Counting Stars turns 20 years old with the same freedom and without any subvention

@ElentirENG ESGL 7·15·2024 · 4:23 0

On this day, July 15, 2004, the first article on this blog was published. It's hard to believe, but two decades have passed.

Counting Stars and credibility
Counting Stars and its guardian angels

There are few blogs that last this long, and even fewer that have a single author. Because although some people believe that this is a diary with a group of people updating it daily, I have to say that I am only me to write, prepare the images and publish. I consider myself very lucky to get here, especially considering the people who, being younger than me, are no longer among us.

I make an aside: although usually only I write this blog, on this 20th anniversary I have invited some friends to write about Counting Stars. These are people who I know read me and whom I value very much: Francisco José Alcaraz, Santiago Abascal, Luis del Pino, Małgorzata Wołczyk, Francisco José Contreras and Francisco Javier Fernández Tarrío. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for the beautiful words you have dedicated to me, words that have moved me.

This blog started as a literary hobby. I had no more aspirations than that. Little by little it has been diversifying its contents on other issues that matter to me. Nowadays, Contando Estrelas dedicates a large part of its content to current affairs, not only because they interest me, but also because of a moral responsibility: with certain things that are happening in the world, I would not sleep peacefully if I did not make any contribution to improve things through the tool that I value most and that I use best: the word.

As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know, Counting Stars is a free and independent site, but it is not neutral nor does it pretend to be. I have very clear principles that could be summarized, broadly speaking, in the defense of Spain, the West, freedom and human life. I don't want to be neutral and equidistant when such important things are threatened in different ways. Maybe I won't achieve much with this blog, but if I can provide arguments that are useful to you, I think this will already be worth it.

However, I want you to keep one thing in mind: I'm just a guy with a blog. I only intend to defend my principles and tell things that I find interesting. The authorship of my articles is the least important. What matters most to me is what I say in them and above all I am concerned about saying it with rigor, coherence, freedom and independence. Precisely for this reason, this site does not receive subsidies nor does it ask for them. I also do not receive any kind of aid from any organization or company. I support it with my own resources.

In these 20 years I have published more than 23,500 posts here. Today this blog is read in many Spanish-speaking countries and also in other countries, thanks to its English edition. In the last month the countries with the most readers have been, in this order, Spain (my Homeland), United States, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, United Kingdom, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Germany, Canada , France, Netherlands, Uruguay, Norway, Italy, Dominican Republic, Sweden, Costa Rica and a country for which I feel great affection: Poland.

Obviously, this would not exist without the constant support of my family, Isaac's technical assistance (especially considering the enormous number of computer attacks that this blog suffers) and the support and attention of the people who read this small corner of the network every day and to whom you share its contents. And since I am a Christian, I cannot forget that none of this would be possible without the help of God and the intercession of Saint John Paul II, because only in this way can I explain why this continues and has achieved the large audience it has today despite my numerous defects.

I finish these lines, like other years, with my favorite verses, a poem by J.R.R. Tolkienwhich has served as a reference for me for a long time:

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

I hope we can continue reading for many years. Thank you all very much for the valuable time you dedicate to reading me. God bless you.