“How do you imagine the European citizen of the future?“
by Radovan Potočár, Slovakia
„Radovan Karadžić!“ kept coming to everyone’s mind after my parents informed about the name they had chosen for their first born child. The reason is that this Serbian criminal was at zenith of his fame when I was born and I guess he is still the most sadly famous Radovan.
Despite of bombers flying above our heads and the most horrible war raging “rights behind the door”, I had the grab on adults. While they feared war threats, we, the babies, we were not excited by something that “far away”. Even an unfamiliar corner of our flat was scary enough for us, more a street, town or a distant battlefield. Actually, we had the most precious thing with us. A mother’s embrace. Neither smart bombs, nor bunkers, nor barbed wire, but the mother’s embrace gave us the feeling of safety home.
Few years later, when terrorists stroke in Madrid in a bloody way and a year later in London, too, they attacked on us right here in our calm and allegedly secure Europe. That time I started to be even more conscious of what does my mother really means to me. Even when I got a brother, we did not need to fight to her grace, love, or embrace. We made an unwritten agreement - mother is yours as well as mine. There still was enough of her for both of us. We also found out that a good and careful mummy may also get angry and say no. And that alike our mother, Europe is to all of us.
Surely, I am not going to make you believe that Europe can bake tasty cookies and sometimes slaps, but there is still so much Europe has in common with our mother. Once the Romans wanted to own her. Then the French. And later the Germans or Russians. Therefore, it took a long time for us to acknowledge that there were not the better ones and there were not even the best ones amongst the better ones of us. Europe belongs to all of us no matter we are the Slovaks, Germans, Italians; rich or poor; with dark skin or blue eyed with blond hair. Only as we came to this particular knowledge after many painful experiences we laid down the fundamentals of a secure Europe.
Security is probably the most important feature for the European citizen of the future to feel as within its safety home. There is no coming back for the times, when one was scared of walking down the street with self-respect only because of different way of thinking than mainstream or his or her blood unacceptable to any absurd racist theory. There is no coming back for the times when the Europeans would wake up in their homes as outsiders or traitors.
At the same time, I do remember how our mother was devoted to us when we were young, cooking tastefully, and doing laundry, too. Even I couldn’t understand why she was so angry about me when I got my clothes dirty fast, now I know I brought much misery on her through my carelessness. Once, it used to be fun for me to roll around in dirty grass, jump into every puddle or do some other mischief, but then I realized this was not the way how to show gratitude for all her love and care. I was suddenly held tight by my conscience.
The European citizen of the future shall not treat Europe like this. Besides priceless cultural heritage, our continent presents the source of natural treasure. The soil of ancient Europe fed and still does feed generations of European nations. Beautiful forests from subtropics to northern taigas gave us the opportunity to build our dwellings and ships; warm up in front of warm fire; and spread the knowledge hidden in books. There were also mineral sources, which provided us with all we needed at the particular level of economic development. The question then is what gives us the right to plunder this wonderful environment? Why cannot we preserve beautiful forests, clean air and water, natural sources and soil for generations coming after us? The European citizen of the future can not be greedy as so many people before. Instead of a belly, he or she shall care about environment living in and respect it.
Nevertheless, we need something more, something every mother wants for her child to live a dignified and responsible life. Because mummies never want their sonnies to end up as a beggar on a street, but work, let’s say, as recognized scientists or top managers. And here we come to something, which is important to all social levels of Europeans. Education.
Education does not only mean the years of difficult studies, but also a way to avoid thinking merely of the way, how to feed up hungry throats of our children. At the same tine, education opens the door to technological progress and swift economic growth as well as civil participation of wide public. Let it counts if we live in the democracies or a state of dictatorship. Let we constantly call for a high political culture and refuse to accept xenophobia and extremism, by which we were hardly tried in the past.
From my point of view, the European citizen of the future is a happy citizen of a modern Europe. Europe, who does not make progress abusing the ones, who are tyrannized, and thanks to smoking chimneys, but who founds its progress on wise and creative people. On freedom. On democracy. On solidarity and tolerance.
Daydreaming about an ideal European is maybe naïve. And maybe a utopia. Even thought, children are not born educated and gentle and mummies still do not give up raising us. Neither should we give up our European dream. We, the European citizens of the future.