Solaris recap
[Speaking for the first time]
Don’t blow it.
[laughs] You start.
I did.
Really? All right, I’m going to resist the impulse to ask you about the doorknob.
Do you always resist your impulses?
Not always.
Try poetry.
And death shall have no dominion…
Mm, Thomas. It’s not a very happy poem, though.
Well, you didn’t seem very happy when I saw you on the train.
[laughs] I wasn’t.
And tonight?
It’s early.
Gibarian: You think you’re dreaming me.
Chris Kelvin: You’re not Gibarian.
Gibarian: No? Who am I then?
Chris Kelvin: A puppet.
Gibarian: And you’re not? Or maybe you’re my puppet. But like all puppets you think you’re actually human. It’s the puppets dream, being human.
Earth. Even the word sounded strange to me now… unfamiliar. How long had I been gone? How long had I been back? Did it matter? I tried to find the rhythm of the world where I used to live. I followed the current. I was silent, attentive, I made a conscious effort to smile, nod, stand, and perform the millions of gestures that constitute life on earth. I studied these gestures until they became reflexes again. But I was haunted by the idea that I remembered her wrong, and somehow I was wrong about everything.
[last lines]
Am I alive, or dead?
We don’t have to think like that any more. We’re together now. Everything we’ve done is forgiven. Everything.
La lección del agua
La superficie del agua sometida exclusivamente a la acción de la gravedad, es plana y horizontal, lisa y reflectante como un espejo. Está tranquila y en calma.
Mizu-no-kokoro. El espíritu debe permanecer siempre tranquilo como la superficie de un lago en calma. La actitud tranquila que se debe adoptar frente al adversario, para percibir todos sus mensajes y actuar en el momento preciso. Cuando la mente está preocupada por miedo, rencor, cólera, etc. No capta bien los estímulos externos y reacciona anormalmente, por debajo de sus efectivas posibilidades.
El agua discurre siempre desde el punto más alto al punto más bajo, fluye constantemente respetando la ley de la gravedad. No puede ir hacia arriba si no es impulsada por una fuerza ajena.
La no-resistencia. Oponerse a una fuerza superior es antinatural y por tanto el fracaso es seguro. Actuar “a favor y con…” esa fuerza es lo que nos enseña el agua que debe hacerse. Nunca oponerse frontalmente al adversario, antes bien, aprovecharse de su energía y de su acción.
El agua se adapta inmediatamente a todo hueco, forma o resquicio, lo cubre, lo rodea, y poco a poco se apodera de él hasta cubrirlo y trascenderlo.
Adaptabilidad constante e inmediata, sin preguntar previamente, sin protestar, sin poner condiciones, saber adaptarse a cualquier movimiento del otro, y sin contrariarlo, descubrir la forma de neutralizarlo constantemente, cualesquiera que sean sus reacciones.
No es fácil conseguir que el cuerpo y la mente actúen al unísono con la fluidez del agua, pero es un aspecto sobre el que se debería insistir más en la práctica del Aikido.
Al encontrar un obstáculo no se detiene ni vuelve atrás, sabe esperar, mientras crece su caudal y su capacidad para rodearlo, encontrar los puntos inmediatamente accesibles (los puntos más bajos) por los que va abordando, esquivando y rebasando el obstáculo hasta superarlo dejándolo atrás. Busca sin cesar otra salida que le permite seguir su curso hasta el equilibrio y el reposo.
Cuando realizamos una técnica y el otro se resiste o la esquiva no hay que seguir insistiendo para concluirla por la fuerza, sino entender que es inmediatamente preciso y necesario “buscar sin dilación por otro sitio.La resistencia o la esquiva del otro lleva implícito este mensaje: “por aquí no puedes, pero se ha creado una nueva oportunidad si no te detienes y sabes descubrir la nueva dirección”.
Cuando dos cursos de agua se encuentran en direcciones convergentes u opuestas, enseguida el de menor caudal se adapta y se deja absorber uniéndose al mayor, para seguir juntos con mayor potencia y velocidad en la misma dirección, a partir del momento del encuentro.
