The following words are dedicated
to fundaments of logical reasoning in Serbian
politics, but not only in politics. There are
no "political emotions" that are not
a political category at the same time, whatever
Serbian politicians may "feel" for their
mythical or promotional purposes.
SERBIAN MINISTER. The Minister for Kosovo in the
Serbian Government, Slobodan Samardzic, confirmed
in a CNN interview his view, and that of organizers
of the rally on February 21, that demolition of
US Embassy and consulate building in Belgrade
were insignificant in comparison with what triggered
it - the American recognition of Kosovo's independence.
That was the main reason of the assault and the
demolition was its only innocent, minor consequence.
The vandals (football supporters, demonstrators
of violence, patriots… name them as you will)
and the destruction they left behind were leveled
with the US decision to recognize independence.
Without any intention to manage any political
and ideological views, we will consider here the
logical consequences of the statement.
We will also underline that the minister concluded
that America today is not the cause of only this,
but of any problem in the world, and for the needs
of this deduction we shall take it as the axiom
of the (new) Serbian political thought. Having
done so, we may also rely on the tradition of
logic concerning the extent to which causes of
an event should be investigated, by reacting to
consequences. May it not happen again, but since
it did, let us at least find what a logical reaction
would have looked like.
EPICURUS OF ATHENS. According to Hegel, Epicurus'
philosophy brought enlightenment in regard to
physical reality. "Superstition passes straightaway
from immediate appearances to God, angels, demons;
or it expects from finite things other effects
than the conditions admit of, phenomena of a higher
kind. To this the Epicurean natural philosophy
is utterly opposed..."1
How are these big words related with February
21, Anno Domini 2008, in Serbia? They are, if
we make our political concerns relative and accept
logic. Because, if we draw on Hegel and Epicurus,
Serbian politics suffers in fact from superstition
when it blames its "demons" (America,
but also Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, United Kingdom
etc.) for "appearances of demolition",
and not "finite things" present at the
scene, the football fans brandishing torches.
They were, supposedly expected to produce "other
effects than the conditions admit of". Maybe
unbridled patriotism, lost on its way to the St.
Sava Temple, was expected to whitewash, and not
demolish, the intentionally unguarded American
(and other) territory on the Serbian ground.
Enlightenment, Hegel continues, seeks connection
in the next nearest cause, while: "superstition,
on the contrary, rightly or wrongly, passes at
once to what is above us".
This is to say that had the Minister Samardzic
and the rest of Serbian political thought not
been guided by a strong shot of emotions, but
by Epicurean common sense, they would have sought
for causes in the people who were present there
and set the fire, instead of clouding them in
an international conspiracy. Enlightened reason
would not blame foreign, superior forces for effects
committed by the hand (shame) of their citizens.
|
And as regards placing
the blame on the reason of all reasons
- for official Serbia it is the American
brand - Hegel would add that: "I
am right, and yet wrong. For if I ask
for a cause in this same sphere of the
conditioned, and give God (or today's
power) as answer, I say too much".
If I say America, with its fiery recognition
of Kosovo, set its Belgrade Embassy on
fire, then "I am right, and yet wrong".
Without delving into depths of political
options and sensibility in interpretation
of international law, and accepting that
the recognition did provoke the vandals,
I, again "am yet wrong", and
"say too much". Because even
with the claim that America is to be blamed
for everything, with the regular self-indulgency
of "the national just", if we
seek for the next superior "cause
in the same area of finite", we will
see the rioters caught on the video footage
(And the security cameras from the US
consulate probably provided closer shots
- the hot potato delivered to Serbian
authorities, those appointed by allegedly
nameless patriots, will yet threaten to
provoke a political scandal if the
|
|
|
|
Illustration from the
book Art klinika - Prva petoletka,
Novi Sad 2007
|
 |
court fails to react.) Political consensus that,
in theory, America is the cause of all causes,
does not still accuse the US of February 21, while
evidence points to rioters and their summoners,
who, for reasons of their idiosyncratic interpretation
of patriotism ("for your freedom, and for
our benefit"), did not provide even the "peace-time"
security for the embassies and consulates most
at risk. This is not about American masochism
of scorching their own embassy, but about Serbian
masochism of setting the embassy on fire on their
own ground.
Baudrillard liked to say that power like that
of America "exacerbates a will to destroy
it" (though, I guess, he did not mean destruction
for the sake of Nike shoes), and that America
itself is an "accomplice in its own destruction".
But if we are left without basic logic of cause
and consequence, anyone will be free to do what
they want and be abolished in advance - using
America as the excuse.
IT'S CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS'S FAULT. Of course,
when you bravely present the situation in a way
that makes everything conditioned by "a superior
cause", then you can in no way take any responsibility,
which is assigned to the origin of all reasons
- America. Till eternity.
However, if you skip selectively and gentlemanly
domestic causes (and one's own responsibility),
what makes you stop right there, at modern America?
Why not blame, for instance, Christopher Columbus?
Had he not sailed all the way to America, there
would be no American recognition of Kosovo. That
is also, of course, an arbitrary action of the
mind - in the end, isn't everything God's will.
Place an equation mark between everything: demolition
of embassies, the vandals, your focus on prayer
on that day, American recognition of Kosovo, Serbia's
interest in Kosovo territory and lack of interest
for the people (especially the majority), Serbs'
departure from Kosovo and the terror of revenge
against them, the rampage of Serbian authorities
and crimes committed over Kosovo Albanians (there
is never "little" crime, but these are
much more numerous than before, and especially
their causes, morbidly frozen in cold storage
trucks), the battle of Kosovo, America… and divine
reasons. Place it all on the same level, all finite
and infinite causes and you will get, pardon me,
logical nonsense - the insanity of common sense
and caricature of political sense. Is that what
you want to have in the Serbian Government? To
negate logic, and by the same token, to deny responsibility,
cruelly and patriotically. If you're fine with
that…then forget about it. But a weird question
comes to my mind: how many times have you committed
suicide? And a remark - the cold storage trucks
were Serbian, not American.
THE VIOLATORS AND THE JUST. And maybe everyone
is just at one place (in order to be) and violator
at another. Still, you can rarely hear preacher-like
condoling of violence from high positions as you
can in Serbia. The emphasis is not on the masochism
of channeling violence against the most powerful
state in the world, but on the more prosaic reasons:
a part of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade (and some
others), destination address: Serbia, was torched;
the embassy, by international laws, is a part
of a foreign territory and only seemingly on our
ground (and so is Serbian Embassy in the U.S.A.);
therefore, you encroached, by the foot and shameful
acts of your hooligan citizens, on the territory
of another state (be it just or evil) and even
committed a murder there; as you did not cancel
your hospitality to that state, you will have
to, according to any agreement you signed, guarantee
safety to its embassy. Politically, something
quite prosaic. At the level of a rational explanation.
As regards the just ... Niche already said: "...
do not seek the appearance of justice if you have
not been ordained in the fearful vocation of the
just".
AND WHAT ABOUT HEGEL? In his History of Philosophy,
Hegel praises the enlightened thinking of Epicurus,
the ancient philosopher who lived in 4th century
BC. It is 2008 AD today and some people think
that only America is to blame for vandal demolition
of American Embassy. Maybe even Columbus, and
maybe God's providence. Not Serbian national hooligans
and their political backing.
The year is 2008 AD. But not in Serbia.
