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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Reformation Day

Martin Luther

Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott is Luther's Allons enfants de la Patrie (Marie Jensen).

Four hundred eighty nine years passed since that day of October 21-st, 1517, when Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the gates of Wittenberg's Cathedral.

Was he aware what he was starting? The Christian world would never be as before. Luther questioned the authority of the Church; the world after him would question any authority. Luther challenged the Tradition, based on a literal interpretation of the Bible; the world after him would challenge the literal interpretation of the Bible.


Ein feste Burg is unser Gott

My friends from the Presbyterian Church in Clarendon celebrated last Sunday the Reformation Day, along with all other Protestant churches. Luther's Ninety-Five Theses posted on Wittenberg's Cathedral opened in Europe the way toward religious freedom and diversity; today's liberal churches (like the one in Clarendon, progressive, inclusive and diverse) owe a great debt to this staunched conservative who was accusing Rome of being the New Babylon.

(Church in America)

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Dictionarul Tibetan

Körösi Csoma Sandor


Cartile pe care le citim au fiecare o viata proprie, care curge alaturi de viata noastra, cu visuri, cu asteptari, uneori cu impliniri, alteori cu dezamagiri, o viata in care ani la rand nu se intampla nimic si deodata vin lucruri neasteptate. Este o viata care aproape tot timpul are un singur martor, pe cel care a citit cartea… dar sunt momente in care viata cartii citite este atat de plina incat forteaza participarea mai multor martori.

In ziua cand am implinit doisprezece ani au venit sa ma sarbatoreasca mai multi colegi de la scoala, asa cum se petrecea in fiecare an. Si ca de fiecare data, darurile au fost carti.

Despre una dintre aceste carti vreau sa vorbesc. Nu am citit-o imediat. Cred ca au trecut cateva luni bune pana am luat-o sa o citesc, dar atunci nu am mai lasat-o din mana pana nu am terminat-o.

Korda Istvan, Drumul ce Mare
Se numea Drumul cel Mare, era o traducere din limba maghiara. Pe autor il chema Korda Istvan, nu mai citisem nimic de el. Pe web am gasit deunazi o imagine a editiei in limba maghiara.

Citisem cu catva timp inainte o alta carte tradusa din limba maghiara, a lui Moricz Zsigmond, se numea Fii bun pana la moarte – citisem acolo despre incercarile maghiarilor de a afla tinutul lor de origine – banuit a fi pe undeva prin Asia Centrala – il numeau Magna Hungaria. Acum citeam despre cel care facuse Drumul cel Mare, plecase sa gaseasca Magna Hungaria.

Körösi Csoma Sandor, puiul de secui, care si-a urmat toata viata visul lui din copilarie, sa mearga sa gaseasca Magna Hungaria. A trait in prima jumatate a veacului al nouasprezecelea.

Avea un talent urias pentru limbile straine. Familie de tarani saraci - tatal l-a retras de la scoala si l-a trimis cu oile, Sandor pazea oile si invata de unul singur latina, cu o carte cu fragmente din Virgiliu. Va invata in timpul asta si romaneste, de la ciobanii romani. Va ajunge spre sfarsitul vietii sa cunoasca paisprezece limbi straine, una din ele fiind tibetana.

Dar acum era doar un copil, retras de la scoala si trimis cu oile, care invata de unul singur latina. Un nobil maghiar din tinut infiintase o scoala pentru copiii de secui mai saraci, iar Sandor a ajuns acolo.

Si de atunci avea sa se pregateasca pentru Drumul cel Mare. Va strange ban peste ban, va dormi toata viata pe podea, pentru a se cali – dascalii trageau nadejde ca va ramane pana la urma la scoala, ca profesor – dar el va starui in visul lui. Cineva ii va fura toate economiile, el o va lua de la capat.

L-au trimis la universitatea din Götingen pentru doi ani, se va intoarce de acolo si mai decis sa plece sa descopere tinutul de origine, Magna Hungaria.

