Globusz^® Publishing 

My wanderings in Florida did not go beyond a small area near the south–eastern shore. What remained in my memory was a feeling: the pleasure of wonderful bathing in the warm waters of the ocean. It may seem trivial, but for me it is not. I will probably forget many things, but not the sensation that has remained in my soul. I must confess to a weakness for bathing as far back as from my childhood but forgotten meanwhile. I did not swim for many years, and this opportunity provoked in me a great satisfaction, amplified by the warm water. Here, swimming means not only the straining of the muscles, like a sporting contest, but to live the sensation that seizes you when you leave yourself at the mercy of the waves that round you up. Or you become their partner, considering yourself a part of the wave as you move up and down. Being more active, you may use the waves to increase your speed, not because of necessity but for pure pleasure of play. This is one of the few activities in which the whole body participates.

As young, our body is the engine that pushes us toward all kind of acts. As old, our head is the engine and the body is ballast, sometimes too hard to carry. And the change of weather makes it just more difficult. Of course it is warm in Florida, although we are now at the beginning of September. Warm and Humid! Menacing clouds often come in from the ocean, but they usually stop before the coast. Nobody takes account of it because, when it does succeed in coming in from the coast, the rains are short and warm. After several minutes, any trace of rain has disappeared. Anyway, the clouds move so fast that little can be done in our defense, so that it is simpler to ignore it. The sky, even when blue, is more light–gray blue than real azure, because of the watery vapors.

What annoyed me throughout USA, and particularly here, was the excessive cold air indoors, due to the air–conditioning, which is set at rather low temperature. Somewhere, it is so cold inside that, when you go out in the heat, your glasses steam up rather, as happens in the north on cold winter’s days, when we suddenly enter a warm room, coming from the frost of outdoors. Shop assistants wear warm clothes and shoes with thick soles. In cars, the same air–conditioning, which fortunately I was being able to adjust for comfort, in spite of the owner’s disapproval! The message is: when going south, you take some warm clothes to wear inside buildings. And do not forget a cap or something like that. I remember what a headache I had one day, during my previous trip; because of the blades of a big fan being used to direct a strong flow of cold air at us.

It is fashionable, particularly among young American people, to wear pointy caps. Men wearing nothing on their heads were not to be seen before the World War II. After the war, at least in Europe, as people had begun to use cars on a large scale, hats were no longer practical, so uncovered heads came into fashion. People probably wanted to show that they did not need hats because they owned cars. But, when you are on foot and the temperature is very low, it is rather unwise to insist on being fashionable with any price. Unfortunately, this was the latest word in fashion during my youth, so that I fully caught up in it. Not one of us owned a car, but fashion takes no account of reason. I have become wiser later, and can say now that sometimes “later could be too late”. Every old person covers his head on cold days – the question is how late did he make his mind up to do so.

I visited only the shoreline area, where everything is clean and nice. I was told that the landscape becomes less festive the farther one moves away from the ocean coast and that it could be even dangerous in the areas with many Latino–American immigrants. I did not go there. One of my most pleasant recollection from Florida was a CD with Latino–American music—from all that. The world is filled with paradoxes.

Talking with the Americans, the subject Dracula could not be absent. As soon they learn that I am from Romania, with a little shyness at the beginning, they approach the subject eventually. All of them give to understand they are clever people enough to not believe in stories with vampires, but maybe, maybe, there is a tiny something sensational at all, they hope. If my answer is rather short, they come to the conclusion that I avoid the subject. If it is too long, they no longer follow me, because they suppose the sensational will not come, and serious explanations are not interesting. I think I never hit the optimum length.

I will not try to give now an explanation either— long or short —but I can’t help remarking the word Dracula make us to think not only at a dragon, but also at Draco, the Greek statesman. He codified and published in 621 BC the Athenian law, limiting thereby the judiciary power of the nobles, known later as ’Draconian code’, with the mean ’sever law’. Consequently, it was not difficult for Bram Stoker to imagine a word like Dracula, and make the association with vampires, as almost every language have some expressions like "to suck the very marrow out of somebody" or more exactly "to suck the blood of people" speaking about governments or rulers. The word vampire was unknown to Romanian people till not long age. Instead, there is ’dracul’ for devil, and an old ruler with this name— known as well as a severe ruler.