Saber ceder para unirse (integrarse) a la acción del otro, en su misma dirección y así hacerse dueño de la fuerza resultante para dirigirla a nuestra conveniencia a partir del instante del encuentro.
Incluso en estado de reposo absoluto, el agua está siempre dispuesta para actuar. Basta cualquier causa que altere sus condiciones de equilibrio e inmediatamente se escapará por ese punto. La acción del agua es constante y permanente. Nunca está dormida.
Nos muestra la actitud que conviene adoptar en la práctica, y en la vida ordinaria, de acción en potencia dentro de la calma, superando las barreras de la inercia o la sorpresa.La vigilancia ha de ser constante y natural, y la disponibilidad inmediata.
Al vaciarse, o pasar del recipiente que contiene una masa de agua a un conducto menor, va describiendo un movimiento de espiral, que facilita su salida de forma rápida y constante.
Es difícil y costoso actuar directamente sobre la masa corporal del oponente, pero si abordamos la acción por el punto más débil, como la mano o el brazo, sometiéndose a un movimiento espiral (torsión) que afecte progresivamente las articulaciones hasta llegar al tronco, conseguiremos “vaciar” (proyectar) su cuerpo por el camino más fácil.
La gota de agua que cae intermitente y constantemente sobre la roca más dura, acaba por hacer huella y hasta hueco.
Repetir, repetir, repetir una y otra vez las mismas técnicas, los mismos gestos, las mismas actitudes, sin importar nuestra debilidad o ineptitud actual. Aquel que sea capaz de perseverar como la gota, alcanzará el dominio de los principios y las técnicas de Aikido.
La superficie del agua impulsada por el viento origina un movimiento de oleaje y se desplaza en trayectoria ondulatoria.
La trayectoria de onda ya sea en plano horizontal o vertical, permiten desequilibrar y dirigir al oponente con mucha más facilidad, menor gasto de energía, y menos posibilidades de resistir o adivinar a dónde se le lleva.
El agua es incompresible (no se puede comprimir) y transmite en todas las direcciones cualquier presión que se ejerce sobre ella.El agua se aparta enseguida si la queremos oprimir, ofreciendo el vacío.
Ofrecer el vacío a todas las acciones del oponente, no mantener la masa del cuerpo ni en el lugar, ni en el momento que otro ha elegido para atacarnos. Escapar por donde no espera y volver contra sus puntos débiles con toda la potencia creada por el cuerpo en movimiento.
“En el combate tú debes ser el agua que posee la fluidez y el adversario es la roca”. Morihei Ueshiba.
Recount
How can I stop blogging (or whatever you callit) when the world is full of moments like this:
Bill Clinton’s North Korea Rescue Mission
In conclusion
From one of my research papers:
http://virtueality.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/spiritual-leadership.pdf
In the final analysis we see that spiritual leadership is the kind of leadership that is inspiring and uniting instead of pushing and dividing. The spirit is fed by inspiration, delight and excitement. A good food for the spirit is love, from which the previous three are born. Inspiration and enthusiasm are the home of the spirit, its true origin. Between the periods of elation and love there unfortunately is the everyday life, where love tends to be scarce.
During that time the spirit can feed on the bits and pieces of excitement, which exist around us all the time. This could be a hum on your lips, a favorite poem, dance step or drawing on paper corner. All this, from which we were ofter discouraged during our schooling, when we started to believe that we don`t have the talent necessary for artists. All our dreams of changing the world, which we were ridiculed for, making us believe that one person alone is incapable of making a difference in the world. But that is not true, each of us holds in himself a spirit, which asks for the food of delight and elation, to survive to the end. By sharing his spirit with the world, by finding again the truth that we lost in our childhood, by going through the three metamorphoses described by Nietzsche, the enemy of serious public opinions of religious truth and customary traditions, when we reach the third stage of the change, that of the child, we find in our spiritual depths a great source capable of love and excitement, a new beginning, a self-propelled wheel, a first movement, a sacred “Yes.”
