are intellectuals and artists who use part of the forbidden history for dissertations, lectures and exhibitions, but not for giving socially committed opinions and much less for taking action. The absolute lack of faith in the power of truth has already metastasized, permeating the dissenting thought. The dissidents face repudiation acts, subtle or open fierce harassment; sometimes they are beating and their freedom of movement is restricted, but many of them are discredited by incoherent behavior, lack of financial transparency and disingenuous militancy as a way to travel abroad and flee into exile. And finally, the scale of values has been inverted. A delinquent or a prostitute are heroes if they are economically successful; by the same token, some workers are also heroes if they avoid the full force of law while diverting resources, provided they are politically correct— the latter term entails an aberration in itself— or some government officials who prostitute their sense of truth and responsibility to the people in exchange for perks.
57