What damages our national character?

As the Den’s editor-in-chief likes to say, people, like a vegetable garden, need to be looked after. Comparisons of this kind are quite applicable to a grain-growing civilization. Moreover, the Ukrainian national character is always being attacked from all sides.

What does by far the gravest damage to our national character is slavery. We are not laying claim to a comprehensive understanding of the issue, but we are assuming that “the big mystery of the Russian soul” is thousands-year-long slavery and never-ending violence towards the individual. The peoples that found themselves on the “Russian orbit” also got a raw deal, Ukraine being the first in line. But our national segment proved to be “frost-proof” and survived – not without losses, though.

Every time we hear of national character, we recall the island-dwelling Japanese. One day the entire country was up in arms over the report that a confectionary was deliberately selling expired products. This unprecedented incident caused a national scandal in Japan. In this country, incidents like this are, unfortunately not a rare occurrence. But it was not always like this. All this started when moral corruption standards began to be set by “those on top.” The philosophy of “the best to me and the leftovers to others” spread over Ukraine like a virus and even affected the “hardcore managers” who used to be a guarantee of quality even in The Days when our national character was undergoing the most trying ordeals.

The Ukrainian element continues to be squeezed out as before. Only the means are now different: underworld songs, kitsch, soap operas, etc. In other words, the bar has been deliberately lowered. To survive in this “vat of acid,” our young body should buff up its immunity system – first of all, by means of quality, self-improvement, and exactness towards ourselves.

The Day has conducted poll about what damages our national character.

“WHAT IS DESTROYING UKRAINE AND UKRAINIANS IS FRANTIC ENVY”

Lesia STEPOVYCHKA, writer; editor-in-chief, journal Sicheslav; Meritorious Figure of Culture, Ukraine:

“We, Ukrainians, have a favorite plant, the snowball tree. It is being glorified in songs, painted on the white walls of houses, like in my native Petrykivka, embroidered on towels and shirts. But the Ukrainians also have a favorite animal, the toad. In general, a toad can cling to any individual, but, for some reason, the Ukrainians find it especially difficult to overpower it [an allusion to the Ukrainian idiom “the toad is strangling one” which means “one is envious.” – Ed.]. The Ukrainians will coddle and pamper a toad until it strangles them. The toad sucks sap from the Ukrainian – as a result, arrogance and hatred for a neighbor, colleague, or relative are blown to incredible proportions. It is frantic envy that is destroying Ukraine and Ukrainians and damaging our national character.

“I, a degree-holding translator, have often been abroad, particularly in Germany. The phenomenon of the “toad” also drew my attention whenever I was abroad. I have always pondered why the Germans are more cheerful and elegant, happier and richer than we? I took a closer look at them and came to the conclusion that what helps them is rationality and suppression of destructive emotions, such as inferiority complex and envy. This results not only from good upbringing, when it is considered indecent for a cultured individual to envy, but also from great historical experience which says: do not suffer from comparisons, do not envy someone else’s car, woman, talent, and success, and you will be happy, calm, and wise. The Ukrainians should always bear in mind the rule “Ukraine above all” and just work conscientiously at their workplace. Love for Ukraine must not be a profession that yields dividends. Patriotism should be the oxygen you breathe. All you have to do is just live and work for the benefit of yourself and others.”

“A CHARACTER CAN ONLY BE DAMAGED IF IT EXISTS”

Hlib HOLOVCHENKO, Secretary, National League of Ukrainian Journalists; member, Mykolaiv City Executive Committee; director, Press and Television College:

“A character can only be damaged if it exists. Today’s Ukraine resembles a youth who has seen various patterns of behavior in both friends and foes. He envies the classy lifestyle of most of them, and this envy hinders him from taking an attitude of his own. Besides, we need to clear up the moot point of self-identification. One can only shape a character if he or she has already identified themselves. Ukraine, which is still unable to identify its national interests, cannot have a national character. A character is the manifestation of an attitude, but the Ukrainians are not trying to take an attitude. They prefer to follow the changeable line of and look up to the leadership. Dependency is a negative feature of the Ukrainian character, and failure to know global civilization values hampers creating a reference frame for further upbringing. To damage something, you must first have it. But what we have today is just a set of human traits and a grudge against the entire world. We will never mold a national character under these preconditions. In the informational world of today, it is also very important to shape a visual picture of our character and actively propagate it both inside and outside this country so that the world community knows how to deal with us.”

“THE UKRAINIANS ARE VERY MUCH DISUNITED”

Svitlana SEMENKO, Professor, Journalism Department, National Volodymyr Korolenko Teacher-Training University, Poltava:

“Such things as inability to heed one another, sympathize, help neighbors, and soberly assess the situation are damaging the Ukrainian character. Both the availability and lack of money produce a negative effect. Earlier, people used to live differently – they would make a joint effort, if necessary. Now the Ukrainians are very much disunited. Almost all of them adhere to the principle ‘It is no concern of mine.’ Many features, for which the Ukrainians used to be derided, are now dominant in society by contrast with the recent past, when this was considered nonsense and something that ran counter to their aspirations. There were only some isolated incidents which were properly reflected in folklore.”