Of the three metamorphoses of the spirit I tell you: how the spirit becomes a camel; and the camel, a lion; and the lion, finally, a child.
There is much that is difficult for the spirit, the strong, reverent spirit that would bear much: but the difficult and the most difficult are what its strength demands.
What is difficult? asks the spirit that would bear much, and kneels down like a camel wanting to be well loaded. What is most difficult, O heroes, asks the spirit that would bear much, that I may take it upon myself and exult in my strength? Is it not humbling oneself to wound one’s haughtiness? Letting one’s folly shine to mock one’s wisdom?…
Or is it this: stepping into filthy waters when they are the waters of truth, and not repulsing cold frogs and hot toads?
Or is it this: loving those that despise us and offering a hand to the ghost that would frighten us?
All these most difficult things the spirit that would bear much takes upon itself: like the camel that, burdened, speeds into the desert, thus the spirit speeds into its desert.
In the loneliest desert, however, the second metamorphosis occurs: here the spirit becomes a lion who would conquer his freedom and be master in his own desert. Here he seeks out his last master: he wants to fight him and his last god; for ultimate victory he wants to fight with the great dragon.
Who is the great dragon whom the spirit will no longer call lord and god? “Thou shalt” is the name of the great dragon. But the spirit of the lion says, “I will.” “Thou shalt” lies in his way, sparkling like gold, an animal covered with scales; and on every scale shines a golden “thou shalt.”
Values, thousands of years old, shine on these scales; and thus speaks the mightiest of all dragons: “All value has long been created, and I am all created value. Verily, there shall be no more ‘I will.’” Thus speaks the dragon.
My brothers, why is there a need in the spirit for the lion? Why is not the beast of burden, which renounces and is reverent, enough?
To create new values — that even the lion cannot do; but the creation of freedom for oneself and a sacred “No” even to duty — for that, my brothers, the lion is needed. To assume the right to new values — that is the most terrifying assumption for a reverent spirit that would bear much. Verily, to him it is preying, and a matter for a beast of prey. He once loved “thou shalt” as most sacred: now he must find illusion and caprice even in the most sacred, that freedom from his love may become his prey: the lion is needed for such prey.
But say, my brothers, what can the child do that even the lion could not do? Why must the preying lion still become a child? The child is innocence and forgetting, a new beginning, a game, a self-propelled wheel, a first movement, a sacred “Yes.” For the game of creation, my brothers, a sacred “Yes” is needed: the spirit now wills his own will, and he who had been lost to the world now conquers the world.
from Nietzsche’s Thus spoke Zarathustra, part I, Walter Kaufmann transl.
On Love and Being
Interview with Jacques Derrida:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1BuNmhjAY
“I have an empty head on love in general…”
(…) the entire history of the concept of structure, before the rupture of which we are speaking, must be thought of as a series of substitutions of centre for centre, as a linked chain of determinations of the centre. Successively, and in a regulated fashion, the centre receives different forms or names. The history of metaphysics , like the history of the West, is the history of these metaphors and metonymies. Its matrix is the determination of Being as presence in all senses of this word. It could be shown that all the names related to fundamentals, to principles, or to the centre have always designated an invariable presence – eidos, archē, telos, energeia, ousia (essence, existence, substance, subject), alētheia , transcendentality, consciousness, God, man, and so forth.
– “Structure, Sign and Play” in Writing and Difference, p. 353.
Who ever said that one was born just once? (Jacques Derrida)
The father of Deconstructionism. Of the term and of the approach which pursues/shows the different opposed meanings of a text. Your ideas were central -which is a contradiction- in the development of a whole new open way of interpreting texts and reality. You think there’s no “natural state”, nor either a “word in nature”, so the work of the philosopher is to unveil the forces that interplay behind every text; cultural, literary, and so forth. You understand that this struggle/that struggle itself is the only possible reality, and you see it as a game. So you are not afraid to pick a fight once in a while.
And the test questions, with my answers underlined:
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1.
