From: Lucian Mogosanu Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 06:39:26 +0000 (+0300) Subject: posts: 00b X-Git-Tag: v0.2~8 X-Git-Url: https://git.mogosanu.ro/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=1c970cdc0ccdeb5795b62ea34f623987243743d1;p=thetarpit.git posts: 00b --- diff --git a/posts/y00/00b-romania-s-dumb-nationalism.markdown b/posts/y00/00b-romania-s-dumb-nationalism.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f59d24a --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/00b-romania-s-dumb-nationalism.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +--- +postid: 00b +title: Romania's dumb nationalism +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +date: August 24, 2013 +tags: asphalt +--- + +I was discussing in the footnote of a previous article that, I quote: + +> The only novel taught in Romanian schools in the first eighth grades is, as +> far as I know, “Baltagul” (“The Hatchet”), written by one of the first +> Romanian communist writers, Mihail Sadoveanu. The novel attempts to make a +> parallel with the myth of Isis and Osiris, at the same time introducing +> traditional Romanian themes and motifs. I suppose the only reason they keep +> it in the curriculum is a dumb sense of nationalism. + +The fact is, I was at least partially wrong by assuming that the only (or the +main) reason for that is the "dumb sense of nationalism" of Romanians. The +fundamental reason is in fact Romania's lack of relevant literature, which +makes this nationalism dumb in the first place. And unfortunately, it's not the +only aspect that does. + + + +As you might have probably noticed from my name, I am Romanian and proud to be +so, only not for the reasons invoked by most Romanians. What are these reasons, +then? you might wonder. Let me, for the purpose of enlightening you, enumerate +a couple of them. + +First of all, Romanians like to see themselves as an opressed nation from a +historical point of view. They like to believe that the Dacians who inhabited +Romania's geographical space 2000+ years ago were somehow "oppressed" by Romans +after Trajan's Dacian wars, when in fact historical sources show that Dacian +rulers were nothing but meddlers into the affairs of the Roman Empire, so they +were bound to get burned sooner or later[^1]. Served them right, I say. +Romanians also view the so-called "Romanian states"[^2] as oppressed either by +the Hungarians or by the Ottoman Empire, and as gatekeepers for the so-called +"gates of Europe", a fact which is false, given that the Ottoman Empire invaded +Vienna without any resistance from the "Romanian states". What's more +outrageous is that Wallachian and Moldavian rulers were nothing but docile +puppets put to rule by the Ottomans themselves, that is, until the Russians +intervened and gave us a kick in the ass to give the Turks a kick in the +ass[^3]. + +TL;DR, the history of "Romanians", a nation called so by the guys that came up +with this dumb nationalism in the first place in the first half of the 1800s. +Inspired by an adventurer in the second half of the 16th century called Mihai +Viteazu ("Michael The Brave"), who messed with European powers (much like +Burebista before him), attained power over the three "Romanian states" for a +short time and then got murdered, they decided that since there are people who +speak the same language in all the three regions, these just had to be united. +Who cared about the ethnic and cultural diversity of the entire northern +Balkans and who the heck cared about the opposing interests of said regions and +powers that influenced them? Apparently no one, so they somehow managed to pull +two unions, which some Romanians [opposed at their respective times][1]. But +I'll have to give them credit, they managed it, it was something pretty damn +big, unlike many previous "victories". + +Secondly, Romanians have this bad habit of taking various famous persons of +Romanian origin and calling them Romanian. Local newspapers made a campaign +called "De ce iubesc Romania" ("Why I love Romania")[^4], related to this. +However, Ștefan Odobleja, the scientist, was *not* Romanian, since he +discovered proto-cybernetics in France. Henri Coandă was *not* Romanian, since +he did most of his work in France, Belgium and Germany. Eugène Ionesco was +*not* Romanian, as he spent most of his life in France. Victor Babeș, a +well-known name in biology and medical sciences, was *not* Romanian, as he made +most of his breakthroughs abroad. Need I go on? Sure, they might have been born +in Romania, they might have had Romanian citizenship, but the fact is, Romania +never did anything to help them make their discoveries. The most it did was +give them a kick in the proverbial butt and drive them abroad, where these +highly gifted people could innovate. But no, not in Romania, because Romania +always had other priorities. Sure, this country has been, is and most probably +will be a source of great minds. I'm really not sure, I think it must be a +fluke or something. + +Despite all this, and I feel need to repeat myself, I am proud to be Romanian. +I was born and raised here, I lived a fairly good life so far, so, as a +personal view, Romania is a pretty cool country, although sometimes it doesn't +really seem much of a *country*. Also, I've met Romanians that are good, honest +people and I'm sure I'll meet many more, which gives me the hope this nation +(also known as "we") has the chance of reedeeming itself, and that is mostly by +growing up and out of our stupidity and acknowledging our sorry past. + +[^1]: Don't believe me, read for yourself and prove me that my interpretation +was wrong. +[^2]: Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania, the latter actually part of +Hungary, Habsburg Empire and so on. +[^3]: And to our surprise this we did, without much help from the Russians. +[^4]: An incorrect Romanian title, since it lacks diacritics. The correct +spelling would have been "De ce iubesc România". And y'know, we're talking +about the name of the country they claim to love. It's not malice, it's sheer +incompetence, as per Hanlon's razor. + +[1]: http://www.vestul.ro/stiri/5505/%E2%80%9Eunirea%E2%80%9D-n-a-fost-decat-o-anexare-deghizata.htm