What remains is so–called "Dracula’s Castle" is an old fortress perched on a crag, in a both strategic and picturesque position, 25 miles south of Brasov —the town where I live — and used these days as an attraction for tourists.

Sitting on the sands, I am looking at some dogs. Dogs from anywhere understand each other very well, whatever the breed they belong. We can say they "speak the same language". Men from ancient times probably do the same. Down through the ages, as speech developed, different languages come into being, differentiate increasingly— firstly on large areas and without precise boundaries. In time, as some states come into existence, with sharper and sharper frontiers, the languages became increasingly differentiated.

One of the most important problems for my trip in USA is the transport. I will cross the continent from east to west and back, with as many stops as possible. Of course a car would be the best solution, particularly because I have got lots of painting materials to carry. Besides, I might stop here and there for painting on the spot, and a wet canvas is almost impossible to pack up. I do not have enough money for a new car and to hire one would be also rather expensive. But I could buy an old one. Florida is a good source for cheap old cars, much cheaper than Georgia, my next stop. I was definite to buy one, but all the people that I asked told me to renounce, because – for fear of robbers – nobody will stop to help me, if the car breaks down in the middle of the road. And an old car surely will break down. The single way is to call for service, but it may cost me more than another car. And the distances are of thousands of miles here. I followed their advice, but what a sad thought: nobody helps each other! What would be the happiness to live in a society with no feeling?

On the other hand, people become suspicious after some sly persons deceived them, but much more frequent because it is just they who usually try to deceive other people. The Americans are very suspicious people. Why?

Evil people are throughout the world. The difference consists in the way of their manifestations. Bank robbers can exist only in a town with banks. In a communist country, there were but a few thieves, as there was not much to steal. Evil people used to turn into political leaders.

The gossip en vogue is the Clinton versus Monica Lewinsky scandal. No matter when or where, if a television channel catches your eye, a passionate discussion on this topic is to be seen. All the channels have plenty of debates about Clinton’s wrongdoing. I do not have a special preoccupation with Clinton and I do not defend him, but I accuse the Republicans of using it as a campaign strategy, which is more pernicious for American democracy than for Clinton as person and for the Democratic Party, their true target. It is a political mistake. I said that it was the beginning of the end of American democracy. Certainly, I was exaggerating. American democracy will not end because of Clinton or his adversaries. Then, what is the matter? I must explain a few points!

1. Democracy is not so much a political system, as a state of affairs. A state of equilibrium, a balance of power, in which people express their opinions, and politicians take these opinions into account. There is some trust between them. Early in the life of every democracy, people are enthusiastic and the trust reaches the maximum level. Peoples’ actions are convergent with the general interest, and the economy is prosperous. In time, trust grows weaker and democracy grows old owing to just such events as Clinton’s case. The Italians or Greeks are good examples of old nations. Nobody would succeed in persuading the common Italian that his efforts could bring back the lost glory of the Roman Empire. That’s why he acts in an individual way, in his own interest, or at the most in his family’s interests.

2. USA is a young nation with a still young democracy. The common American still relies on his leaders, and the American flag —a symbol of the pride of being American —is to be found everywhere, even on the harlots’ pants. So I heard!

3. This public debate on Clinton’s case is not a gain for democracy. On the contrary, it is a step toward its ageing, because people lose their trust in leaders. Clinton is not the first and surely will not be the last president who made a false step. After a few years, people will forget him and his actions, good or bad. What will remain in people’s subconscious, is the idea that American politicians are not necessarily perfect. That is why Clinton’s guilt is not what is really important. Much guiltier are the Republicans who, in their fury, inflamed this shameful scandal, evidently for momentary politic interests, with too little care for long–term consequences.

4. The Republicans do not win more, because people have the opportunity to see that they do care more for removing their political adversaries than for the nation’s matters. The senators’ vote, according to party allegiance rather than for the case, is illustrative for their real preoccupation. They do not destroy as much the trust in Clinton, as the trust in politicians generally, and Republicans especially.

5. Democracy disappears together with trust, and as democracy is the key to economical prosperity, this suffers too, because there is not democracy without a good economy. Democracy and poverty are incompatible with each other.

