Feb 18, 2019
Teach your children, Macedonia.
We know where the Government of Macedonia stands with respect to education in Macedonia and as it concerns Macedonia’s rich history and heritage. The Government of Zoran Zaev has cravenly caved to the demands of Bulgaria and Greece and “committees” consisting of “experts” from Macedonia and Bulgaria and, separately, Macedonia and Greece, have been and will continue examining Macedonia’s schoolbooks, history books, teaching guides, maps, atlases and other materials to find material that is considered offensive to Bulgaria and Greece. Make no mistake: your children’s education is in mortal danger. And not just the subjects of history and geography. But the attack on the other subjects is for another time. Right now, let’s focus on what we can do — apart from Bulgarian and Greek Government-approved history lessons — for Macedonia’s children.
In his 1989 farewell address as he left the US presidency, Ronald Reagan asked Americans, “Are we doing a good-enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?” It is an excellent question and should not be limited to Americans. “Are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what Macedonia is and what she represents in the long history of the world?”
Let me now take the rest of what he said with respect to education and our children and lightly paraphrase it and apply it to Macedonia: “We’ve got to teach history based not on what’s in fashion but what’s important….If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of the Macedonian memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the Macedonian spirit.”
Thirty years ago he worried that “well-grounded patriotism is no longer in style.” Again, that was thirty years ago. You and I know what the snobbish elites in the West believe about patriotism these days. They look down on it and those who are patriots. They deride it. They think those who adhere to patriotism are uneducated, uncouth, and uncivilized. They believe themselves above love of country because they have no country; they believe, as “citizens of the world” that they are enlightened and entrusted with leading the lesser beings toward the great light of Mankind with a capital “M.” I could go on but you get the idea.
So, we know that “well-ground patriotism is no longer in style,” then and especially now and we know that the teaching of patriotism and what it means is slipping away in the schools. But here’s the good news. There is a solution and I’ll apply his words to Macedonia: “All great change in Macedonia begins at the lunch table. So, tomorrow in the kitchen or dining room or restaurant I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be a Macedonian, let them know. That would be a very Macedonian thing to do.”
Can this happen? Of course it can; eleven years ago when we were filming our documentary film, A Name is a Name, we visited Nikola Karev High School in Skopje and talked to several of the students there. Aneta said “Well we all here are proud because we are Macedonians and my Macedonian feeling is in my blood. It’s like some kind of elixir which gives one enthusiasm and strength to go forward to fight. Because we all want a better future and we will have better future, but yes a better future here in Macedonia. I’m proud of being Macedonian because we have an incredibly good tradition, an incredibly beautiful culture. Ivan said “What the name Macedonia means to us Macedonians words can’t describe. It is something that we are born with and we die with. That’s what our ancestors left to us and we are supposed to continue it with future generations. Exactly the name Macedonia determines our Macedonian language, our nationality and everything else related to the identity. Without the name there is nothing we can fight for because the name is the basis and comes with everything else that is a distinction for the nation.”
Smart kids. They are adults now, but I hope that their children remind them, Aneta, and Ivan, and others, “Please teach us, mom and dad, what it means to be a Macedonian.”
The teaching and education of Macedonia’s children begins at home. But it doesn’t end there. And of course Macedonia has many wonderful and dedicated teachers and educators and administrators who will do all they can to resist the Government’s mandated changes. These women and men are dedicated, love Macedonia, and love Macedonia’s children. But in the years ahead, this will be a job for all those who are responsible for the children of Macedonia — starting with parents, grandparents, older brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, and others. And this teaching might need to happen after school and on weekends in informal associations or groups beyond the government’s reach.
Do you love Macedonia? Do you want to keep Macedonia? Do you want to keep alive Macedonia’s rich history, heritage, culture, language, faith and more? Or better yet, wouldn’t you like to see and be a part of a resurgence of Macedonian pride, a reawakening of the Macedonians? Pride in Macedonia’s long history, heritage, culture, language, faith and more. This can happen. This must happen. Especially now. We know what Greece and Bulgaria wish to do with respect to Macedonia’s children and what they are taught. We know the elites in the government of Macedonia and the West don’t care about patriotism or identity as they seek to remake the world in their image — an image devoid of any uniqueness and only conforming to what they deem to be correct.
Teach your children, Macedonia. Nurture and encourage them and prepare them for the future and battles yet to come. It’s time to take back the agenda.