De abia la 36 de ani va pleca. Cu postalionul, prin Bucuresti spre Constantinopol. De acolo va lua o corabie spre Asia Mica. La Alep intalneste un negustor armean care ii da o scrisoare de recomandare catre un var din Teheran. Drumurile le va face de acum cu cate o caravana, sau de unul singur. O epidemie de ciuma se ia la intrecere cu el, il ajunge din urma in cate un oras, el paraseste orasul in graba, pleaca mai departe, epidemia o ia inaintea lui si il asteapta in noul loc de popas. Arabi, iranieni, armeni, afgani – zonelor de ses sau de desert le urmeaza lanturi de munti, caldurilor uscate le urmeaza zapezi – si dupa vreun an si ceva Körösi ajunge in India.

Aici incepe imediat sa se intereseze daca poate intra in China – intalneste intr-un han cativa negustori chinezi care ii povestesc despre o anumita regiune in care locuitorii vobesc o limba foarte diferita de a lor.

In ochii autoritatilor britanice, Körösi pare un vagabond suspect, asa ca este arestat. Va fi interogat de un colonel foarte scortos – care insa ii va intelege geniul – si va sti si cum sa il foloseasca. Körösi va petrece urmatorii cinci ani intr-o manastire budista, si va alcatui Dictionarul Tibetan – Englez si Gramatica Tibetana. Va munci alaturi de un calugar budist, Sangye Phuntsock, care va deveni cel mai bun prieten al lui.

O manastire budista asezata pe un varf de munte, se poate ajunge la ea doar cu funicularul. Cinci ani de truda. Erau inca tineri cand au inceput munca, si Körösi, si Sangye Phuntsock, calugarul. Dupa cinci ani amandoi arata ca niste oameni batrani.

Dar Dictionarul Tibetan era gata.

Körösi a continuat sa viseze la continuarea Drumului cel Mare.

Avea de acum patruzeci si sase de ani cand Sangye Phuntsock, calugarul cu care alcatuise Dictionarul Tibetan, a reusit sa-i obtina viza de intrare in China.

Si Körösi a pornit din nou la drum. Avea patruzeci si sase de ani. A ajuns in nordul Indiei, la Darjeeling, si de acolo nu a mai putut inainta. Era prea istovit. A murit la Darjeeling – taina originii maghiarilor avea sa fie dezlegata peste vreo suta de ani, de alti carturari.

Am citit cartea pe nerasuflate.

Si au trecut anii si peste mine.

Cred ca aveam de acum aproape patruzeci de ani cand am avut ocazia sa citesc o alta traducere din limba maghiara – se numea O calatorie in Transilvania anului una mie noua sute patru zeci si trei – autorul era Meliusz Joszef. O carte foarte interesant scrisa, astazi am numi-o postmoderna. Transilvania sfasiata de Dictatul de la Viena. Un intelectual maghiar ramas in partea de sud a Transilvaniei, facand o calatorie in orasele transilvane din zona ramasa in componenta Romaniei, gandindu-se la orasele transilvane din zona ocupata de Ungaria, meditand la destinul acestei provincii. Si intr-unul din capitole a venit vorba si de Körösi Csoma Sandor.

Am reluat cartea citita in copilarie. Acum o citeam cu alti ochi. De abia acum sesizam amanunte peste care trecusem prea usor. Poate cel mai mult m-a impresionat acum staruinta in implinirea visului – Körösi a reusit sa porneasca la drum cand avea treizeci si sase de ani. Cati dintre noi mai au entuziasm si curaj la treizeci si sase de ani? In locul lui, oricine altcineva ar fi ramas la treizeci si sase de ani profesor la scoala unde isi petrecuse tineretea. Si probabil ca din cand in cand s-ar fi gandit cu melancolie la un vis din copilarie care nu avea cum sa se implineasca.

Au mai trecut vreo doi sau trei ani.

Am fost trimis cu niste treburi de serviciu la Targu Mures. Citisem intr-un ziar ca in oras exista o statuie a lui Körösi Csoma Sandor. Intrebam trecatorii, dar nimeni nu stia sa ma lamureasca.

Pana intr-o seara. M-am dus sa vizitez Biblioteca Teleki. Era sapte si jumatate seara, programul bibliotecii era pana la ora opt. Eram impreuna cu un coleg de serviciu.

