World turned upside down? Smile travel
Looking through the world press, video reports from various countries, documentaries, I caught myself thinking that something had changed. Something elusive, but existing. This feeling arises when you see a long-known place, but ... you see a completely new place.
Once, in the distant Soviet times, I was surprised at the strange, from our Soviet point of view, behavior of Europeans and Americans. They ... smiled! Just smiled outside. Not at a concert, not at a meeting with your beloved or friend. They just smiled at each other, the sun, the rain, everything. It even seemed to me that they talk about a tragedy with a smile.
A sort of world of happy people. No, I, of course, saw homeless people, alcoholics, and criminals. They did not smile. But this is not the people. This is more likely, readers forgive me for incorrect comparison, the scum of the people. Unsuccessful result of natural selection.
Asians did not smile. Africans did not smile. Even Hispanics did not smile. And the Europeans smiled. And the Americans smiled.
Only over time it dawned on me that they are smiling, not because they are accustomed. You know, professional smile subservient. A smile that costs an extra cent. No, they really smiled because they felt good.
Why we did not smile, I know. Remember the constant struggle? In the countryside - the battle for the harvest. We did not know how to simply collect what we grew up. In the city - a five-year plan in four years! In the beginning they took elevated plans, and then they over-fulfilled them. There was no time for smiles. It was a struggle for life. And we liked her. We were part of that fight.
It was the same in any Asian country, in any African country. Even in developed Japan, people did not laugh. They worked hard! And the Europeans were laughing.
I understood the reason for this excitement. They lived in a stable world. They did not “beat” at work, but simply worked. They knew that the money earned could live well. They knew that tomorrow would be better than today. They knew that the state was created so that they could live well.
The rest of the world struggled. Someone for a piece of bread for dinner, someone for the harvest, someone for the freedom of their country. Everybody fought. Fought, but could not win. 20 developed countries "ate" the lion's share of the global product. The rest of the battered crumbs.
Now I will express a blasphemous thought for many readers. The collapse of the USSR did not lead to the victory of the United States and Europe. Not to the destruction of the world system of organization of states. The collapse of the USSR forced the states that we once "fed" to think about the system itself. Is it correct? Why does someone have, not really straining, and someone does not?
To blame entire nations or even continents for laziness is stupid. All the more stupid. Especially considering that the majority of scientists and engineers in the USA and Europe came from "lazy" countries.
Someone, like the "oppressed" Poles, Balts and other former "members of the Department of Internal Affairs", simply "laid down" under the new owner. Accepted the terms of the game. Others, like the Chinese, have modernized the ideology for the modern world. Still others hid. But everyone, except the first category, realized that no one but them wanted to improve their life in their countries. Salvation of drowning people is the business of drowning people!
And the state began to grow. The Chinese suddenly became China. Russian - Russia. Indians - India. Brazilians - Brazil. Many countries have become states. And states, like in Europe and the USA, should take care of their citizens.
Not much work yet. But the main thing happened. It turned out what most feared "fed." States began to demand for their products the money that it really costs. Do not ask, and demand. And refuse to sell if the price does not suit the seller.
The West, of course, understands that the world is changing. And it does not change in favor of the EU and the USA.
It turned out that eating tasty and sleeping on featherbeds is no longer so simple. One wage for such a living is no longer enough. People are beginning to demand that governments return to a comfortable life. The chairs of the premiers and chancellors, the presidents and the crowned heads begin to rock.
And when people demand, he does not smile. There is a completely different grimace on his face. And in the hands are no longer flowers for the woman he loves, but a brick or a stick.
But the smiles came from those who previously did not know that he knows how to smile. I see smiling Indians. I see smiling Pakistanis. I see smiling Syrians. And on my street, I see you. And also smiling.
Smiling and proud for their country. How beautiful it was to watch the Chinese parade. Or Indian, where the tank scared the most courageous president of the most powerful country. How beautiful to watch our parade.
As it turned out, this feeling is not just me. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a meeting with representatives of non-profit organizations 1 June, expressed exactly the same idea. Beg to quote message Tass.
"We are witnessing very large changes in the international arena," he said. "Russia is part of the global world, and it is changing literally before our eyes."
According to the minister, new centers of growth and influence appear, especially the Asia-Pacific region.
