SHORT STORY THE GOOD MAN
THE GOOD MAN
Automatic traslation from the original story in Spanish. Not checked manually
Dijor was a good man, always willing to help those who needed it. He was born and lived in a small country, so small that almost no one knew how to locate it on maps.
Despite being a country that, due to its size, could seem insignificant, in reality it was a rich and prosperous land, which was run by politicians, who, like those of other larger countries, were also highly corrupt. Of course, with the ability to throw bones at the people at the right moment so that everyone would be, if not happy, at least quiet.
He said that like all good men, he was quite deluded and with almost exacerbated good faith, he thought that those consummate chorizos did not rob the people, they simply did not know how to do it better. Therefore, he decided that he would try to enlighten them so that they could improve their behavior.
He tried in vain to meet with the leaders of the different parties, but there was no way to achieve it. After thinking about the topic for a long time, it seemed to him that they must be very busy and couldn’t waste time. His naivety and absolute conviction of the goodness of human beings did not allow him to realize reality.
Then a great idea occurred to him: he would become a politician! This way he could explain his ideas in parliament and surely everyone would agree.
To achieve this, he set to work to obtain the 2,000 signatures that he needed to be able to register a new party. In fact, he went house to house telling them his ideas and in a short time he got them.
Once the new party was registered, which I called “DPPEP” (that is, From the People For The People), with new elections already around the corner, he contacted the leaders of the other parties, who this time accepted. possibly see him to foresee future alliances, in the unlikely event that he obtained parliamentary representation.
He explained to them his ideas to improve the conditions of the people and at the end of the conversations he presented what, from his point of view, was the star idea. This idea consisted of the following: to force politicians to do their best, they should give the people a tool. This tool would consist of voting abstention greater than 15% and blank and null votes becoming empty seats, with the same proportion of votes as those awarded to politicians.
Everyone, invariably, praised his ideas, but inside they were upset. At present, the political disenchantment was such that only 50% of those registered as possible voters voted.
Once he finished his round of hearings, Dijor felt very satisfied. He was convinced that, due to the way all the leaders had reacted, they would implement the measure, even if he did not have representation in parliament.
Election day arrived and the boredom of the electorate towards all known politicians (only 49% of the census had voted) produced a miracle and the DPPEP won by an overwhelming majority… Dijor was jumping for joy, he could finally help really to his neighbours. While the rest of the politicians shit on everything.
Once elected president, Dijor, in the first session of the chamber, proposed his new electoral law. He would prepare it and, in a few days, he would put it to a vote for its sure approval, since he had enough of a majority for it.
The rest of the leaders of the other parties knew that if they wanted to continue living off the story, they had to avoid such atrocity. Therefore, they quickly moved among the DPPEP parliamentarians to promise them the earth and the moon… there was only one obstacle left to overcome: Dijor.
Curiously, very few days later, evidently before the law was presented, Dijor suffered a traffic accident in which he died instantly.
With the connivance of the DPPEP parliamentarians, it was decided to call new elections, in these DPPEP, it no longer existed. Of course, all its members were active in the ranks of the other parties… There would be many more mouths to feed…
Do you know who would pay for it?
The Good Man – Short stories series – Copyright ©Montserrat Valls and Juan Genovés