Everyone's mouth is full of the West. When the word is used in the way it is today, it becomes clear that it is one of those words that transcends its own semantic scope. I mean, in addition to the political and cultural layer of meaning, there is even a very personal relationship - projecting and psychological shadowing - that is decisive. Of personal conviction. And that can mean many things - from frustration and fear to euphoria or disappointment. Descending into the personal zone easily turns a person into a mere fan, who usually parrots persistently repeating meaningless slogans. And that is not the way to any realization or authenticity.
And when Putin threatens with atomic bombs, someone is "to blame" the West. Because, listen, please, he angered the Russian emperor. "Only the sun is bigger than the Russian emperor", you know that famous sentence of the most famous Montenegrin. As much as it was a diplomatic and sycophantic statement, it still resonates in many Montenegrin minds today. And hearts, even more so.
But, let's see, what does the West mean? When Putin talks about it or De Gaulle ("Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals"), or the philosopher of history Toynbee? How wise it is to view Europe separately from its two exciting historical extensions, Eastern and Western - Russia and America.
The relationship between Russia and the West, historically and politically, is not as simple as today's haters of the West want to present it. Nor is that relationship unambiguous, as it seems from current stories. It contains many more layers than political slogans of this or that type can handle.
It is interesting, in this context, the attitude that Toynbee presents in Researching history. According to him, the most successful westernization (besides Japanese) is precisely Russian. He saw communism as the final means of that westernization. Both westernizations, neither Russian nor Japanese, did not mean mechanical following of models, but a kind of civilizational amalgam that spread the spirit of the West. In a similar way as Hellenism spread throughout the known world after Aleksandra.
The presence (and gloomy dominance) of anti-Western discourse in our region is not from yesterday.
Zenitism Ljubomir Micić he was hysterically against the West (whatever that means), and the monstrous figure of the "barbarogeny" was created in that spiritual environment. And if Micić had a lot of philosophical and artistic poses, those who accepted that spirit were devoid of similar "finesses" and took everything extremely literally.
Anti-Westernism at Dostoyevsky and Russian Slavophiles was undoubtedly a vicious inspiration for a whole series of epigones who, naturally, only trivialized and radicalized that discourse.
Although Montenegro is said to have only North and South, at that time there were only two sides of the world - East and West. Nevertheless, the impression is that there was less anti-Westernism in the time of communism than today. This ideological alienation from today's view seems folkloric and almost benign when compared to the current rampant anti-Westernism.
Non-Western discourse is, as a rule, stupid, falsifying, in the function of petrifying the spirit of despotism and politically irrational.
But what is the meaning of anti-Westernism in Montenegro today? Perhaps the answer lies in the listed qualifications. Or is it a political program in Montenegro today, and an influential one at that?
The other day I saw that a journalist (supposedly from Politika?) was talking on a TV show about the fact that the West has been making a virus for a long time that affects only Russian DNA. As if such a thing existed. If someone tried to explain to him that DNA does not have, nor does it know, the category of nation, I'm sure he would just smile that particularly irritating smile (model: Don't be naive) people who believe they have "secrets" and "greater knowledge" than others. So, if we are talking about a journalist, who should belong to a more informed part of a society, imagine what can be heard elsewhere. Or, you don't have to imagine - just listen.
Bonus video:
