Monthly Archives: August 2011

Cure of verbal diarrhoea

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Rafe| Leave a comment

When being stopped in the street by political campaigners prior to local or general elections here’s what to do to avoid being subject to the usual verbal diarrhoea. Before they have a chance to start regurgitating their tiresome message ask them the following question: give me one, and only one, reason – in one short sentence – why I should vote for this party. Before they start answering, ask them to confirm explicitly that they have understood the task and are willing to adhere to it. After hearing the sentence, say thanks and tell them that you have to go as you are collecting all the parties’ sentences. Or if you feel so inclined, start to question them about one important word in their answer, for instance “freedom” or “justice.” If they deviate tell them so in a firm voice. This cure is 90 per cent effective and offers a little bit of entertainment as well, especially when the campaigners think that their answer is any good.

Posted in Politics

What if?

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Rafe| Leave a comment

Today a stranger rang on my door. He was a young fellow who claimed to be a student from Ukraine. I did not ask him how it came to pass that he was now in my country which is far away from the Ukraine. He joyously went on opening a little suitcase containing traditional Russian and Eastern European artefacts: nested matryoshka dolls in several variants, assorted pens and key holders with a similar babushka motive and small wooden jewellery boxes with carvings on them. Would I like to buy some of these items? Wishing to be agreeable I asked for the prices and it turned out that his petty goods were rather expensive even by our domestic standards. Coming from a poor country visiting a rich he clearly believed that money ought not to be an object. Indeed, if we could afford the local bus fares we should not object to his pricing, he argued. Nonetheless, as I politely turned down his offers, he just shut his suitcase and walked quietly away. I was glad to see the back of him but nevertheless I was left in a state of uneasiness due to this uncalled-for interruption and confrontation.

Later it struck me that I had in fact been lucky. For what if the next stranger that happens to pass by is of a less gracious constitution? What if he turns unpleasant as I refuse to buy anything from him, starts telling me how much he despises my country and my people and adds menacingly that I should watch it, that future “visitors” may not be as tolerant and indulgent as he? And what if the next stranger after that is worse still: what if he simply knocks me down as soon as I open the door and steals and loots whatever he can get away with? Yes, I must have been very lucky. Every other day I read about my fellow countrymen, particularly the elderly, who hospitably open their homes to complete strangers only to be met with violence and destruction. Confidence as a general trait of our kind of society – that is to say our long-standing habit of giving everyone the unconditional benefit of the doubt – is swiftly eroding as a consequence.

Posted in Reflections