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Among the following words, which one do you prefer?
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| diacronic | |
| consumerism | |
| community | |
| influence | |
| struggle/play | |
| difference | |
| meta- | |
| double | |
| performance |
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2.
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If you are walking down the street and see that someone is beating up another, weaker one, you…
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| …think that though it’s understandable because all human relations are determined by power, you must take part in it to try to stop the outrage.. | |
| …don’t try to formulate an explanation, instead, you ask whoever’s around for his little narratives to have an idea of what is happeening… ah, you don’t bother to take part, things like that are product of times like these | |
| …see if the beaten one is a woman, but he’s a guy, so you’ll think that your first reaction was influenced by cultural preconceptions regarding gender | |
| …think that it’s understandable that one projects himself in the other as a way to exteriorize one’s anger… | |
| …see that it’s understandable, that of course, the weaker one will go to the gym, become stronger and beat up the other guy, who perhaps will return with his friends for revenge some months later… | |
| …think that the fact that one of them is standing while the other one lies on the floor is what makes the first one the agressor and the other the victim, but in another context that could be different | |
| …ascribe it to the influence of media and mass culture… they may be saturated with all the surrounding signs, so they are constructing their own reality… as in that movie… | |
| …think that it’s a clear historical manifestation, but you should take part against the decadence of our time | |
| …take a photo so you can have it as a product, and interpret is in its cultural, as well as in its artistic dimension |
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3.
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What’s your favourite food?
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| Even food is imposed by anonymous institutions within culture. They want us to eat what they want in order to control us. I go to the gym instead. | |
| Yes, I like Arab food, what’s the matter?, you continental, centralized fuck! | |
| Do you think cooking is for women, right? | |
| Anything but bananas… or cucumbers… or carrots… fuck!, oh!, fuck again! | |
| Don’t know, let me see my History, I mean, my recipes book to have an idea… | |
| See, take anything you like. Then add a little difference. Notice how it becomes a complete different thing? That’s why there aren’t pre-existing dishes | |
| Anything but MacDonald’s | |
| I don’t eat. My Gauloises are the only thing I need… | |
| I saw this book at the bookstore the other day. It’s called The History of couisine. You know what?, I don’t fall for that! Cooking it’s not determined by History |
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4.
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What’s your favourite colour?
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| Red… no, blue!, no, red!… well, yellow for a while… that´s enough. Red again… no, blue!, no, red! | |
| Red… with some drawings in black… | |
| Anything metallic… robot metallic | |
| Pink… any problem with that? | |
| Anything plastic… like plastic toy’s colours | |
| It’s not pink… any problem with that? | |
| Anything reflected in a mirror… | |
| Something very French… like the colours of the French flag perhaps? But I’m not a nationalist… | |
| The thing’s we cannot refer to colours as universal categories, if I was colour-blind all this would be complettely different. Do you realize? Even the term colour-blind is wrong as it doesn’t actually refer to blindness but to a different image of.. |
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5.
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Do you believe in God? What He would be/is like?
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| If God didn’t exist there would be no Devil. But at the same time, the Devil, who is Satan, exists because God exists, though He wouldn’t be considered so mighty if He hadn’t demonstrated that by sending Satan to hell… what was the question? | |
| I don’t. I believe in social and cultural frameworks. But if God existed He would see everything at the same time. | |
| I don’t because I am a product of my epoch. The existence of God would imply the existence of a system that validated all the systems… | |
| If I believe in dog? Dog or God? You said Dog, it wasn’t me. Come on, don’t try to trick me with that! | |
| God’s a body without organs… | |
| No, I don’t. History is the closest thing we have to that… | |
| A saturation of signs. A machine. Like /The Matrix/´s matrix. | |
| Yes, but it doesn’t matter what he would be like. I think we are the really important ones. I have never coped with the idea of an author. | |
| God’s performativity… perhaps if we all act as gods… hey!, did you say He? |
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6.
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What’s your favourite pastime activity besides writing?