O doamna care lucra acolo ne-a aratat salile bibliotecii. Parea destul de obosita si de plictisita – ar fi vrut poate sa plece mai devreme acasa si acum trebuia sa isi mai piarda timpul cu doi vizitatori neasteptati. Asa incat prezentarea pe care ne-a facut-o era foarte seaca si simteam o invitatie muta sa plecam mai repede.

Am intrebat-o, Doamna, puteti va rog sa imi spuneti unde se afla statuia lui Körösi Csoma Sandor?

S-a schimbat deodata la fata. De unde stiti de el? I-am istorisit in cateva cuvinte istoria cartii pe care o citisem.

Veniti cu mine, mi-a spus. Am urmat-o intr-o camera unde se afla o casa de fier in perete. A deschis-o si mi-a aratat Dictionarul Tibetan.

Prietenul ei please pe urmele lui Körösi si ajunsese si el pana la Darjeeling. La intoarcere ii daruise ei Dictionarul Tibetan. Drumul il epuizase si pe el, si murise la scurt timp dupa aceea.

Si acum rasfoiam Dictionarul Tibetan si intelegeam ca eram martor la una din acele intamplari neasteptate din viata fiecarei carti pe care o citim de-al lungul vietii noastre.

Totul avea o noima. Primisem cartea in dar in ziua in care implineam treisprezece ani. Si viata cartii isi urmase firul ei, pentru ca trebuia sa ajunga aici, sa ma puna in fata Dictionarului Tibetan – am inteles ca avusesem o datorie, si fata de Körösi, si fata de Korda Istvan, si fata de Meliusz Joszef, si fata de prietenul doamnei din Targu Mures – si acum ne aflam intr-o concelebrare cei trei martori – eu, care citisem cartea a carei viata cursese in paralel cu viata mea, doamna bibliotecara de la Teleki, care pastra Dictionarul in amintirea prietenului ei care isi daduse viata pentru a retrai visul lui Körösi – si colegul meu de serviciu care urmarea scena in tacere, intelegand ca acolo se petrecea un moment extraordinar.

Si datoria fata de prietenul meu de demult, cel care mi-a daruit cartea. Colegul meu de clasa din scoala primara si din liceu, Robert Goldstein, cel care visa mereu la plecarea in Israel – aprobarea avea sa ii vina cand era de acum in primul an de facultate, la Arhitectura. Am aflat ca a murit apoi, pe front, in razboiul de sase zile. Si mi-am dorit atunci sa fie o greseala, mi-am dorit sa aflu ca de fapt traieste. Au trecut de atunci atata amar de vreme, eu inca imi doresc sa aflu ca de fapt Robert traieste.






Drmul parcurs de Körösi Csoma Sandor



(A Life in Books)

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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Zoon Politikon

Zoon Politikon






The philosopher George Santayana famously wrote hat those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But the opposite holds true as well. Those who cannot remember the past might not be able to repeat it.
(Andrei Cherny, The Next Deal)


Andrei Cherny, The Next Deal

Andrei Cherny, The Next Deal

(click here for the Romanian version)

The Unites States history entered its third century of existence. Each new century challenged America with a new paradigm – and America responded each time by reinventing itself – reinventing its economy, reinventing its society in structure and spirit, and finally reinventing its government. The book of Andrei Cherny, The Next Deal, is about this periodic reinvention of America. Actually the book speaks about history to clarify the present. And it speaks about changes in the structure of economy and in the spirit of society to stress out the necessary mission of government. The subtitle of the book is The Future of Public Life in the Information Age.

Andrei Cherny was just a bit over twenty years old when he authored the 2000 Democratic Platform. He was then a Senior Speechwriter to Vice-President Al Gore, the youngest Speechwriter ever at the White House. Now he is the co-editor, along with Kenneth S. Baer, of Democracy – A Journal of Ideas. Both Cherny and Baer belong to the New Democrats, the Centrist orientation within the Democratic Party, being adepts of the so-called Third Way. And by reading this book, The Next Deal, one understands very well what the adepts of the Third Way stand for.

The book speaks a lot about US history, though Cherny is far from being the prisoner of any lesson of the past. Says he, the philosopher George Santayana famously wrote hat those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But the opposite holds true as well. Those who cannot remember the past might not be able to repeat it.