“We also observe such an unusual phenomenon as the transformation of Europe into a region that projects not traditional well-being, but instability outside,” Lavrov emphasized.
Better not tell.
Once, in the distant Soviet times, I was surprised at the strange, from our Soviet point of view, behavior of Europeans and Americans. They ... smiled! Just smiled outside. Not at a concert, not at a meeting with your beloved or friend. They just smiled at each other, the sun, the rain, everything. It even seemed to me that they talk about a tragedy with a smile.
A sort of world of happy people. No, I, of course, saw homeless people, alcoholics, and criminals. They did not smile. But this is not the people. This is more likely, readers forgive me for incorrect comparison, the scum of the people. Unsuccessful result of natural selection.
Asians did not smile. Africans did not smile. Even Hispanics did not smile. And the Europeans smiled. And the Americans smiled.
Only over time it dawned on me that they are smiling, not because they are accustomed. You know, professional smile subservient. A smile that costs an extra cent. No, they really smiled because they felt good.
Why we did not smile, I know. Remember the constant struggle? In the countryside - the battle for the harvest. We did not know how to simply collect what we grew up. In the city - a five-year plan in four years! In the beginning they took elevated plans, and then they over-fulfilled them. There was no time for smiles. It was a struggle for life. And we liked her. We were part of that fight.
It was the same in any Asian country, in any African country. Even in developed Japan, people did not laugh. They worked hard! And the Europeans were laughing.
I understood the reason for this excitement. They lived in a stable world. They did not “beat” at work, but simply worked. They knew that the money earned could live well. They knew that tomorrow would be better than today. They knew that the state was created so that they could live well.
The rest of the world struggled. Someone for a piece of bread for dinner, someone for the harvest, someone for the freedom of their country. Everybody fought. Fought, but could not win. 20 developed countries "ate" the lion's share of the global product. The rest of the battered crumbs.
Now I will express a blasphemous thought for many readers. The collapse of the USSR did not lead to the victory of the United States and Europe. Not to the destruction of the world system of organization of states. The collapse of the USSR forced the states that we once "fed" to think about the system itself. Is it correct? Why does someone have, not really straining, and someone does not?
To blame entire nations or even continents for laziness is stupid. All the more stupid. Especially considering that the majority of scientists and engineers in the USA and Europe came from "lazy" countries.
Someone, like the "oppressed" Poles, Balts and other former "members of the Department of Internal Affairs", simply "laid down" under the new owner. Accepted the terms of the game. Others, like the Chinese, have modernized the ideology for the modern world. Still others hid. But everyone, except the first category, realized that no one but them wanted to improve their life in their countries. Salvation of drowning people is the business of drowning people!
And the state began to grow. The Chinese suddenly became China. Russian - Russia. Indians - India. Brazilians - Brazil. Many countries have become states. And states, like in Europe and the USA, should take care of their citizens.
Not much work yet. But the main thing happened. It turned out what most feared "fed." States began to demand for their products the money that it really costs. Do not ask, and demand. And refuse to sell if the price does not suit the seller.
The West, of course, understands that the world is changing. And it does not change in favor of the EU and the USA.
It turned out that eating tasty and sleeping on featherbeds is no longer so simple. One wage for such a living is no longer enough. People are beginning to demand that governments return to a comfortable life. The chairs of the premiers and chancellors, the presidents and the crowned heads begin to rock.
And when people demand, he does not smile. There is a completely different grimace on his face. And in the hands are no longer flowers for the woman he loves, but a brick or a stick.
But the smiles came from those who previously did not know that he knows how to smile. I see smiling Indians. I see smiling Pakistanis. I see smiling Syrians. And on my street, I see you. And also smiling.
Smiling and proud for their country. How beautiful it was to watch the Chinese parade. Or Indian, where the tank scared the most courageous president of the most powerful country. How beautiful to watch our parade.
As it turned out, this feeling is not just me. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a meeting with representatives of non-profit organizations 1 June, expressed exactly the same idea. Beg to quote message Tass.
"We are witnessing very large changes in the international arena," he said. "Russia is part of the global world, and it is changing literally before our eyes."
According to the minister, new centers of growth and influence appear, especially the Asia-Pacific region.
“We also observe such an unusual phenomenon as the transformation of Europe into a region that projects not traditional well-being, but instability outside,” Lavrov emphasized.
Better not tell.
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