A good slogan can summarize the life of a person, a political party or even a country. Some set such firm criteria that they can summarize a historical moment.
“Come and take them”, supposedly said by Leonidas at the battle of Thermopylae, and which is the motto of the current Greek army, is an expression of courage that conveys the idea that they prefer to die for their cause rather than give up.
Another phrase that moves deep fibers and calls for a total battle for ideas is the one with which the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, ended many of his speeches: “Fatherland or death, we will win.” There is no turning back, there is no middle ground but extreme. And the extremes, normally, are bad, but the phrase is forceful.
And what about that, while England succumbed under the fire of German aviation, in World War II: “Resist, resist” In practice, he had no choice but to resist to see what would happen next. But they are two words that, said with due emotion, or due terror, summarize that historic moment.
Another, from these parts, probably disastrous, is: “America for the Americans”, which even sounds pretty, but summarizes a whole policy of the use of force, if necessary, by the owner of the neighborhood on his little and poor neighbours.
At the local level, I was always attracted by a phrase that showed the parsimonious character of a fierce politician who knew how to play with time and wait for the right moment to attack, convinced that by doing so she would rule the national political jungle for a long time, I refer to Ulises Heureaux (Lilís), when he said, before becoming ruler and dictator: “Mine arrives”.
One cannot deny, also, the forcefulness of the Trujillo campaign phrase: “And I will continue on horseback.” Not even those with which former President Joaquín Balaguer ended many of his last speeches: “To the reformist charge, to the charge, at the pace of winners.” Tremendous phrase, despite being a modified and expanded copy of those used by the Colombian leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán to motivate his co-religionists in his race for the presidency of their country: Charge, charge!
Balaguer always showed admiration for Gaitán, I even think he was in Colombia as part of the Dominican diplomatic delegation when “the bogotazo” in 1948. And, continuing with Balaguer, I don’t think there is a phrase or slogan of a Dominican political party that exceeds that of the reformist party: “Neither injustices nor privileges.” That phrase contains everything that could be expected from a political party in power, it manifests equity, equality before the law, rule of justice, separation of powers, respect for ideas and differences in democracy; without a doubt it is a complete political locution.
However, that political maxim represents the opposite of what his years in office were. It would only be necessary to exclude from it the conjunction “nor” and we would have the definition of the reformist years in the national political power: Injustices and privileges.
Oh life!
