By ARIAN STAROVA
I write again on the idea emphasized by the title which is basically related to morality, because I have received a tremendous impression from the opinions of readers on my writings on politics over the last month. It felt that the less appreciated ideas of my writings were precisely those which I myself had mostly appreciated. Yet, my inner conviction tells me that these ideas are essential for Albania’s rapid development toward the future. Therefore, in this article, I will go back to those ideas in a different way.
During the prolonged economic transition in Albania, when day-to-day problems securing the material life were putting a lot of pressure on people, it seems “normal” for them to forget that besides their interest in food, work, business, profit, wealth, etc., there are also other non-material or moral values like the human relationships without interest, friendship, honesty, keeping of one’s word, supporting a friend in distress, sharing of one’s wealth with those in need, appreciation and respect for the other men’ abilities, priority evaluation of truth, etc. Often, the circumstances are of the type that the people feel challenged whether they should make an action which brings them a profit but at the same time ruins a friendship or their own good name.
To someone it may seem much more important to benefit something material rather than maintain a friendship with another person. In those cases when this happens, the one who has benefited does not understand that he or she has also lost something which is much bigger than the benefit. He or she may have earned money, but have lost a friendship. This “invisible” moral loss will only be understood when someone else will have profit at his or her own expense. If we imagine that all people would act the same way, the environment we live in would only be named a human society, because in reality, it would be a dangerous jungle with the appearance of a society. For us, unfortunately, such actions or behaviors of people have spread “somehow much” . The slightest consequence of such occurrences would be a loss of sensation of human security. It is true that societies have instituted laws and justice to prevent people from harming each other by following their individual interests alone.
Nevertheless, as one ancient philosopher said, law and morality are like an egg in which the red matter is the morality and the white one is the law. The meaning of this comparison was that there cannot be law without morality. When law is shaken in a society, it is the morality that holds society together. That is why, what happened to us in the year 1997 was so terrible, because the people’s morality had suffered serious ‘injuries’ which had began during the communist regime.
If a society has such major problems with its morality like we do, no one should be surprised about the whys of such a big number of murders because of the conflicts between people. Albania has bordered on a state when two people (sometimes even relatives) can be slaughtered even “for a water ditch” exploited fraudulently, for a “coffee altercation,” for a collision of cars on the road, for a division of properties, etc. These human actions are neither restrained by the fear of law, because without morality also the law is not effective, moreover when it is a law whose enforcement is so problematic in Albania.
It is precisely this situation of human morality, this indifference towards moral values, what has created the conditions for the establishment of corruption groups even in our political elite, which nowadays openly ignore morality and only aim to illegally enrich at the expense of citizens. Consequently, to our like or dislike, the immoral behavior of some of our political elite groups is a reflection of people’s widespread moral negligence. Eventually, the corrupt politician or official acts just like those ordinary people who disregard both the law and morality in the name of personal benefit and this is perceived by him as something normal.
In today’s Albanian society, a part of the leading political elite has abandoned its mission with regard to the people, or the general interest of the people. This is true for the opposition as well as for the governing majority. The Albanian justice has its own responsibility for not preventing the incidence of these phenomena among the people as well as in the political elite or official administration. In the meantime, we all have been watching for almost the two last months how the corrupt groups of the Albanian political elite “throw and catch” in an immoral way the “ball” of judicial reform, never taking it where it should be taken, just because it might kick off an investigation and punishment process of various corrupt senior officials or former senior officials.
The Albanian society is in need of an urgent severing of this general extension of a mentality which is immoral and enjoys impunity and comes from the “bottom of the society” to enter the country’s political elite. In reality, a large part of the Albanians reject this destructive mentality and they have always been trying to stop it through elections, but so far, they have been unable to always find the appropriate political leaders, partly due to their underestimation of the moral values, partly due to the abuse of their votes by the corrupt part of the political elite.
From a moral standpoint, if this situation continues, then the responsibility of the Albanians takes the appearance of their indifference to the robbery of their hope in the future by the corrupt part of the political elite of the country. How is it possible that people are extremely active and tough against individual cheat and robbery to the point of murdering someone in their everyday life, but show indifference towards the robbery of their hope in the future by the corrupt politicians?! Isn’t it an indication of cultural maturity of the people their reaction also to the robbery or infringement of their common moral values such as hope in the future?! Can we remain indifferent as they steal our hope? Can we stay calm while they deceive us? Under such circumstances, there are several questions which have major importance for us, in these days: How to get out of this situation? How to eradicate the immorality from politics? How to revive people’s trust in politics and politicians? How to restore people’s hope in the future?
I think it is now the time for a new effort to bring back the change and hope in the future by joining the people together around a new political elite which is primarily distinguished by their idealism, incorruptible dedication to the people, and the high reliability of their words. I want to emphasize, I am convinced that what Albanian politics is lacking today are not the ideas on how to solve problems as it is so easy to get ideas from the almost infinite information and political experience, but above all, it is the human commitment of the politicians to these ideas-solutions on the needs of Albanians.
In twenty-five years of democracy, we have numerous examples to show that politics and politicians have had plentiful ideas available. What was bad had to do with the lack of a honest, idealistic and long-term connection of the politicians with the ideas in the service of the citizens’ public interest. In Albania, it is forgotten that politics is at the service of citizens. Those Albanians that forgot this fact have gradually also “occupied” the country’s political elite. Even worse, the politicians who think of politics as an idealistic service to the citizens are pushed out from it because they spoil the “game-business” of the enrichment through politics.
It is time for the citizens to have new leaders and new ideas. This is the solution and, apparently, it is a very difficult choice. From where will these young and trustworthy leaders emerge? From the existing parties? Aren’t these parties the ones that created the current situation where the citizens lost their hope in the future?! Should we waste our time by waiting for these sick parties to emerge healthy leaders?! Albania needs a new political movement that will be able to get it out from the sludge where it has been pushed by the corrupt politics that every day performs a detestable “show” in front of us, from morning until late evening. This new political grouping would be the best promotion and inspiration for a moral cleansing of the existing political parties.
The thing I would like to scream with force is: O people, do not forget morality, because even if you forget it, then it is the morality which doesn’t forget you! Somehow you forgot the morality or honesty of politics during these twenty-five years believing that politics is “a bitch” (just like the corrupt politicians made you believe through thousands of forms) and what came from your wrong belief is todays’ hopeless situation created by one politics that makes fun of you every day while itself keeps stupidly thinking that you do not understand.
Now, after you have lost twenty-five years, you’ve realized that you need moral, honest and idealistic politicians who are true servants of the citizens’ interests. Now it’s much more difficult to cure this situation compared to the early years 1990, when idealism and honesty were a guiding flag of a new politics. However, the very difficulties of this new policy venture will be the best test for the moral quality of the truly new elite of the Albanian politics.
This hopeless situation of Albanians must be overcome. You should think, search, find and support the people that will represent you with honesty and courage in a new political movement, as no other way is left! The upcoming elections are very close. Only a new political movement could create a popular spirit of change without which we might find ourselves anew under one political elite who deals with its own private affairs.
