FOREWORD
SOME THOUGHTS ON AUTHORITY

September 2005

Why are Romanians so accepting of authority? Coercion is one thing, and to emerge from 45 years of totalitarianism with a national attitude that is wary, nervous, submissive and passive is not at all a surprise; but a decade and a half after the ‘Revolution’, Romanians still accept authority just as meekly and unquestioningly as always.

There have been dozens of articles in Vivid that question why this is so; in this issue alone, Matei Paun likens politicians to circus clowns who, without an audience, would have no one to perform to. In Lipscani Limbo, a column written each month by a business owner in the historic part of Bucharest campaigning for its regeneration, Trudy Boos describes how during a public meeting attended by Bucharest’s mayor she was shouted down while drawing attention to the fact that things in the historic part of the city are far from what they should be. Her article reads like a schoolroom scenario, with the majority present seeking to gain brownie points by standing up for the authority figure rather than the recalcitrant student.

Given the extent of vilification of almost all politicians here – both past and present, and regardless of the party to which they belong – it is difficult to understand why opportunities to question, query and fight back are not better exploited. That vilification is justified; Romania might have made some progress over the last 15 years, but that is not a result of good policies – rather it is down to world events and circumstances way beyond the reach of our rulers. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a people who hold their rulers in lower esteem than do Romanians, which makes their acquiescence in the face of authority all the more puzzling. And it is not authority you can touch that they submit to; who in the West would dare remonstrate with, say, a traffic cop in the way one frequently see Romanians grappling with the politia here. Rather, it is the autority of the state – the all-pervading, intangible, unsighted authority of the state that they fear most.

Politicians here have treated the nation and its assets so rapaciously since communism ended that many people no longer believe that any good will ever result from them – if they ever did in the first place. Some commentators have suggested that countries end up with the politicians they deserve, and that that is certainly true of Romania.

If that is the case, one can’t help wondering how good Romania could have been were it blessed with politicians who really cared. But not all is lost for, despite the presence of the politicians and the state that serves their interests, Romania is able to be the wonderful country it is – a short read of this issue of Vivid will confirm the vitality with which the country is virtually bursting.

And speaking of getting the politicians it deserves, what is to be made of the Bush Administration’s plodding reaction to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina? When Bush first heard about the disaster, he flew in the opposite direction, to California, and delivered a speech about ‘victory’ that barely mentioned what had been going on in New Orleans. After arriving there the first time, he joked on the tarmac of New Orleans International Airport about the wonderful times he had in the city during his misspent youth. The next day, having obviously been briefed as to the direness of the situation in the Gulf States he was appropriately hang-jawed and solemn. Meanwhile, as a friend said wistfully during the week, ‘There goes New Orleans, my favourite city in the United States.’