That’s enough about the politics. No country seems to be free of stupid politicians. (The politician’s good deeds are up if you put them on one scale of a balance, and his evil ones on the other scale of the balance.) Coming back to the common Americans, the preoccupation for a practical and comfortable life is so strong that it sometimes overlooks other criteria. One day, for example, someone showed me a dwelling looking like a warehouse or a factory. They surprised me by expressing: "Look, what a nice house!" It was very large and probably very comfortable inside, but there was nothing nice or remarkable from the architectural or esthetical point of view in its exterior appearance.

As it was expected, few Americans know the expression “Cyrillic alphabet”. They know only that the Russians use a different alphabet, belong of Christian Orthodox faith, and as a consequence, they think that Cyrillic and the Orthodoxy came from Moscow. A rougher error would be hard to find. In reality, Cyril was not Russian at all. He was born in Thessalonica (Greece), then part of Byzantine Empire, and lived between 827 and 869. At that time Russia did not exist. The Byzantine Empire instead, used to be the most powerful Christian center in the world and the single educated area of Europe. It was the place where, during 1000 years, people preserved, next door to the darkness of the European Middle Ages, the value of the Hellenism and Roman civilization, up till the dawn of the Renaissance. The Renaissance itself was in a great measure the creation of the Byzantium, as the intellectuals from Constantinople are those who, for fear of Turks, took refuge in Italy, the ideal place for remaking the traditions of the Ancient times. Together with his brother Methodius, Cyril preached Christianity in Moravia (now the eastern region of Czech Republic), among the people speaking a Slav language. For them he invented the alphabet with his name and translated the books of the New Testament. For Russians, both Christianity and Cyrillic alphabet have come much later, from the West toward the East. Even in Ukraine— much to west than Moscow— in Kiev, the famous Pecerskaia Monastery has become famous thanks to Petru Movila, a Romanian bishop. Russia’s development started much later and it was the communist propaganda that exaggerated its role. Cyril died in Rome.

As for mythology, it is something people forgot about long ago, and many have never heard of Prometheus. Of course, they do not suffer for such a small thing. Rather I wonder, which was more important to know: how to make dollars, or how to seek answers to questions about Prometheus. Making money is a necessity for living, but I think it is very important to ask questions. The truths could be as simple as far away, and we will know them, or won’t. It is not the answer that is important so much as the path toward it. Not even Buddha— not to mention Jesus Christ— did not give solutions to life, but only ways to salvation. Ways, namely roads to cross through. Beyond faith, to be human means to ask questions. "Solely he who never thought enough, has clear ideas", said a poetess. Living without dilemmas seems to me the most useless possible thing. And some of the first dilemmas begin with Prometheus. "To bring to light the deep sense of these myths is the single way to understand the spirit of the civilizations born from them." (Adriano Tilgher)

No matter what our faith is, our ancestors’ faith, including mythology, is part of out history, of our cultural background. We are the result of our own history and cannot deny our genesis, because it would mean denying ourselves. We are the consequence of our forefathers’ deeds, good or bad. They say you must know where you come from, in order to know where you head for.

Our salvation consists in the fact that we understand very little. Anaxagoras said: “In the world, there are order and laws. That’s how the world can be understood”. The disadvantage lies in the fact that man uses his knowledge to his advantage, modifying in this way the environment, without knowing how detrimental his acts are. Our chance consists of the fact that — at least till now —our understanding was extremely limited, and its influence was minor, but evidently things are going to be different soon. The imminence of a catastrophe makes us to think if the recommendation of the Bible "believe and do not search" would not have been a wiser advice. First, we wonder if the scholars of that time really were so good soothsayers, or simply preached something comfortable for their own profession and life. We easy notice they contradict themselves saying that God made the world after a plan, consequently there is order in the world, there is a logic in which it was built. If these exist, the world can be understood, so we can do it, and nobody will hamper man wanting to become like God. The hypothesis that order does not exist in nature fails, not matter of the point of view in which we approach the question. Not even God could not make the world without a plan, so there was some logic and order in his mind. What remains to us is the conclusion that order exists, but our fragmental understanding, or to be more exactly our lack of understanding of superior levels, makes us to wrongly extrapolate some rules valuable only at our level beyond the limits.

The wish of life proposed by Schopenhauer as source of vital energy – even if it is far away to be perfect and exhaustive – is the most intelligent approach so far, at least in my opinion. The man Schopenhauer was very disputed, due to his ironical style, but his ideas still deserve our attention.

