Whatever happens in politics, Bulgaria is already the West, not the East - it is among the civilized and democratic and cannot be returned to the Soviet-Oriental model, where it does not belong, writes Evgeny Dainov.< /p>
Culture - that is, the way we see the world - is at the very foundations of human behavior. It changes much more slowly than politics, ideology and even economics. That is to say: the changes in politics, in ideology and in the economy are relatively superficial and relatively easily reversed; however, when the culture changes, it is so serious that it sets the parameters of the future for at least two or three generations.
A powerful cultural revolution
A generation of time – according to demographers, it's 30 years – we Bulgarians flatter ourselves in politics and in ideology (thank God, not so much in the economy). These two arenas are like a stormy sea – very large, not like the Black one. In the great sea the excitement, when it begins, has no direction; druses in all directions at the same time. Beneath this jolt, however, and to the great surprise of observers, a powerful and one-way cultural revolution has been going on all along. And it follows a clear direction: from the oriental-feudal East to the European-civilized West. This observation is particularly relevant today, when the Oriental-feudal (and thus pro-Putin and pro-Nazi) forces are erupting in a last-ditch effort to return Bulgaria to where it was before 1989 – and where there is no work again.
If you look at the culture of the former socialist countries, you will be able to judge very easily which to what extent has broken away from the Soviet savagery and advanced towards Western civilization. In everyday life, the degree of progress is evident from the way the streets and other public places look; from the way they are greeted in shops or the way people deal with the rubbish they produce. According to these signs, for example, Kyiv is ahead of Sofia, Sofia – from Skopje, and Skopje – from Moscow. We can do the same grading inside each country. In our country, for example, Varna is clearly in captivity of the Soviet wilderness, while Sevlievo, for example, has long been on the west coast.
Culture, however, beyond everyday behavior, also has the so-called “higher dimensions”. I will not delve into the Bulgarian achievements in the field of fiction or cinema. I will focus only on that public arena in which the actors and commentators of the common good strive.
What is this model known for
The closer a country is to the Soviet-Oriental model, the more verbose, vague, difficult to understand and annoying its politicians and political commentators are. On top of that, they expect the audience to take the time to understand the hidden messages between the lines, the hints and allusions (which mostly and only the speakers understand). Conversely, the closer you are to the Western model – the successful – civilization, the shorter, clear and easy to understand you are.
This applies, strange as it may sound, not only to countries, but even to individual public individuals. Donald Trump, for example, in recent weeks has created great headaches for his staff, as he chatters endlessly and in all directions at the same time, as if he were a representative of the Oriental-Soviet space. A long-time Republican Party strategist exclaimed recently on American television with despair: “In order for your message to reach the people through the media, you must be disciplined, clear and concise in your speech – something Trump is not“.
Trump, of course, is not just an isolated individual. He is a representative of those anti-civilizational forces that generally speak in this way. Viktor Orbán, for example, as well as Recep Erdogan and Kim Jong Un speak long, vague, hazy and confused – but also menacing. Their speeches have no structure and no clear priorities. However, they do not need such. The media is theirs and will cover them favorably no matter what they say.
A language understood only by their most ardent followers
Eventually, if they stay in power long enough, the speakers in question develop their own language, understandable only to themselves, their inner circle and their most fanatical followers. To understand the various references, concepts and terms in the speeches of Orbán, Kim and Erdoğan, for example, a qualified translator is needed, even if we use the English version of their verbal appearances.
Putin, it should be noted, spares himself the verbiage, but does not spare the menacing mysticism characteristic of these people. After so many years in power, his verbal statements are also becoming increasingly difficult to understand (the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region is a “situation“). Putin has left the oriental wordy nebulousness to the church and to outspoken mystic-Nazis like Alexander Dugin, who would release poisonous fog into the heads of the serfs.
What are some countries, and what – the others
The politicians and commentators in Belarus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Venezuela – I only mention the countries whose media and leaders I follow to the left. Without knowing anything about such countries, only by the speech of their public figures we can understand what kind of countries we are dealing with: poor, frightened, oppressed, stolen, violated.
From the speech of the majority of politicians and commentators in the USA or Britain, conversely, we can come to the conclusion of what these countries are – democratic, civilized, respectful, legal. In general, political civilization moves back to the sun - from the west (usually starting with the USA) to the east, but there are exceptions. Speaking in Serbia and North Macedonia, Hungary and (to a lesser extent) Slovakia, for example, betrays that in all aspects of their arrangements these countries lean towards the Oriental-Soviet model, even though they are not in the East proper.
Ukrainians are a separate reality. On the one hand, they are more organized, neat, tidy and disciplined – more western than the Bulgarians. On the other hand, their speakers at their main table talk as if time is endless, and the audience is obliged to carefully decipher all their wordy messages. There is also a fast-growing minority of commentators who speak in an increasingly disciplined, clear and concise manner – unlike the Russian so-called opposition, for example, which froze sometime in 1987. Apparently, in Ukraine, some kind of “transition” towards westernization of the public arena.
And Bulgaria?
Where are we? We are the opposite of Ukrainians. In our domestic culture, we are oriental scumbags. But in our public speaking, we are undeniably part of Western civilization. Even our most outspoken adherents of Sovietism and Orientalism have learned to speak disciplined, clear and concise, although Soviet-Orientalists combine this with simplicity and bad manners ala Trump and Orban.
Public speaking is an essential part of culture – public, social, political. In this respect, we are the West. Since culture is the basis of everything else, this finding means that whatever happens in the superficial layer of politics, Bulgaria cannot become an Oriental-Soviet country. This conclusion is supported, as far as I understand, by the latest study of “Alpha Research” about the civilizational attitudes of the Bulgarians. We are West, not East. We are closer to Kamala Harris than to Vladimir Putin.
In case of careful social engineering in not-so-western countries like Bulgaria and Ukraine, for example, the analysis of culture would set extremely clear parameters of the impact. In Bulgaria, for example, efforts and resources must be directed to civilize everyday behavior, to overcome indolence, laziness and lack of goal setting. According to these parameters, the Ukrainians are doing well. There, one will have to invest in the higher realms of big thinking and public speaking for the common good.
This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and of DV as a whole.