Of woes and joys
Life sometimes sucks. Life is often unfair. To us as individuals, to our families, to our communities, to our countries. Not always, but often.
A lot of woes have befallen Macedonia, both as a modern-day nation-state and as an older, more ancient, land and people. You know what they are and can list your own as well: Ottoman occupation. Serbian and Bulgarian occupations. The deportation of Macedonian Jews. The 1963 earthquake. Greece’s blockade in 1994/95 and their demand that Macedonia change its name, flag and constitution. The 1999 war next door that brought Macedonia a great deal of pain. The 2001 war from next door (and within). The 2015 Kumanovo terrorist attack. The forced name change. Bulgaria’s current childish demands. And much, much more.
I’ve been counting those woes for the nearly 26 years I have been involved with Macedonia and repeating them when I want to make this next point: Despite all of those woes, despite the unfairness of it all, despite all of the crap that life has often, but not always, given to Macedonia and Macedonians this next is also true – Macedonia has not just survived, but has often succeeded. And that’s a good news story – there are joys in that.
But let’s stick with those woes for a moment. Often they have come upon Macedonia from outside forces, external shocks as the World Bank likes to call them. They have not been the fault of Macedonians but the fault of others. You can’t do much about them and you certainly can’t control them. Instead, you have to either manage them or adapt to them as best you can, and barrel through them, so to speak, until you reach a better place.
Other woes have come as a result of the faults of Macedonians. And Macedonians know this, often pointing fingers at each other or at certain leaders. Or even by collectively blaming Macedonians and Macedonian society. But with these woes, well, something can be done about those. I think – I hope – that Macedonians know that they have more control over these things.
But either way – whether those woes come from external or internal sources, there are certain things Macedonians can – and should do. First, throw your shoulders back, proverbially speaking. Stand up straight. Take responsibility for your actions, behaviors, and attitudes and stop blaming others for every little wrong. You have agency as individuals, individuals acting alone, or in a family, or in a community or in a city, or in your country, Macedonia.
And stop looking to others. Here’s a fact that bears repeating: No other country is going to come to your rescue. Oh, other countries might help you here and there with economic or material assistance, but that is mostly out of their own self-interest. But don’t blame them for that, either. All countries operate in this fashion. Always have, always will. Occasionally you’ll find genuine, altruistic assistance (remember what various countries did for Macedonia in general and Skopje in particular after the 1963 earthquake). But mostly it is up to you.
And don’t think that by rooting for one side or another in the great geopolitical game will win you favors from whatever side. It does not work that way in the Great Game. Again, no other country is going to come to your rescue.
In my estimation, it seems to me that far too often, Macedonians actually enjoy using their status as often put-upon victims to continue playing the victim card. And as I’ve laid out, Macedonia has been a victim, often. But reveling in it and playing up that victim card and carrying it around with you is not good – it corrodes the soul and presents a picture of weakness. As I started off with, sometimes life sucks. Too bad. Everyone goes through low points, not just you. And again, if you dwell on this, if you allow thoughts of victimhood to lead to thoughts to envy, those thoughts will then lead you to thoughts of revenge. All of this leads to a corrosion of the soul.
Right now, unfortunately, I am detecting a sense of defeat, disillusionment, and discouragement among Macedonians. And there are reasons to harbor these attitudes. And there is a grave danger in dwelling on and then cultivating these feelings because they will grow, feeding on themselves, dragging those who believe them further down to a point of paralysis. And then what? Do you simply accept this? Do you lie down and die?
Instead, here’s the way I think about all of this.
I’ve always been impressed with Macedonians who have fought and sacrificed for their families, their communities, for Macedonia. The classic example we point to is the Ilinden Uprising but there are many examples of such sacrifice. These are good and true stories that inspire, encourage, and give one hope, hope for a better future, a better life.
So, instead of laying down and dying, you need to sit up, then stand up, and then march on, taking a side, your side, and fighting for what is right, and true, and honest, and good. We all know Macedonians have done this before. Do it again. Do it now. Stop complaining and start acting.
Remember, history does not have sides, history does not take sides, and history has no direction. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Ultimately, the success – or failure – of Macedonia is the responsibility of the Macedonians. Nobody else.