Bookfest la Romexpo Bucuresti, Joi 29 mai, ora 17, in standul Editurii Rao, Profesorul Petre Anghel ne va face partasi la un altfel de istorie literara. Una ‘politica’. Perioada acoperita este cea postbelica, adica exact cea in care si-au aratat masura valorii – atat ca literati cat si ca oameni – marii scriitori veniti dintre razboaie cat si cei care domina acum peisajul cultural romanesc.
Pe de o parte un act de mare curaj, pe de alta un gest extrem de necesar culturii romane.
Am ajuns sa ma intreb din ce in ce mai des pe ce lume traim.
Oameni politici trecuti prin multe care nu stiu (sau nu le mai pasa?!?) ca vorbele care le ies pe gura ii caracterizeaza mai intai pe ei si abia apoi pe cei despre care vorbesc…
Comentatori si analisti politici interesati mai degraba de ‘deteriorarea imaginii’ decat de semnificatia reala a faptelor… Asta conteaza acum, ‘cat mai cantareste Franta’ sau ‘care sunt nemultumirile oamenilor, ce ii face sa se uite cu nemultumire/dezamagire catre Bruxelles’?!?
Sa fie toate astea un simptom ca prea multi dintre politicienii de astazi nu mai au ca scop rezolvarea problemelor cetatii ci acapararea puterii si apoi mentinerea ei cu orice pret?
Ca o prea mare parte a presei a renuntat la rolul de gardian al democratiei/oglinda a societatii si s-a transformat in aparat de propaganda?
Ca prea multi dintre cei descrisi mai sus sunt de fapt incapabili?
Really?
Have you ever heard of ‘be careful what you wish for, lest it come true’?
Besides this being apparently false and nothing but a piece of propaganda I have a huge problem with: “Russia does not need minorities!”
Really? At one time or another every mainstream idea of today has been promoted by a minority. What if people along the history would have agreed with the ‘Putins’ of this world? Would we still proudly inhabit our old caves and feed on raw meat hunted down with bare hands? Would the Sun be still circling around the the Earth?
I understand the urge to find and follow a fatherly figure every time we get into trouble but shouldn’t we remember what happened last time when things were run by people who had so much confidence in their judgement as to refuse any advice?
How many times must history replay itself before we finally understand ‘live and let live’ and ‘ultimately you are solely responsible for yourself’?
I overheard this in the subway:
– You should stop running around looking for perfection. Not everyone can be like you.
– ‘Like me’? No, that would be too hard indeed!
But reaching mere perfection is not that difficult!’
My son, three years away from voting age, is nevertheless aware of what’s going on.
Yesterday he recounted me an exchange he had witnessed on Ask.fm:
– Hey dude, are you going to vote? (“Dude” has just turned 18, the first in their gang to be able to vote)
– No! The way I see it nowadays going to vote is like being asked to choose what kind of shit you’ll be served for dinner. Why bother?
– I think understand what you mean. You compare a country with a bunch of guys having to eat at the same cafeteria who finally have an opportunity to choose between chefs/menus but only to discover that the available candidates are unpalatable. Rather pertinent comparison, specially after finally understanding that ‘negative voting’ (voting for the challenger only as a punishment for the incumbent, knowing from the beginning that both are equivalent) is not really a punishment for the incumbent but a carte blanche for the next incumbent and a shot in his own foot for the voter.
– That’s exactly what I feel. Finally someone who understands me…
– Well, I might understand you but I’d still go to the polling station. Mainly because I don’t agree with you about all candidates being worthless – even if you don’t get to vote for the winner nor for the second best by choosing someone in earnest your vote conveys a clear message, ‘this is exactly what I want’.
Even if I didn’t like anyone I’d still go there and strike out everybody on the ballot box, just to send everyone of them a stiff warning: ‘I don’t trust anyone of you but since I care strongly about my fate I’m going to watch closely whatever you’ll do from now on!’
Going back to your example with the cafeteria forfeiting the chance to express your opinion is beyond letting others to decide what kind of shit you’re going to enjoy.
After all not voting is a cross between a ‘blanket approval’ for what ever is going to happen and admitting that ‘I don’t care enough to move my butt to the polling station’. And in this case you shouldn’t be asking yourself anymore ‘what happened to these politicians that made them so callous?’
I’ve been using cinnamon sticks for rice pilaf or curries/stews for some 5 or 6 years now.
My son, 15 years old, who had been raised on a mixture of Northern Transylvanian (my wife is a native of Dej) and Romanian/Armenian food (I’m a half breed myself), (his parents take turns at the cooking stove), is used with ever changing recipes. That doesn’t means he accepts everything…in fact he is rather choosy, always having an alternative develops a certain habit of asking for the better of whatever is available at one moment!
Anyway, today – for the first time, he asked for the cinnamon stick and not only picked every grain of rice from it and sucked on it as if it was a lolly-pop but he also made a picture of it and posted it on his FB wall.
So learning new habits is not that hard, it only takes an open heart on the side of the student and a lot of patience from the teacher…not to mention the fact that the teacher’s main goal has to be the student’s best interest, otherwise the whole exercise is doomed to eventual failure!
PS
I must thank Jhumpa Lahiri (“The Namesake”) for introducing me to the joys of using cinnamon sticks.
Found this picture on FB.
A very strong reminder that we really need to start thinking with our own heads.
‘Newspapers’ are just as technological as smartphones are!!!
It’s how WE chose to use the available technology that makes all the difference in the world!
I’m sorry but you’ll have to read this first in order to fully understand what I want to say. Just click on “Borderlands” and you’ll get there.
“Borderlands: Hungary Maneuvers is republished with permission of Stratfor.”
Horthy and Antonescu, his Romanian counterpart, did some successful balancing during WWII and saved indeed some precious time for the many Jews that happened to live in those two countries. Also, by doing so, they avoided their countries being invaded twice, by both the Germans and the Russians, as Poland and Czechoslovakia were
But, unfortunately, the longer term results were horrendous.
No, not that what happened in Hungary in 1956 was far worse than the 1968 occupation of Prague or that present day Romania is in a lot worse, economical and political, shape than Poland despite having many more natural resources…
The real problem is that both people lost their self-esteem precisely because they didn’t put up any real resistance against neither of those two aggressors. And this is the explanation for what is going on right now!
PS European Union is not a failure. Yes, sometimes it does appear like one only so did the League of Nations to Hitler. And in the end it was the countries from the old Europe, with some American help, that succeeded in defeating Hitler and containing Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev.
Well…yeah …probably…. but I’m not sure about ‘do more drugs’ though!
While smarter people are indeed more curious and more inclined to experiment than the rest of us they also understand faster that one cannot remain smarter for long after ‘doing drugs’ on a regular basis.
So ‘try more drugs’… maybe… ‘do more drugs’… not if they are really smart!
nicichiarasa 