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| Who said writing? I don’t write, my texts are read. Oh, I like to smoke… Gauloises… | |
| I collect miniatures. Then I classify them. they are slightly different one from another, but that’s enough. I name them. | |
| Who said writing? I don’t write. I speak and there’s a machine that writes it all for me. Yes, I know it’s decadent, but I suffer from arthritis… erm… | |
| I record my voice and listen to it over and over to hear what I really think that I mean I think I mean… What do I mean? | |
| Who said writing? I don’t write! Well, sometimes I speak, other times I write, then I speak again, but that’s not your business anyway! Oh, when I was a child I played tag. | |
| I write language games. Oh!, you said beesides writing? Well, there’s no such thing as “besides writing”. All is narrative my friends. | |
| Who said writing? I don’t write. I peerform. I live and behave as I was culturally conditioned to and that’s all to it. | |
| I work out. A lot. A strong body is equally important than an intelligent mind. | |
| I play tennis. You see, tennis is like History. A nice simile. |
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7.
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Suppose you find out that your mate has been cheating on you, you…
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| I find out? How am I supposed to find out? Because I beelieve no stories.. | |
| …would feel castrated | |
| …would perform the role of the avenger… | |
| There’s a shift in affections proper to the epoch which makes it compleetely undderstandable… | |
| Oh, the myth of fidelity! I would take her picture… to remember how she was.. | |
| In a sense, it may be that it was me who was cheating myself… | |
| See, human relations are transactions. If I’m not giving her what she wants I can live with that. But if I am and she’s just trying to mess with me I would use technology… mmm, maybe I’ll hack her computer… | |
| In a sense there’s no such thing as cheating as long as one is faithful to the system. In this case the system is myself, so I’d kill her with style… | |
| I would see that the relation of power that I’ve tried to build between both was broken or inverted, which is the same as saying that I’m no longer the dominant one. So I’d have to use my muscles to get back to the previous order. |
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8.
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You have to build something very complicated, and you have a manual in a foreign language that you don’t know, what do you do?
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| Of course I need a manual, so I can get all the process as a language | |
| I’d get a dictionary. How can I analyze something if is not from language? Oh!, that I’m not analyzing anything, you say? that I’m only constructing? No, in fact I’m deconstructing, sir. | |
| I know structures so well that I wouldn’t need a manual at all | |
| There’s a difference between a writer and a carpenter or an engineer. I’d pay someone tto build it. | |
| I’m not interested at all in building things. Sorry, indifference and apathy are just conventions of the epoch I was born in | |
| Manuals are just thee corporate way to take control over our hability to be creative and productive. I’d take charge of it by myself. | |
| I’d buy a manual, or find one in the web… | |
| Are you saying I can’t build something? I don’t need manuals, I don’t need your cultural conventions! | |
| I don’t need a meta-narrative of book cases, or desks, or whatever I have to build… |
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9.
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What’s the car of your dreams?
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| A sublime one.. | |
| High technology. Better if it flies. | |
| The new Citroen | |
| A big one… Big as my… self | |
| One different from all the other ones | |
| One that shows that I’m wealthier, and more powerful than you… | |
| The one I drive | |
| One which moves forwards, and backwards, and forwards, and backwards… | |
| A red one… |
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10.
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You are in a march to the congress against the the new resolution of stop teaching Philosophy as an obligatory subject in High schools.Suddenly you see the politician who presented it walking in front of you.What’s the first curse word you would say?
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| Hey fucker!, you fuck!, fuck you! | |
| Dickhead! | |
| Fucking cunt! | |
| Fucktard! | |
| Shitty arsehole! | |
| Mofo! | |
| You, motherfucker! | |
| Hey, asswipe! | |
| Tool! |
French song
A little girl goes out walking in the night, A little boy calls good evening from the light, They stop to talk for just a while, Then she's gone. A little girl sits beside her window pane Thinking about an evening in the rain, A little talk, a little boy, Then she's gone. A little girl goes out walking once again, A little boy finds that he has done the same, They stop to talk for just a while Then they're gone, Then they're gone, Then they're gone.
