Serbia: Surviving the American Imperium

by Thomas Fleming http://fleming.dailymail.co.uk/2011/12/serbia-surviving-the-american-imperium.html The host on Republika Srpska Television (in Banja Luka) asked me the question I had been asked every day since I landed in Belgrade a week earlier: "What do you think of Serbia's chance of getting EU candidate status, this time around?" I gave her the answer I always give: "Not much." Less than an hour later, my prophetic powers were confirmed. Croatia, Da, Serbia Ne. I don't know who actually thought Serbia would receive this much-desired upgrade. Even Serbia's president, Boris Tadic, whose political future depends (or, at least, should depend) on keeping his promise to make Serbia a nice respectable part of Europe, knew what was coming and for weeks has been downplaying the prospects. After all, the European Union is already a sinking ship, heavy-laden with the debts of the profligate Greek and Italian governments. How long will German taxpayers put up with Merkel and her very expensive Drang nach Sden? The pro-Western Tadic regime's inefficiences and, ahem, irregularities make Italy and Greece seem like Switzerland, and the entrance of such a government would send the EU to the bottom--which is where it belongs. (By the way, indebted Croatia, whose status was upgraded, might accomplish the same result.) Why do Serbs even want to join the club? Germany led the way in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, and Germany and Austria have been scheming for centuries to control the Balkans. While it was the USA that was mainly responsible for the immoral bombing of Serb civilians, few complaints were voiced by any EU country. The reason for this foolish hope is obvious: Serbia is a demoralized country. Serbs, who used to be the progressive darlings of Eastern Europe, have endured two decades of demonization and subjugation. The results have been catastrophic: the loss of the Serbian heartland (Kosovo) to violent Albanian Islamists, the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Croatia, the secession of treacherous Montenegro, which was fomented by the US and the EU. There is even a secessionist movement, promoted by Hungary, at work in Vojvodina. Small wonder the Serbs are pessimistic and depressed! The clearest sign of Serbian demoralization is the birth-rate, which is below replacement level in Serbia. In talking to students and young couples, which I have been doing, I tell them to think less about politics and get down to the serious business of life. Why worry about crooked politicians or the world's hatred? Serbs were conquered, subjugated, and humiliated by the Turks for 400 years, but they still survived to rise again in the early 19th century. They maintained their loyalty to the Orthodox Church, nourished their historical memory on their folk poetry, and they were remarkably prolific and spiritually buoyant. Even communism could not keep them down--the collectivization of agriculture was a failure here and Belgrade was a

bright light in the dark grim world behind the Iron Curtain. But, what communism could not destroy, American consumerism and arrogance are undermining. I put my case in a nutshel, talking to an Orthodox bishop: If Serbs lose their faith, their identity, and their will to live and reproduce, the political future of the Balkans does not matter, because there will be no Serbs. If they return to their traditions and start having babies again, then they will be able to endure whatever form of subjugation the American Empire and its European satellites imposes. Serbs like to exchange world-weary observations, but they are rarely so gloomy as to turn down a rakija or join in a song. Unlike the Russians and Germans, there is no greatness in Serbia, no lofty aspirations to world-conquest whose failure would destroy their soul. I believe it would take very little to put them back on track--a patriotic government, a school system that is not dedicated to destroying the mind and character of the children, the chance of getting a decent job. You can see how little it takes by going to Banja Luka. The contrast between Belgrade and Banja Luka is not quite night and day, but something more like midnight and first light. Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina have a higher birth-rate, and, while they are understandably nervous, they seem to have a somewhat greater confidence in the future. Looked at in the abstract, their cautious optimism is hardly justified. They are part of a federation that includes Bosnian Muslims who frankly hate their guts and never cease plotting how to integrate the Republika Srpska (RS) entity into a Muslimcontrolled state. Belgrade and Novi Sad, it is true, were bombed by the US, but that was nothing compared with the incredible violence and atrocities committed by all sides in the Bosnian civil war. I was in B-H several times during and right after the war, and the mile after mile of burned out villages reminded me of photographs of Germany at the end of WW II. Nonetheless, Banja Luka is growing. The older Serbian church is nicely maintained and the new cathedral is, and I use this word positively, gorgeous. I am less impressed by the two new government buildings, but they are the envy of Bosnia. The only eyesore is one of the ugliest Catholic churches in the world. As a Catholic, who has seen a great many hideous churches, I know I am making an improbable claim, but you have to see this Looney-Tunes church to believe it. I thought it was a 50's amusement park until I got close enough to realize it was a church. Why are Serbs in the RS not more depressed than Serbs in Serbia? I think it partly has to do with their small size and comparative autonomy. They have to put up with the government in Sarajevo and with a series of meddling and malicious High Representatives, each one apparently goofier than the last. To the Serbs, the High Representatives endlessly parrot the EU/UN/US line: "Forget about the Dayton Accords and anything else you signed. Work with us to make Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H) a unified multi-ethnic secular state that will be controlled by the people who are descended from Muslims who persecuted and robbed you for centuries.