“PROVINCIAL MENTALITY IS OUR MAIN TROUBLE”

Pavlo DANYLCHUK, member, Lutsk City Council:

“The Ukrainian national character was being damaged or, to be more exact, ruined under the influence of many external factors. First of all, it is occupation of our land by other states which tried to assimilate and destroy us as a people. Today, even though we have a state of our own, the destruction of us as Ukrainians continues. There is an onslaught on the national character which has already undergone changes in the past few centuries. Among the factors that are ruining the national character are the antinational policy of hostile states, such as Russia, and the Ukrainian leadership, and the processes of globalization (the increase of the urban population at the expense of the rural one) which are erasing national traits and self-identity.”

Yurko PROKOPCHUK, actor, Taras Shevchenko Music and Drama Theater, Cherkasy:

“The factors that mar the national character are laziness, ignorance, drunkenness, and I-don’t-care-a-fig attitude. The latter is especially typical of the Ukrainians.”

Olena TARANENKO, Associate Professor, Journalism Department, teacher of the course “Ethnology and Ethnopsychology, Donetsk National University:

“Are we going, at last, to shake off the national inferiority complex, the ‘Little Russian mentality,’ the postcolonial syndrome, etc., and fit in with the modern European context? We resemble very much the Dantesque sinners who were punished for making wrong forecasts – they were depicted traipsing gloomily along the infernal circles, with their heads tuned back. We should not forget the lessons of history, but, at the same time, we should not ‘moan’ continuously about someone else’s fault in our woes instead of coming to grips with the current and future problems. Naturally, the provincial mentality can well be explained from the historical angle, but still it is our main trouble. We are accustomed to think that our state should not be relied upon and you ought to give it a wide berth if you want to stay safe and sound. I will say again that there have been serious grounds for this in the past and, unfortunately, the present, but this narrow-minded mentality makes it impossible to move forward.”

Rev. IHNATII (VOLOVENKO), priest, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv Patriarchate; blogger; Donetsk:

“First of all, the national character is being damaged due to the poor knowledge of history, when one does not know our traditions and culture and does not remember the key features of the pattern typical of our people. The language factor is undoubtedly important. The teaching of the Ukrainian language and history is on the decline. We still do not see a good governmental policy in this respect. In France, for example, a certain percentage of films are broadcast in the English and German languages, but the bulk of the films shown are made in French. In our country, it is the other way round.”

Mykola KRAVCHENKO, member, Mykolaiv Oblast Council; head of the Commission for Science, Culture, Education, Youth, and Sport; artistic director, Mykolaiv Russian Art and Drama Theater:

“It is the desire to acquire very much in a short time without going out of the home.”

“IT IS HISTORY AND WE OURSELVES THAT DAMAGED OUR NATIONAL CHARACTER”

Yurii RYCHUK, editor-in-chief, Volyn Post Internet portal:

“The national character is no longer being damaged. Like in the case of a human being, it can form and grow. So it is history and we ourselves that damaged our national character. Our mentors changed too often, the child was too naughty and enjoyed too many benefits bestowed on us by God. The child could not bear it and got spoiled. As time went by, he also lost the respect of his neighbors. Certainly, there were ample grounds for jokes, such as ‘but we sing very well.’ I am sure, though, that they are needed, for I reject the ‘blinkers-on’ principle of educating our young citizens: let us say only good things about ourselves, let us extol ourselves as much as we can.

“Saying that ‘we are ‘bad’ is not a conspiracy of our nation’s enemies. Nor is it a manifestation of narrow-minded inferiority. It is like overusing antibiotic pills that provide too many side effects. So we need a probiotic. Having seen where we are bad, we must see now where we are good.

“I believe in reeducation. Even a 60-year-old man begins to wear well-ironed shirts when he falls in love, a hooligan may begin to learn good manners, and the atheist, who fell from the 10th floor, may begin to believe in God. As the saying goes, ‘Not everything is lost.’ For nobody has canceled such thing as natural pride and self-respect. The only difference is that some regain these properties when you punch one on their nose, while others do so when you rob them of the money, spit into their face, insult and kick them in the ass. Let us not wait for a kick (I believe, for some reason, that we have never received one so far). Let us fall in love.”

By Vadym RYZHKOV, The Day, Dnipropetrovsk; Viktoria KOBYLIATSKA, Cherkasy; Anastasia KACHALOVA, The Day, Mykolaiv; Serhii SHEBELIST, Poltava; Natalia MALIMON, The Day, Lutsk; Kateryna YAKOVLENKO, Donetsk