Interview with Rein Taagepera
“Pipi Longstocking did not have summer holidays because she did not go to school. I don`t have a holiday because I am retired”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rein_Taagepera
•• Eesti on sattunud kriisi ja lahendusi ei paista. Tartu ja California Irvine’i ülikooli professor Rein Taagepera, kuidas teile tundub, kas oleks mõeldav ka teie kolmas tulemine poliitikasse?
Seda kolmandat tulemist ei hakka ma üldse enne arutama, kui tuleb mingeid pakkumisi poliitiliselt poolelt. Praegu ma ütleksin, et kriis on väiksem kui tollal, mil ma Res Publicaga liitusin. Tollal ma tunnetasin ühiskondlikku kriisi. Praegu on ainult majanduslik kriis, mis on osa maailmakriisist. On näha, et maailm toibub ja ka Eesti toibub.
•• Juba näete, et Eesti toibub?
Maailmas on põhi saavutatud ja miks ta peaks kiiresti üles minema, kui maailma üks hädadest on liigne tarbimismeelsus? Kuigi ka tippajal oli Eestis inimesi, kes elasid puuduses, on mul tunne, et keskmine eestlane kulutas juba rohkem, kui vaja. Ma olen näinud, kuidas lapsed poes on nii häbematult nõudlikud, et peavad enesestmõistetavaks asju, mis minule lapsepõlves polnud kaugeltki enesestmõistetavad. Talvel läheb muidugi raskemaks – küttekulud suurenevad. Siis tuleb ilmselt ka Eestis põhi kätte.
•• Eesti rahva iibe kohta olete hoiatusi mitu korda välja käinud. Kas see teema võiks anda teile motivatsiooni riigiasjusse rohkem sekkuda?
Meie iive on Euroopa kohta keskmine, aga üldrahvaarv on omakeelsete kultuuride kohta kõige madalam, kui Island välja arvata. Kui ma rohkem kui kord aastas iibeteemat kergitan, siis tuleks vastureaktsioon, et „ahah, Taagepera ratsutab jälle oma meelishobusel”, ning see kaotaks mõju. Seda saaks edasi ajada ainult keegi teine ja ma saan sellele kaasa aidata. Tihti nähakse põhjusi majanduses ja poliitikas, mina näen üldkultuurilisi põhjusi.
Väga hästi on sellest aru saanud Leo Kunnas, kes kirjutab, kuidas käituda isana. Eesti mehed on tihtipeale mingis võltsmehelikkuse karedas koorikus sees, mis neile ei meeldi, aga millest nad ei oska välja tulla. Tuleva aasta metsaülikooli teema on eesti naine ja eesti mees. Üks eesti akadeemik on selle kohta juba arvamust avaldanud, et mis mõtet sellisel teemal on, meil ei ole meeste ja naiste vahelistes suhetes mingeid probleeme. See ongi Eesti iibeprobleem, et leidub kõrgelt haritud ja mitte nii kõrgelt haritud inimesi, kes arvavad, et Eesti mees- ja naissuhetes pole mingeid probleeme. See pole poliitiline probleem. Muidugi on vaja võrd-õiguslikkuse seadusi, aga seadus toimib ainult vastava kultuuri raames. Eesti rahvas katsub väga palju probleeme lahendada uute seaduste väljaandmisega, mida nad ise ei täida. Kui kõik need, kes nõuavad eesti keele kaitsmiseks rangemaid seadusi, katsuksid ise ilusamat eesti keelt rääkida, siis oleks kasu. Kui nad aitaksid aktsendiga rääkival venekeelsel inimesel eesti keeles kõnelda, selle asemel et minna üle oma puuvene keelele, siis oleks ka kasu.
•• Öeldakse, et parim tee majandushädadest väljapääsemiseks on hariduspoliitika. Meie ülikoolid üheski rahvusvahelises edetabelis ei ole. On see paratamatu?