I again philosophize too much. Philosophy ...“poor and useless philosophical truths, which do not disturb anyone, a few or even fewer people read them...” (Voltaire).

Voltaire, what a fellow! I did not read much from his works, but I was captivated by his correspondence, and since the first reading I open this book occasionally. Speaking about Voltaire, I was surprised to learn that he had endeavored to obtain "The Ottoman History" by D. Cantemir, the Moldavian writer and prince.

Bye the way, there always is a problem in translating the title of the chiefs of Romanian countries from the past. The Romanian word is ’domnitor’ or simple ’domn’, which may be translated as master, but this says nothing to an English speaker. The natural translation would be king, but Western historians kept this title for themselves, promoting instead the title of princes, which is not correctly, as princes are not chiefs of states, but the children of kings and queens. Why? Let’s go a little in the past.

After the collapse of Western Roman Empire, the barbarian tribes, generally of German origin (Goths, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, etc.) invaded its former territory. In that vacuum of power, the military chiefs built small fortresses, from where they dominated the area. In time, the fortresses became citadels and castles, and the successors of former military chiefs considered to be the owners of the surrounding lands. We are in full feudal epoch. For several centuries, there were not great dangers for them; nobody threatened them, as toward the west the ocean was a natural border, and as far as the eastern border was concerned, the barbarians were a long distance from the West of Europe, and other people— like the Romanians— had to fight against those Eastern invaders. Of curse, small fights existed as anywhere— but they looked more as some disputes inside of the family than real wars.

The feudal lords did not feel the need of wearing the title of king. It was Pepin the Short, who had the idea of crowning himself as King of the Franks. Why? Because, in the meantime, the first real danger appeared, under the form of Muslim Empire’s expansion, and his father, Charles Martel, succeeded in persuade his neighboring lords to fight together against a common threat, and did it in the battles of Poitiers and Tours (732). Thanks to his father’s merits, the son thought he deserves to wear the title of king. Of course, nobody paid attention at him then, but some years latter, the Martel’s nephew is no one else but Charlemagne, which wanted to be emperor. But this is another story.

On the one hand, we must notice that the barbarians always wanted to remake the glory of former Roman Empire, but under their leadership, if possible. This idea persisted until recent years. (Let’s not forget that some German central European countries kept the title of ’Holy Roman Empire’ as far as the 19th century.) Even Odoacer, who became ruler after the dead of the last emperor in 476, declared himself to be the new Roman emperor, even if nobody recognized his as an emperor.

On the other hand, the barbarians were not pagans. On the contrary, they were Christians, even more than the Romans were. In Roman Empire, Christianity had spread slowly, particularly among the poor people (because it is a religion of the poor people), starting from the east toward west. Few people were Christians in its western part before the collapse of the Roman Empire. Besides, there wasn’t a chief for the Christian churches at that time. Every bishop used to be independent. Instead, thanks to Wulfila, who invented an alphabet and translated Christian writings into the Goths’ language. It was the Goths who spread Christianity in western occupied territories—it is true by sword more than by conviction. Charlemagne, shaking hands with the bishop of Rome, reached two aims: he was recognized as emperor by the church, and the bishop, as Pope and chief of Western church. Charlemagne was illiterate, and the Empire disintegrated after his death, but the idea remained. It was the church that carried on further and made Charlemagne a saint, a great emperor, etc. Soon, Western church separated itself under the name of Catholic Church, in this way the Pope becoming the single chief of the Western church, and only him may anoint kings. As for the kings, they were considered to be of divine origin. As a matter of fact, they bring again the ancient faith, more profitable for leaders, this time under the name of Christianity, even if Jesus’ doctrine was quite opposite, proclaiming the equality of every person in face of God. But the real Christian doctrine could not be pleasant for kings and a hierarchical church. Their wish for power was as great as the Eastern Roman Empire used to be still alive under the name of Byzantine Empire, but weaker and weaker, while the Western Europe became increasingly powerful.

Coming back to Romanians rulers, it is understanding now why the Western kings did not want to share the same title with other rulers: because they wanted to keep the title of king of divine origin, and it could not belong but to few families.

I am heading to Georgia.