Fools have no horns

Erol Rizaov

If you are trying to prove stupidity with arguments, you are risking turning out a bigger fool than the one who created it – you will waste precious time of your life. Fools have no horns to be immediately recognized. That’s why it’s best sometimes when a great foolishness has already been made to leave it alone to expose itself. Of course, the legitimate right is to submit 35,000 amendments to the third extended edition of the Law on Languages in order to prevent “unconstitutional” and “dangerous” law for the destruction of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia packed for parliamentary debate at a time when national interests and the whole energy should focus on a historical decision on the future of Macedonia, with which residues will become a member of NATO and the EU. This whole mess resembles a medieval church debate by Jesuits, debating how many angels can stand on top of one needle.

And now with a democratic right, just as the one for writing 35,000 amendments, it would be consistent with the original stupidity to translate them into Albanian, and why not, by Badinter, into Serbian, Turkish, Aromanian, Bosnian and Roma language, so that one should start a deep-rooted debate on the next three years, by the end of the mandate of this government, in order to finally decide on how many languages we will say to everyone it is understandable that the state went to ruins thanks to the wise politics of the government and the opposition, and the most experienced realist from the Vodno residence when he puts veto for creating a favorable ambience by opening an endless patriotic debate, because in this law the opposition and authoritative scientists genially recognized the danger that the President of the State, Gjorge Ivanov, personally presented addressing the Parliament, when he discovered the great truth that the law does not concern the Macedonian language, but is dangerous for violating the unitary state of the country.

In other words, the increased use of Albanian language has become a threat to the territorial integrity of Macedonia. It is a very strong argument to veto a law that will disintegrate Macedonia. When it comes to such a danger, there is no need for anyone, not even the great scientific authorities, to explain in an understandable way in Macedonian, as that greater use of Albanian or other languages will violate the unitary state of the state. And when someone says it is so, then you do not argue.

And while we wait, lost in the translation from the amendments of VMRO-DPMNE on the law of languages and proposals of Mr. Matthew Nimitz and the four points of the Greek government announced by Minister Kotzias, a normal person cannot, and should not be asked whether normality becomes a serious handicap in this country, or it is so well thought out that only those who went mad on time may understand it. Otherwise, how would a national consensus on strategic and top priority state issues such as NATO membership be avoided, if there is no solid argument about whose is the saddle on the horse that has already left. How can it be rationally explained in order to understand that, if at this moment, the hearing on the law on languages is postponed, it can be much more qualitative and in the interest of the proposer of the law. Is such a big need to urgently deliver consolation to its voters that they have done a great job, even though the chance to accelerate Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integrations has failed, because the main actors have been straining to slaughter the bull for one kilogram of meat. Not that Talat Xhaferi will not do the job after a six-month exhaustive debate as he announces, but what will happen after six, and perhaps a year’s time?

So, what is left is to respond to one foolishness with another, to translate 35,000 amendments for a day or two, and until then, ignite intolerance and hatred among the Albanians, among Macedonians, among Albanians and Macedonians and among all others who think their poor language has been corrupted by the law. Is there any other reason than to pause the point of the law on languages in the interest of achieving a single inter-party position for a good climate, when considering the proposals of mediator Matthew Nimetz, and to prepare an adequate response to the four points that in mid-February will come from the Greek government and contain tough prerequisites and suggest that real decisions will be needed that are not possible without a wide consensus not only between the relevant political parties, but also the public support, the intellectual and business elites, the international community very specifically and with greater guarantees than encouragement and a pat on the back. What the Minister Kotzias suggests, reveals the Byzantine approach to the academician and the Greek government, which, if not responded to in an appropriate and wise way, will easily lead to the sinking of a ship among underwater rocks in the Greek seas. For those who do not know the Byzantine philosophy of negotiation, it is much more perfect than the Roman ‘divide then rule’. So it can easily happen that the proposals of the Greek government do not come out of the Macedonian Parliament, or they do not come to the agenda at all, due to the preoccupation with decision-making on VMRO-DPMNE’s ambassadors for saving Macedonia from bilingualism. This would be a perfect alibi for Greece to show the killing of Macedonia as a suicide without the use of force.

Therefore, respected party leaders, scientific authorities, constitutionalists, educators and “experienced realists” leave the language aside for now, because the state went into disrepair. No language works without its head.