Alati võib paremini teha, aga Tartu ülikool on hea alus, kust edasi minna. Kõige tuntum on üks Hiinas koostatud edetabel, kus on 500 paremat ülikooli. On täitsa võimalik, et Tartu ülikool on kuskil 600 hulgas. Kui nii hakata mõtlema, siis 500 ülikooli kuuele miljardile inimesele ära jagada – see teeb ühe kooli rohkem kui kümne miljoni kohta. Mis sa hing tahad? Jõuda Euroopas 200 parema hulka on võimalik, kui tahame 100 parema hulka jõuda, peavad teised end väga loppi laskma. Tartu ülikoolile aitaks kaasa, kui oleks vähem õhust võetud unistusi ja rohkem konkreetseid plaane. Keelkond on väike. Me peame kaaluma, kuidas saada väljastpoolt sisse ka selliseid õppejõude, kes aja jooksul oleksid valmis eesti keeles loenguid pidama.
•• Kas esmane eesmärk peaks olema oma rahvuskeele alleshoidmine ja tabelitele mõtlemine peaks tulema pärast seda?
Me rikastame maailmakultuuri sellega, et oleme erilised. See ei tähenda, et peaks maailmast eralduma. Mulle vahel tundub, nagu toimiksid eestlased kahel gloobusel – üldgloobusel ja Tootsi gloobusel, kus on suurelt Paunvere peal ja Eesti selle ümber. Eks ameeriklastel ole ka oma Huckleberry Finni gloobus, aga see on nii suur, et maailm on seal kuskil kõrval. Eestlastel on aga selgelt kaks eri gloobust. Maailma asju arutatakse justkui arukalt, aga Eesti asju arutades hüpatakse teise gloobuse juurde. Päevalehes oli juttu (intervjuu Tiit Ojasooga „Kunstniku roll on ärkvel püsida”, EPL 18.07), kuidas Eesti numbriplaatidega autod lähevad Helsingis parvlaevale soome viisakusega, andes üksteisele teed, ja tulevad Tallinnas välja äärmiselt ebaviisakalt. Niisugune on teinekord siire maailmagloobuselt Tootsi gloobuse juurde.
•• Kas see kahel gloobusel toimimine kuidagi veel ilmneb?
Ei hoolita eriti teisest inimesest, gloobusel ollakse üksi. Joostakse teisele inimesele otsa ega märgata kedagi teist. Mul oli eile juhtum, kui umbes 12-aastane laps ootas Võru tänaval ülekäigu kohal üleminekut ja ma peatusin. Ja sel ajal, kui mina peatusin, sõitis mu taga olev auto hirmkiiresti minust mööda ja oli vaid õnn, et laps oli sel hetkel veel minu auto ees. Oleks ta jõudnud paar meetrit kaugemale, siis oleksin mina sellega, et seisma jäin, tema tapmisele kaasa aidanud. See juht mängis lapse eluga vene ruletti, et kas siis, kui ta paneb gaasi põhja, jõuab enne mööda, kui laps jõuab ette astuda. Mis poliitilist hoolivust saab sellises ühiskonnas nõuda poliitikutelt? Me nõuame kole palju teistelt ja sellepärast nõuame seadusi, arvates, et teised peavad neid täitma. Selle asemel et muuta oma kultuuri natuke hoolivamaks teiste inimeste suhtes, alates perekonnaliikmetest. Kui eestlasele otsa joosta, siis ta teab, kuidas käituda – ta kirub sisimas või ka poolavalikult. Aga kui olla ebaeestlaslikult viisakas, siis ta on tihtipeale täielikus segaduses. Ameerikas või Soomes, kui inimesele hoitakse ust lasti, siis ta ütleb „tänan”. Sellega ollakse juba Eestis natuke rohkem harjunud, aga ütelda „tänan!” on eestlasele väga raske.
