South-East Europe On Edge Of Civilization: Keep Public In Ignorance And Mediocrity – Essay

Philosopy of the borough: The less you know, you better know how. As more you know you, less know how!

First:

Educate future teachers and professors in a way that even they are not possible to understand basic law of the science – everything should be questioned until the proof is on the table.

With this we come to the Number 7 of Noam Chomsky “Ten strategies of manipulation”:

7. Keep the public in ignorance and mediocrity

Making the public incapable of understanding the technologies and methods used to control and enslavement. – “The quality of education given to the lower social classes must be the poor and mediocre as possible so that the gap of ignorance it plans among the lower classes and upper classes is and remains impossible to attain for the lower classes (See „ Silent Weapons for Quiet War ).”

Second:

Within the area of South-East Europe (exactly, really, ALL the countries) exists the following:

1. Less knowledge accepted and gained during the education process – more easy way to manipulate and lie within the future life of the people;
2. Language – If I am from Serbia, I will be thought only about Cyrillic alphabet letters and not about Latin alphabet and if I am from Croatia vice versa. In Bosnia and Herzegovina is even funnier because it will depend to whom people I belong (Croats – Latin; Serbs – Cyrillic and Bosniak Muslims – both Latin and Cyrillic including more Turk loanwords.
3. History – We will teach “my” nation about “our” history as victory through ages and from each textbooks in the schools, regardless from which country you are from South-East Europe. People (besides only those who escaped to be brainwashed within last twenty five years) does not know that “my” history might not be a completely true. Example of the myths: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniak Muslims talks about Turks and their time within BiH (between 14th and the end of 19th century) as the time of prosperity, forgetting that the Turks were invaders…In Serbia, Serbians talks about the famous Battle of Kosovo back in 1389 as the victory against Turkey empire forgetting that was the massive loss (lost battle) ever happened for them…In Croatia they talk today about Illyrian language written on dictionaries and grammatical books back in 16th, 17th and 18th century as the part of Croatian history with the explanation that Illyrian language = Croatian language, but that is not a truth. The truth is that Illyrian was synonym for Vlach language, as a matter of fact for Orthodox Serbian language, or has been used as the group remark for all South Slavs. Furthermore that term has been used to determine ancient residents of Balkan and has been used for appointing of štokavian dialect (See: Andreja Zorić, Munchen, Germany – 2005 and Zagreb, Croatia – 2006).
4. Enemies – All others and different than my “nation” is the enemy. Just check out media and textbook throughout the region of South-East Europe. Only few liberal examples might be found. In Serbia, enemies in the textbook for schools are (see the book “Školokrečina” of Nenad Veličković, published by Mass Media Sarajevo, 2015 – the title of the book might be translated as “Backwater school” – Info: http://www.skolegijum.ba/ ) Turks, Germans (using bed word for them “Švabo”), Catholics, converts, Ustaša’s (Nazi’s associates in Croatia during II world war), Albanians….In Croatia enemies are Hungarians, Četnik’s (Nazi’s associates in Serbia), Turks, Habsgurb monarchy, Venetians, Turks, Serbs (knaves)…In Bosniak Muslim textbooks are Austrians.
5. Territory – before reading about that I am quoting myself from Radio show (Radio FBiH…Editor Ljiljana Simic…04.06.2015) that “Patriotism is the sanctuary for crooks”. So, ignorance focus on territory and supremacy of “my” nation as the preconditions for patriotism. For Bosniak Muslims the fatherland is Bosnia and very rear Herzegovina. For Serbs the fatherland is where the Serbian soul (or grave, or bones) – even in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. For Croats the fatherland is the land of Croats regardless where they live – Croatia and/or Bosnia and Herzegovina.
6. Symbols – The anthem, flag, coat of arms…reflects the soul of the nation. For others and different ones very often if offending: “But, who cares, if we are unified under that.”
7. Religion and tradition – ignorance about other and different is based (in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, but in other South-East Europe countries as well) on the issue that I have to respect, above all, my own tradition (read: nationalism) and religion. And there is no learning about other religion and/or tradition but my own. Also, there is no question mark on any kind of criticism on religion and tradition: “Everything is perfect within my nation, by all means.”
8. Gender and patriarchate – Nobody, exactly nobody within SEE is using developing of knowledge in regards discussion about sexuality – none. No conversation about sexuality in school and if there is any, it is very rare indeed and depends on individual goals, regardless that there are nowadays talks about that, but because of the Item 7. above, it is still very rear. Also, patriarchate consider father (male) as the boss, leader of the nation – God in the family. No democracy at all.

Third:

Namely, to fulfill Chomsky’s No 7. Manipulation strategy, in the media and textbooks has been used:

1. Dealing with the form instead of the essence (deviation, deflections) and attention of the people has been taken from important to not important (recently – example: Srebrenica, 11.7.2015 – everybody talks about attack on Prime minister of Serbia and less talks about funeral of 136 murdered people)
2. Implying, insinuation connected with news and stands about certain points of view.
3. Reduction and making conclusions on small patterns.
4. Mystification, deceitfulness – if you repeat one lie ten times it becomes a truth.
5. Invocation – based on invoking one essay of thoughts with another one.
6. Absorption – by purpose wrongly interpretation of other and different one and transferring defects of “my nation” into virtues and using (and abusing) only partial information which is connected with current ideology.
7. Arrogance, ignorance – by intention avoiding discussion, by intention not seeing other and different one (as mentioned in the book of N.V. above). Focusing on stereotype and there is no critical opinion.

So, how to fight against it and stay normal?

Through the creation of:

1. Independent source of critical thought which will use question mark on any information given by the current ideologies in SEE – through establishment of citizen-scientist agencies which will learn to teach about mutual interaction as only way out from nationalisms – knowing better other and different one is knowing better myself with the goal to interact better not just with other and different one but also within my own people.
2. Opening Public broadcasting service in which the presentation of historical, sociological, geographical facts will be base on scientific truth and not on “ideological truth”.
3. Using of new media (social networks above all) to create brotherhood of different thoughts and not brotherhood of “my nation” – no improvement of my own “nation” without interaction with other “nations”.

Amazing, and it is not not only in South-East Europe, but within all around the world: WE ALL ARE RED UNDER OUR SKIN. Is that means that we all are communists?

As I wrote a long time ago: “In former Yugoslavia, during Tito’s time, ideology was religion…In current, former parts of that Yugoslavia, religion is ideology.”

Wake up please, dear Serbians, Bosniak Muslims, Croats, Slovenians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Albanians and others or…

Answer is blowing in the wind, my dear Bob, Dylan.