, nor their anti-democratic subterfuges. This is even more so for those who exercise power. A well orchestrated forgetting is the essence of their irresponsibility, an irresponsibility that they want to be all encompassing and with no right of appeal – both in relation to the past and the future. Truth is the preserve of the victor.

Down with history, long live the publicity machine!