Let's laugh then. Laughter is a philosophy” - Eça de Queiros, 1871, “A joyful campaign” in “As barbs.

Let's laugh then. Laughter is a philosophy” - Eça de Queiros, 1871, “A joyful campaign” in “As barbs. Without a doubt, since then our country has progressed, economically, socially and culturally. But Eça's caricature continues to be relevant. Returning to the objective of As Barbas: in the introductory booklet, whose success forced a second edition, we immediately learned what they were coming from: “We did not want to be complicit in the general indifference. And here we begin, without bitterness or anger, to point out day by day what we could call – the progress of decadence”. What would be done by putting “the joke at the service of justice”: “Let’s laugh then. Laughter is a philosophy. Laughter is often a salvation. And in constitutional politics, at least, laughter is an opinion.” “And so, in front of a disgusted and indifferent public, this great farce called constitutional intrigue takes place. The chandeliers are lit. But for the spectator, the country has nothing in common with what is represented on stage; he is not interested in the characters and finds them all impure and null; he is not interested in the scenes and finds them all useless and immoral. …… The owners try to live at the expense of the State, becoming deputies for 2$500 reis a day. The industry itself is protected by the State and works mainly in view of the State. The press, to a certain extent, also lives off the State. Science depends on the State. The State is the hope of poor families and ruined homes. …..the entire nation lives off the State. Right from the first exams in high school, young people see in it their rest and the guarantee of their future…..through all this the feeling of city and homeland was lost. In Portugal the citizen disappeared. And the entire country is nothing more than a …… Nation suited for dictatorship — or for conquest. ? This is unacceptable in any case. One of two things: either it doesn't take itself seriously, and it's ridiculous; or it takes itself seriously, and it is tragic. But nothing less.” (A joyful campaign – Eça de Queroz – Cap I 1871). It is curious that those who claim to be liberal are the ones who fight most for the State's favors, for the State's guarantees, for the profits from businesses guaranteed by the State. Liberals are the main corrupters of the State, because they are the ones who depend most on it. Televisions are their means of pulling the wool over the eyes of believers so that they do not see what is happening to the would-be "accusers".