Okay, then why is it so much room for history in this book? Because, says Andrei Cherny, the task for today’s young people – the Choice Generation – is to replicate the accomplishment of the Progressive Generation of Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. They rethought the rules of public life to fit the contours of a new America. Our job is to do the same.

And Cherny concludes, this is a book about America’s future, not a work of history.

And we should also notice what this book is not about. It’s neither about American foreign policy, nor about all minorities’ issues faced by the American society since the beginnings.

Let’s follow the outline of the book and explain some history stuff, but keeping in mind that history serves here only as a preliminary to set the present landscape.

The nineteenth century viewed the America of the New Frontier. The economy was based on agriculture. Land was for everyone – you needed only the determination to push towards West, to settle somewhere and start working hard. The society was based on two contradictory aspects: individualism and spirit of community. Individualism, because one relied firstly on oneself to survive. Spirit of community, because one couldn’t survive relying only on oneself. And American society was a very loose network of strongly autonomous communities, each one composed by strongly autonomous individuals. The mission of the government was the protection of the independence of communities and individuals. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was the one who understood clearly all these things and became the great political architect of nineteenth century America. The sheep are happier of themselves than under the care of the wolves, said he once. In his vision, the government had to provide for the encouragement of agriculture. Jefferson was the champion of a nation of cultivators of earth; actually a nation of pioneers who were pushing West and expanding America.

After hundred years the landscape was totally different. The Industrial Age had its own logic about how the world and the workplace should be organized. The epoch of pioneers, of strong individuals cooperating within strong communities, was over. The vision of Jefferson was no more accurate. The economy was now based on centralized industry, pushing the whole society towards centralization. Pioneers were now replaced by anonymous people living in big cities and working in huge factories.

The mission of government had to change accordingly. It was not easy. Need was for a new vision – and President Theodore Roosevelt was the political architect of twentieth century America. He realized the necessity of a strong government, supported by a big bureaucracy, providing all kind of standards and regulations, to keep the system under control. If Theodore Roosevelt was the architect, the constructor would be another Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, the creator of the New Deal. The individual under the New Deal had no more decision power – the government had the authority to decide what’s better for each one. Especially regarding public education, public healthcare, and public retirement pensions – in other words regarding Social Security.

The dawn of the twenty-first century brought a new paradigm – the Information Age changed the structure of economy, the society changed and the role of government should change accordingly.

In each epoch there is a generation that better understands the realities and pushes toward the future. For the New Frontier it was the generation of Pioneers. The Progressive Generation understood the role of government in the Industrial Age. Though the adepts of the Third Way realize that the vision of the Progressive Generation is no more accurate, they call themselves Progressives, as they want to be the engine for today’s transformations. The new economy, based on the Internet, spreading everywhere the personal and mobile computing, created the Choice Generation, the individuals who can again decide for themselves. Therefore the paternalist government of the New Deal is no more accurate. The individual can now make better decisions regarding education, health care, retirement – they should be no more regulated by the state. Along with the reemergence of the individual, the Information Age brought into scene the virtual communities, made them strong and recreated the relationship between individual and community – Andrei Cherny defines this relationship as the New Responsibility – it means the responsibility assumed by the individual of the Choice Generation within the community.

So, along with the new economy, the Information Age reinvented the structure and the spirit of society. Finally the government has to change its mission – to offer citizens individual choice and personal decision-making power. Perhaps Robert Kennedy would have been a forerunner – had he been elected as President in 1968. Anyway, it was too early. President Clinton had the vision of this new role for the government and he opened the way for the Next Deal. And as President Wilson, though a strong opponent of Theodore Roosevelt, was forced by the realities to follow some of the ideas of the Progressive generation, now President Bush is forced by today's realities to think sometimes in terms of Next Deal. Does it sound strange? Let’s take only his views on the Social Security. These views were highly unpopular, but this is not the point. New realities are always harsh. It is the French Socialist leader Ségolène Royal who attacked the holy cow of the week of 35 hours. (Andrei Cherny does not mention the similar preoccupation for the new realities within the opposite political camp – only it is worth to make a parallel between the folks of the Third Way and those from the Cato Institute).

There has been always a dilemma in the American society about the necessary size and power of government. Big government or small government? Strong government or weak government? For Andrei Cherny the dilemma should be not about government’s size, rather about its mission.