It’s all a lie

Can a people, their identity, and their language disappear?

The Etruscans were a people largely living in present-day Italy, who, most historians will explain, existed from around 900 BC to 27 BC when they were “absorbed by Rome,” as Professor Wikipedia helpfully explains.  The Etruscan language, Professor Wikipedia states, “remains only partly understood, making modern understanding of their society and culture heavily dependent on much later and generally disapproving Roman and Greek sources.” 

So, yes, a people, their identity, and their language can – and do – disappear.  History is a burial ground full of such peoples.

Gabriel Escobar, a deputy assistant secretary in the US Department of State responsible for, among other countries, Macedonia, recently called Macedonians “North Macedonians” in an interview (you can watch it here just after the one minute mark).  He was rightly called out by many for his use of this outrageous and inaccurate slur by many Macedonians, and others, across various media and social media outlets.  He was wrong in saying this.  He knows he was wrong in saying this.  The US Embassy in Macedonia knows he was wrong.  And yet there is no apology. 

So, two things become clear: one, Mr. Escobar, the US Department of State, and the US Ambassador and Embassy in Macedonia don’t have any problem with his (pick one or more) mistake, deliberate statement, shoddy preparation.  Two, the credibility of the United States government, at all levels, suffers continued degradation among the vast majority of Macedonians as result of this (pick one or more) mistake, deliberate statement, shoddy preparation.  But again, no apologies and apparently, as far as the US government is concerned, well, no worries, they don’t care.  Being a senior member of the US Department of State means never having to say, “I’m sorry.” In fact, being a senior member of the US Department of State, instead means, “Do as you are told you bloody peasant.”

Was Escobar’s use of “North Macedonians” a mistake?  Was it part of a deliberate attempt to attack Macedonian identity, degrade it, undermine it, and humiliate the Macedonians?  Do they do this for sport?

Everything the US Department of State has wanted in and for Macedonia has eventually been done.  The use of threats, bribes, arrests, and other “Balkan tactics” have been, at the very least, winked at, by senior US Department of State officials.  These same officials, of course, then lecture Macedonians about the rule of law. 

That is because it is all a lie.

It was a lie from the beginning. 

When Macedonia, a very old and ancient land and people, became a modern-day nation-state on September 8, 1991, the institutions it sought to join, starting with the United Nations, said, “Meet these requirements, and you can join.”  And Macedonia met those requirements.  And yet could not join because they lied.  They said “Oh, one more thing…bit of a problem here with your name and your flag.”

It was a lie to join NATO.  They said, “Meet these requirements,” so Macedonia did.  And then they said “Oh, one more thing…still a bit of a problem with your name.” 

It is a continuing lie to join the EU. We all know the current state of affairs and what Macedonians must do – yet again – to join the EU club.

Again, it’s all a lie.  The controlling elites (elected ones but especially the bureaucratic and unelected ones) in the Department of State, EU and its institutions, EU member states, and NATO all know it’s a lie.  We know they lie.  They know that we know they lie.  And yet the lies continue.  And the lies will never, ever stop, in part because these people are comfortable with lies. In fact, I would posit that they enjoy the lies.

So, how do you deal with the lies?

Live not by lies.

It’s ironic, really, when you think about it.  It was a Russian who told us to live not by lies.

Live Not By Lies was the last essay from Russian dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn before he was exiled to West Germany in 1974; of course from there his writing became more intense, warning the West of what would befall it in time (his advice continues to be ignored by the West). Orthodoxy Today calls the essay “…a call to moral courage and serves as light to all who value truth.”

It appears that some Macedonians seem to be accepting these lies and the dehumanization that comes from bowing before neighboring countries, Western godless elites, and other Macedonians, in power now, who simply crave the temporary power and prestige that they gain from disavowing their own existence.

But not all Macedonians. 

I, for one, believe that more and more Macedonians recognize the lies that the current Government of Macedonia, together with their enablers among the Western elites, are telling each other.  And I believe that as more and more Macedonians stand up and say that they will not live by these lies, that Macedonians can take back their destiny, as and only as Macedonia, and as and only as Macedonians.

What does this mean, “live not by lies?”  According to American author Rod Dreher, whose latest book is titled “Live Not By Lies,” it means this: “Solzhenitsyn acknowledged that ordinary people were powerless to change the situation” under their government, “but one thing they could all do is refuse to pretend like they didn’t see what was going on, or that they agreed with it.  The whole system was a lie, and to the extent that they could, men and women of integrity should refuse to consent or cooperate.”

In an interview towards the end of his life, Solzhenitsyn said, “Life may be bitter, but we are stronger, because we can stand it. If you can’t influence anything on a large scale, you should influence by doing your work as good as you can, preserving your family, and helping those around you….to live not by lies is an eternal principle.”