Teine asi, mis teda segadusse ajab, on kiituseavaldus. Ütled ameeriklasele komplimendi, siis ta vastab „tänan” ja ongi kõik. Eestlane hakkab ikka vastu vaidlema, et ega mul ikka nii ilus särk ei ole. Väga raske on eestlasele ka vabandamine. Selleks tuleks suisa keeleliselt midagi välja mõelda. Inglise keeles on sõna „sorry” väga hea – mul on kahju. Ei hakata süüd paigutama. Nad võiksid öelda ka „excuse me” – ma vabandan, aga siis ma sisendan, et mina olin kokkupõrke peapõhjustaja. Peaks „vabandust” asemel mingi neutraalsema sõna välja mõtlema.
•• Paratamatult on ka juhid sellest kultuurist mõjutatud. Kui me vaatame oma eliiti — poliitikuid, tippametnikke —, siis kas nende ettevalmistus on piisav praeguses olukorras toimetulekuks?
On teatav vahe esimese ja kolmanda põlve haritlase vahel. See annab ikka tunda, et pole teise-kolmanda põlve ärimehi ja poliitikuid. On vaja iseenda loojate uuendusmeelsust, aga nende tasakaalustamiseks selliseid, kellel on võtta mitme sugupõlve harjumused ühiskonnaelus. Ma ikka võrdlen Eesti ja Soome vägede ülemjuhatajaid 1939.
Ühelt poolt Laidoner, talupoja perest, kes läks oportunistlikult vene usku. Isetehtud mees. Teiselt poolt vabahärra Mannerheim, kes võis ohvitsere oma sugupuus lugeda kes teab kui kaugele. Kui asi läheb tõsiseks, siis üks teeb kaine kaalutluse, et me ei suuda vastu pidada, ja teine teeb mitte nii kaine arvestuse, et me peame vastu pidama ka siis, kui me just nagu ei suudaks. Ime küll, tulemus on see, et ebamõistlik vastupanu annab siiski mingeid tulemusi, ja need mehed, keda Laidoner võinuks saata võitlusse, pidasid oma võitluse Saksa mundris. On ebamõistlik käituda liiga mõistlikult. Esimesele tähendusele mõistlikust käitumisest peab lisama eneseväärikuse ja moraalifaktorid. Kõik need arenevad stabiilsetes perekondades aja jooksul. Aga ilma igasuguste illusioonideta Venemaa suhtes – klähvimist on praegu kaugelt liiga palju.
•• Eesti räägib valjult, aga tegudes…
Ei maksa rohkem klähvida, kui oleme valmis tegudega välja lunastama. See kehtib iga matsi kohta, kes Venemaa kohta midagi üleolevalt ütleb, aga pole valmis tõstma Eesti kaitsekulutusi kahe protsendini SKT-st. Ameerika president Teddy Roosevelt ütles saja aasta eest, et räägi vaikselt ja kanna suurt nuia.
Soome rääkimisstiil ja kaitsekulud on omavahel paremas kooskõlas kui Eesti puhul. Ja seda mitte poliitikute tasemel. Mees tänavalt on valmis väga kõvasti Venemaa suunal sõna võtma, aga kui asi jõuab isikliku kaitsevalmiduseni näiteks kaitseliidu ridades, tõmmatakse väga kiiresti saba jalge vahele.
•• Läheme teie lemmikteemadele lähemale, milleks on valimised ja erakonnad. Kostnud on hääli, et erakonnad pole kuigi head rahva tahte esindajad.
Kogu see debatt toimus nüüd taas Tootsi gloobusel. Kunas ja kus siis erakonnad on edukamad olnud rahva esindamisel? Erakonnad polegi kuigi head rahva tahte esindajad, ainult et paremat pole leitud. Küsimus pole reeglites, vaid poliitilises kultuuris. Seda õpib vaid aastakümnete jooksul. Aga selleks peab igal päeval katsuma teha midagi natuke paremini kui eelneval.
•• Kui viimati teile helistasin, siis olite oma kabinetis. Kas siis juuli lõpus on teil ülikoolis nii palju tööd?
Pipi Pikksukal polnud koolivaheaegu, sest ta ei käinud koolis. Ja minul ei ole suvel puhkust, sest ma olen pensionär.
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