East-West

Damn capitalism. So much to say, and with all the work and classes I didn’t have time to write event the shortest of posts.

First of all I was quite annoyed and upset when “just a Serb” threatened to poke out my eyes, but unfortunately that is once again the state of Serbian society - violence against anyone with a different opinion. Sarcasm is all I have left to confront it. It is dangerous when one reduces his identity to only one ethnic definition. It is dangerous when a state reduces its policy to one issue – Kosovo is Serbia. It seems in that case the opposite is also true - Serbia is reduced to being just Kosovo. And because we’ve lost Kosovo, we’re definitely loosing everything else. Quickly.

I was thrilled, therefore, with the news of elections. I am, at the same time, very scared about their potential outcome, but it seems this time, more than ever before, we have a referendum. Who has the majority? Which direction will the country take? After the elections we will see whether we will join the EU or Belarus. After the elections many of us will be forced to reexamine future ties with the motherland.

Another type of election which I always see as a test of society’s inclinations took place. It wasn’t too big a surprise that Oro will represent Serbia at the Eurovision in May. Hopefully this victory does not have a deeper meaning with regard to the elections. I hope it’s just a result of the fact that most performances, especially the one by my favorites, were kind of weak, and not a definite transition into romanticized nationalism. The song itself is not even bad, just a bit passé.

Despite my sincere wishes, it is now clear that it will be utterly impossible for me to attend Eurovision in Belgrade in person. What makes me feel a bit better is that the songs this year are quite bad, even for Eurovision standards. Serbia might actually do well again. But looks like it’s going to be quite a borring show.

Due to mislabeled videos on Youtube, it turned out my absolute favorite for Eurovision isn’t even representing his country. The lack of taste Icelanders showed in not picking Haffi Haff’s Wiggle Wiggle Song cost Western Europe their best chance to send next year’s event as west as it goes. My prediction, having listened to all the remaining contenders, is that all the Eurovision Eastern-Europo-phobes will be screaming again as the contest in 2009 moves to Asia, with Armenia winning. That is if the Armenians manage to beat turkey. The animal, not the country.

By the time we know where Eurovision is going, we’ll also know Serbia’s path. Safe trip everyone!