Loving Macedonia
In responding to a worried question from a young Macedonian in the Diaspora recently, I wrote, “Macedonia will cease to exist when people stop loving her.”
English author, philosopher, and lay theologian G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) once remarked that “Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.”
I believe the Romans loved her because they believed in the idea and ideal of Rome and what she meant to them. And so they sacrificed for her. They served her.
But eventually Rome fell.
Yes, Rome fell for many reasons. But those many reasons had a common thread, in my opinion. Rome had become wealthy, which led them to become decadent and self-indulgent, which led them to forget where they came from (I have written many times about the importance of memory to a people). In forgetting this (or in choosing, deliberately, not to remember) they then lost their gratitude for what they had and what their ancestors before them had built. And since the opposite of gratitude is not ingratitude but resentment, they came to think that Rome was no longer worth fighting for. Their love for Rome died. And so did Rome.
Here’s another example, more recent: late 18th century France collapsed because the people no longer believed in her, no longer loved her — they wanted something else. They opted for a revolution that tore down the foundations of France and replaced it with something they thought would be better only to find out that what they tore down was far better than what replaced it — anarchy and tyranny.
The United States is on this path now — a growing number of Americans no longer believe in the idea and the ideals of the founding and of our founders. They say — in fact they loudly shout — that the founding and the founders were corrupt, rotten to the core, sinful, and more. So they are now attempting to tear and burn all of that down. They no longer love America because they have become corrupted by self-indulgent self-centered behavior.
Do you love Macedonia?
What does it mean to “love” some thing, especially a place? I submit that it essentially means the same thing as loving someone, another individual. Whereas “love,” as a noun, is a feeling, the right use of the word “love” in the context of relationships is as a verb, an action, a behavior.
Loving your country is rooted in right behavior.
And behaving rightly toward your country means not tearing down, but instead building up. It means recognizing that, yes, while changes and reforms are needed from time to time, these things need to happen incrementally and with a great deal of reflection, thought, debate and then consensus.
People around the world and for many ages have referred to their countries and lands as “fatherland,” or “motherland,” giving human attributes to geographical land and place. But absent the people, these places, beautiful though they might be and rich with natural resources though they may be, are just empty landscapes. And so what makes a geographical place “great” is best exemplified by two things: first, the people and their love, their behavior, towards each other in society and second their love, their behavior, toward the country.
First, people: in our interactions with each other, we must learn to truly love those around us, recognizing and remembering that this type of love is rooted in behavior. Because all of life is relational, both vertically to God and horizontally towards others, in our relationships each of us has choices to make — especially when it comes to the issue of how we behave toward one another. Love as a verb is rooted in action, as an act of will, something you do, not feel. This is an unconditional love rooted in behavior toward others without regard to their due. It is the love of deliberate choice.
I cannot always control how I feel toward people but I can control how I behave toward them (even when they behave poorly toward me). I have a choice in this matter. When we love others by extending ourselves, we will have to serve and sacrifice. As we love others, as we sacrifice for others, as we serve others, we build better and more healthy relationships with those around us. And as we do that, we build a better family, neighborhood, community, town, city….and country.
Second, country. As we learn to love and behave rightly toward others, we also learn to love our country (despite its flaws), recognizing what was built before us by others and, importantly, why. When we recognize and value that, we want to keep it and, where needed, improve on that. In the case of Macedonia, what was built before was an independent Macedonia, a homeland for the Macedonians with a unique history, culture, language, and more.
It would be a great shame — in fact, a crime — if Macedonians, after having longed for, fought for, sacrificed for an independent Macedonia — however imperfect and in need — achieved that in 1991 only to throw it away so soon after because they no longer believed in the idea and ideals of Macedonia, and no longer loved Macedonia but instead lusted for something else, something newer with an alluring but false promise and ultimately, far less satisfying or meaningful.
As we celebrate Macedonia’s independence as a sovereign nation-state, it is vital that we understand what was built before and why, and that work (as Krste Misirkov wrote), through service and sacrifice, is needed to build on and preserve that. And that involves right behavior, loving Macedonia.
Do you love Macedonia?
