I suggest you look at the links imbedded in these blogs or at the end of the blog as an integral part of my argument.
THE-NOT-VOTER
36 A Unity of Disbelief
The elections are over. In a show of unity of disbelief that their beloved Latvia is at the precipice of loss of identity, the voters have voted for Unity Coalition (Vienotība). The vote is as logical in its expression of hope, as it is a disaster in facing reality.
One of the other two runner-up parties, Harmony (SC) and Farmers and Greens (ZZS) is bound to enter into a coalition with Unity. At this moment the bets are that the partner of Unity will be ZZS, the party of the Greens and Farmers. If so, then Harmony--essentially a party with its power base centered in Riga--will be in opposition.
The Business Party (LPP) and ultra nationalist LNNK/VL have about 8% of the total vote each. There exists speculation that these two parties may now merge. If so, the foundations will have been laid for the Latvian version of a zionationalist movement.
At the time of this writing, The Not-Voters have increased their number sevenfold over the 9th Saeima, to wit, it now stands at ~ 35,000 Not-Voters (out of a total of 966,823). With regard to the 8th Saeima, the increase of Not-Voters is tenfold.
The Not-Voter believes that the deciding factor in the success or failure of Unity Coalition will be an openly stated, wordlessly executed oath of “self-sacrifice” among its political representatives. Such an oath will constitute a break with the amoral presumption of previous Latvian governments that government officials have the right over the life and death of the citizen, while they themselves bear no consequences of their decisions.
The Not-Voter would like to see that the politicians of the 10th Latvian Saeima make an oath to the nation of Latvia that as a condition of becoming the political servants of Latvia, they become a no lesser self-sacrifice than a soldier on the front line.
As the previous two blogs (34 & 35) point our, one of the critical issues for Latvia in the upcoming years is the reanalysis (by independent historians and anthropologists) of its cultural history. The failure to allocate resources to this end by Latvian governments of the previous twenty years is not only a moral failure, but the source of government corruption at the present.
The previous Latvian governments considered it “nothin’ special” if their ministers sent their children to schools abroad with their left hand, while their right hand was deep in the till of government, and other children suffered from rotting teeth, generally ill health, poor food, poor schools, inadequately prepared teachers and teaching facilities, and had to suffer sacrifices no government official bore in equal measure.
[10. pants. Karavīra zvērests
«Es, Latvijas karavīrs, apzinoties atbildību savas tautas un likuma priekšā, apsolos un zvēru:
- būt uzticīgs Latvijas Republikai, tās Satversmei un likumīgajai valdībai;
- netaupot spēkus, veselību un dzīvību, sargāt Latvijas valsti un tās neatkarību;
- pēc labākās sirdsapziņas veikt man uzticētos karavīra pienākumus;
- bez ierunām pakļauties militārajai disciplīnai, vienmēr pildīt savu priekšnieku pavēles un rīkojumus atbilstoši Latvijas Republikas likumiem.»
A quick translation of the loath: "I, a Latvian soldier, aware of my responsibility before my nation and the law, promise and make this oath: --to be faithful to the Latvian Republic, its Saeima and lawful government; --without reservation expend my strength, health and life, to protect the Latvian nation and its independence; --with the greatest of consciousness to fulfill my soldierly responsibilities; --without protest surrender myself to military discipline, and always execute the orders and tasks given me by my superiors reflecting the laws of the Latvian Republic."]
As this writer has said before, the economic sacrifices that government will impose on the citizens of Latvia in the near future, the same powered to the nth degree by further declines in the world economy, spells a potential end to Latvia. To survive the economic catastrophe, even to marshal the nation’s will to survive and flower, one cannot continue along the path of least resistance a la Pop politics.
The Not-Voter blog does not expect to disappear. As pointed out by blogs 34 and 35, we will continue to examine the alternatives to the Latvian character that were repressed with the Herrnhuter religious movement in Livonia in the 18th and 19th centuries. We suspect that a neo-Herrnhuter or Children of Johns movement may capture the flag of a 4th Latvian Awakening.
Therefore, we take leave today reminding the reader that the very word “Awakening” originates with the Herrnhuters. While the Children of Johns of tomorrow will not be identical with the Moravian Brotherhood, it is that brotherhood, which, nevertheless, was responsible for Awakening the Children of Johns to their Latvian heritage. With some theological adjustments (the Children of Johns would like to see John returned to Earth), their example continues to be serviceable in our day.
The Not-Voter takes courage in the knowledge that the Children of Johns were removed from the political stage by means of collaboration of Latvian government with orthodox religious churches, because neither the government nor the churches would suffer their willingness to suffer self-sacrifice. The removal of the Children of Johns from the political scene was no accident; it was deliberate. The denial of the essential characteristic of the Latvian community--self-sacrifice--is what ails the community. A reinstatement of the Children of Johns is what will heal the community.
LATE POSTSCRIPT: The following link (click here) suggests that Latvian zionationalism has established a real base. The occasional Latvian AntiSemite surviving today has his-her roots in the AntiHerrnhutism of orthodox Christianity, specifically that of Lutheranism. The Lutherans repressed the Herrnhuters once it became apparent that they would succeed in Awakening Latvians and/or the Estonians, which was counter the interests of Baltic barons. By 1857 the Herrnhuters were effectively shut down in what is Estonia and Latvia today.
The Latvian AntiHerrnhutist movement was essentially a parallel movement to German AntiSemitism, which is why--once Latvians forgot the historic roots of the AntiAwakening forces in their midst--a significant number simply jumped to a parallel running track and became AntiSemitic and allegedly ever more patriotic.
Today the Folk Myth is seeing a revival in the vote count received Saturday by Visu Latvijai. While more about this in a future blog, at this moment it seems that Latvian zionationalism is seeing something of a revival.
Asterisks & Links of Interest
Compulsory voting in the EU Parliamentary elections
http://www.ceps.eu/files/book/1886.pdf The abstentionist elephant
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/8783/
On the Meaning of Voting
http://www.strike-the-root.com/92/bylund/bylund1.html
Ground Zero for Thought
http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/146989
The Trap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAluyt5_kic
On the Moravian Brotherhood
http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/edmund-alexander-de-schweinitz/the-history-of-the-church-known-as-the-unitas-fratrum-or-the-unity-of-the-bret-cse/page-33-the-history-of-the-church-known-as-the-unitas-fratrum-or-the-unity-of-the-bret-cse.shtml
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