Does an independent blog like Counting Stars still make sense today?

I'll be honest: I've been asking myself the question I just wrote in the title of this article for a few weeks now.

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When Contando Estrelas started, almost 21 years ago, blogs were very popular. Today, there are quite a few of us left, at least considering the number of blogs that existed back then. Some blogs back then were quite popular. I've always seen this blog as a small candle in a setting filled with nautical flares. The flares provide a powerful light for a certain amount of time. Then they go out. This blog has never had such a powerful light, but here it is, maintaining its small flame.

I've never had great aspirations for Contando Estrelas. The blog has grown as my love for it has grown. Since I don't generate advertising revenue and no one pays me to write, there's nothing rushing me, nor is there a financial incentive that would make the blog lose its purpose as soon as the income dries up, as has sometimes happened with some media outlets when subsidies stopped flowing or advertisers went elsewhere.

Although it may sound strange, one of the great advantages of this blog is also one of its great disadvantages: its independence. It's an advantage because no one dictates what I should think. I write what I want, when I want. The disadvantage is that independence often means being excluded from mainstream opinion and large groups. It's very comfortable to have a government, a political party, or a powerful organization on your side, but rowing alone is hard. Still, it's always seemed worth it to me, and if I've ever doubted it, it's enough to remember what Miguel de Cervantes wrote in Chapter 53 of "Don Quixote":

Freedom, Sancho, is one of the most precious gifts heaven has bestowed upon mankind; no treasures the earth holds nor the sea conceals can match it; for freedom, as well as for honor, one can and should risk one's life.

In these times when public discussion is polarized by political parties, when it seems that debate is limited to repeating slogans issued by others without pausing to think much about whether that's right or not, what's the point of a blog like this? Is there any chance that what I say here will have any influence on society? I'd like to think so, that it's worth engaging in a debate of ideas without anyone dictating to you. Contando Estrelas may seem like an insignificant website (it is, compared to many media outlets with much larger audiences), but it's my candle, my little, beloved candle.

I know that if this candle were to go out, few people would care, but for me it would mean giving up something very precious: a means to defend principles that are currently being questioned from different points on the political map, which seem to coincide in their efforts to decree the demise of conservative liberalism from positions that are not new, no matter how many new disguises they may take: the various forms of socialism (including communism and fascism), nationalism, lukewarmness, and incoherence, among others.

At a time when Spain is experiencing a critical situation, with a corrupt government that is demolishing the rule of law; in the midst of a very serious situation in the West, with wokism trampling on reason and common sense, with social democracy degrading our democracy with its legislative diarrhea, and with Russian imperialism committing endless atrocities in Ukraine amidst the indifference of many; with Chinese communism increasing its influence, not only in Asia but also on our continent; and with Islamism perpetrating terrorist attacks as terrible as the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, those of us who defend Spain, life, liberty, and Western culture have reason not to remain silent, to not throw in the towel, and to continue defending our principles, even if we sometimes think that our voice reaches few.

I believe that in a democratic society there must be independent voices, even if they are voices as small as this blog, because there is life beyond governments, political parties, and mainstream media. That has always been one of the reasons for Contando Estrelas's existence, and God willing, it will continue to be so as long as I can continue writing it. As Javier Benegas says today in Disidentia (I recommend you read his article), I'm not giving up.

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Image: Grok.