Milena Oda

- I read this essay in Amsterdam during the session of the Felix-Meritis Foundation - 2008

The New Cosmopolitan. The Absolute Importance of the Harmony If you are a citizen or founder of the new state, there would be a sense of accomplishment of having achieved a lifetime goal. The formation of a state can be both a thrilling and terrifying event. But the beginning it’s an exciting moment! Now you are a free man, have a home and place to live with free thinking people of a common culture and heritage, an identity, a secure feeling to belong somewhere. Are you proud enough of being there where you are and to what you belong? The others come and see how you create yourself, your own home and state… to where you belong, they know your history. Most of the Europeans came through the revolutions, after 1989, founding their own states – everyone got a new role: to be the creator, to be the past reconciler. Being the creator means to be active, intentive and new, being passive means to be stocked in the past. Being the past reconciler means to be enough confident and accept the stupidities of some former supreme authorities, the bloody faults of the past and not show a desperate and unhappy look. During the development after 1989 occurred several patterns old, useless and also dim. The most of us recognised quickly that we must be aware to avoid the attitude of condescension, passivity and insistence on the traditional patterns incurred by the past.

 

Every European state has been developing as well as the person evolves from his own issues throughout the life. To listen to the past words and paroles and look at its past is like listen to the parents and watch them how they are ageing. How is your look then? Do you feel enough alert to watch at your own life and the now, not at the one of your parents? My state – the Czech Republic had been growing in a new, able stature, the Czechs  (me) are still bound to feel that their role has been changing, especially with the developments in Europe and beyond. These developments have created a power vacuum that means that the Czech Republic and other easterners naturally felt the need to lead in "safe-guarding" order which E.U. offers. Well, then I ask: Do we still call it the Eastern Europe? Is it coherent? Isn‘t the Europe actually still - despite of the E.U. - divided in the nationalities like at a cross - left-right, because of the terms: Eastern and Western Europe? Is there still a difference between the Eastern (Central) and Western Europe as day and night like it once harshly was? Do still the national cross-purposes dominate Europe? My question if former Eastern Europe can be successfully and "properly" integrated with the western rest of Europe, or if still separate  like Eastern shabby Europe, something peculiar. Anyway I think there is obviously no country in Europe (or in the world) which is really sane. The European Union is something like doctor-patient-relationship. Every European citizen has still fear and paranoia from the past with all the reputations and terms which one gets from the others. Is it necessary to have still the negative labels? I mean the labels which make us insane. It could be our united aim, the aim of Europa: every state (and citizen) should become healthy. Despite the truth that everybody is anyway a sick person. But we should try to be healthy no to make the others sick. We get in the E.U. the opportunity to recover and restore own facilities and skills, everyone will become assertive and open neighbour and we ask the others to be gentle: what is your disease? My malady was a long time the title Eastern Europe. Do the countries in the middle of Europe get the title Central Europe? ''Eastern or Central Europe?'' is a question that usually causes great, jaw-locking yawns in the rest of Europe or the world. People are used to saying “Eastern”. No wonder the easterner eclipsed during the tumultuous 40 years and looked always meekly to the westerners. But any negative titles, some terms divide the united Europe, why do we use them…? We don’t want to select, diminish and to make superficial labels of anyone. I painted a picture of a Europe that was last century historically divided (the years 1945-1989 seem more and more like time of doubt, despair and despondence after the human illness of the two world wars) and now I am painting, I take into account the current state of optimism in Europe, a picture of a Europe that has been historically reunited with many attempts at unity. To emerge Western Europe has still to stop being overbearing and dominant, placing it on the shelf will simply not work any more. Each nation-state has now a “free” position and a role to play in the E.U. In the few last years, the nations of Europe have been scheduled to come together in some vast market that has been uniting people, economically and culturally, nowday‘s every country has a role to fill in Europe. Why do you still look back…? What was in the past, let it go, turn your head and look ahead, don‘t look back with a chagrin and despair. Let us move forward to get together. There are still tantalizing options how to come out with the past and the now. But the question is, have you enough time to make severe options and will you be bold enough to grab them now and without prejudice? Sum up and team up the cruel and the stupidity of communism history and let‘s start a new leg which we could call - with a smile on the face: United multinational transformations of Europe. Do we accept the new stupidity and the new cruelity in case we repeat the old mistakes?! I shiver to the bone when I see the world‛s cruelity… but I cannot feel the responsibility for the whole world, it‛s enough for me to feel the responsibility which is spreading within Europe. And that’s my role like a new European citizen. Yes, I am bearing the responsibility for Europe, not only for my own state. That’s makes me and let‘s say it: The new cosmopolitan. Now its time to size up the myth and reality of the 21st century! There is something new happening in this new century! There are new approaches – new changes – new citizens. We create not only the state we create us, the feelings for the new cosmopolity and cosmopolitanism!  

 

Raise your voice. Make a scene. Do whatever you need to break through the crowd and show the world just who you are and say it: I am the new cosmopolitan! The new cosmopolitan says: my country is Europe, where I should feel secure. I have been living in Germany for nearly 10 years, I feel well and secure there. The new cosmopolitan says: my language is even the languages of Europe – mixed up – say that I can converse with many different nationalities in their language. I am Czech writer using German language. Otherwise my spoken language is a juicy coctail. Simply say - Ich gehe to the metro… Ciao! The new cosmopolitan earns money everywhere, with regard to his capability. I cannot be employed in Germany like a Czech but I can be a freelancer – that’s what I do and try. The new cosmopolitan travels everywhere (depending on the income). Yes, like an EU citizen without a passport and a visa. Wow, its great to pass through Europe without controls, without the boundaries! The new cosmopolitan sings everywhere, if he has the courage. I can sing well and anyway if I sing in English (almost) everyone understands me! The new cosmopolitan wears whatever he wants, with reference to his taste. Yes, I like wearing colours… The new cosmopolitan instils the desire to live contently and peacefully in Europe and feels close to the others, sharing the same personal feelings and desires. Yes, I have emotions and desires…   Being an avid supporter of your own country means to be a nationalist, to be old fashioned. The biggest need for change is to avoid the traditional inertia in the face of new challenges. We need to be flexible and adaptable.  

 

We, the new cosmopolitans are supporters of the new lively united Europe of gentle openness and desire for the positive change and power. The new cosmopolitan, today‘s citizen seems eager to latch onto a system that would provide some sense of community. It means despite a multinational world power that is busily trying to entrench itself in Europe. Every state should retain sovereign individual rights but no one should be a nationalist.  However, the point is that the deeper understanding of the several various traditional elements of all the European countries is of absolute importance. We must search for understanding, form the unified power, European federation must be agreed upon besides the rest of the world which seems to lack harmony. Yes, it‘s all about the harmony which is important. Granted, to say that harmony is the only alternative, is indeed a personal decision and consciousness, requiring sanity and confidence. Harmony and confidence in me – the harmony in our Europe! So let‘s take the initiative in this wildly romantic situation and try something bold and new, make such a big step, you! Volunteer. No matter, how unrealistic the new steps may seem, be optimistic and think broader. Our Europe of the 21st century should achieve one great goal: become harmonious – maybe the rest of the world would imitate us!