Who knows how it will turn out in the end, either in Serbia or in the Republika Srpska? These days, the United States and the European Union have better things to do than waste time and resources on destroying the Serbs. It was fun, while it lasted, but we have had to move on. There's an unresolved financial crisis in Europe and the US, an Islamic insurgency in the Middle East, two unwinnable wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The dwindling number of Serbs in the world will just have to stand in line. Belgrade, 11 December 2011

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Comments You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. 'Fabulous,' using the word in its positive sense. With you at the wheel one can sleep comfortably in the backseat, and even dream. Thanks, as i struggle toward adulthood. One last childish question, as I awake: "when will we be getting there?" Posted by: Michael Yurick | 12/11/2011 at 05:16 PM I found a couple pictures of that Catholic church on the internet. It is both hideous and laughable all at the same time. Serbia will survive. In all likelihood, a new dawn will break after the upcoming crisis hits the Eurozone and the American Empire, and then washes over and recedes. All they have to do is endure. Posted by: Allen W | 12/11/2011 at 05:56 PM If there is a significant remnant of the faithful in Serbia, and only our Lord knows what a significant remnant is, a remnant faithful to Him in the special Serbian idiom of the Christian faith in which He has set them, who through all of this endure, then shall HIs grace, His mercy and His peace be upon them; for all of us who claim His

Name, whether in Serbia or whether here in America in the belly of the beast, must remember that He does not require success but that He requires that we be found faithful to the end. Let it then be our prayer as Christmas Tide that the Serbian remnant will have the courage and the faith to endure. Posted by: robert m. peters | 12/12/2011 at 04:03 AM Dr. Fleming, three things need to be addressed. First, the present socio-economic regime in *all* non-Muslim industrialized countries ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES young people to travel and to be perpetual students rather than to become productive workers and to begin families. In fact, those who are economically and biologically productive are in comparison punished. Deracination is in vogue. Until that is reversed, there is little hope of reviving a sense of communal morale in Serbia or elsewhere. You hint at this when you say, "I believe it would take very little to put them [the Serbians] back on track--a patriotic government, a school system that is not dedicated to destroying the mind and character of the children, the chance of getting a decent job." But I also think that as one of the minor countries of Europe, Serbia's confidence depends on the more heavyweight guardians of Occidental civilization - Russia, Britain, Germany and France - to do likewise and to start once again acting act, whatever their other failings may be, as the bullwarks assuring the security of Christian civilization against her enemies. Suppose, for example, that France or Russia succumbed to the ever-rising tide of African and Central Asian Muslims. How could ANY European country have confidence in or feel secure about the future? Even if the U.S. and its European satellites stop picking on the poor Serbs, Serbia's fortunes and place in the world will continue to depend almost entirely on the goodwill of other European and [historically] Christian peoples to do their part. *That* thought has got to be really unnerving for most Serbians (or for anyone else, for that matter). Lastly, while the new church is indeed appalling, I do think the Liverpool Cathedral has it beat. That one calls to mind some sort of mysterious Aztec temple sporting those weird anti-pigeon wires that one also finds atop the heads of the statues of the Queens of France in the Jardin de Luxembourg. Posted by: NGPM | 12/12/2011 at 10:10 PM There are of course general tendencies in the West's decline. There are differences, nonetheless, and USA does not equal France does not equal Serbia does not equal UK. And while it is certainly true that our government/society structures biases against all that is normal and good, it is up to men and women to decide who they are and what they want. I had dinner at a wonderful Belgrade place,Srpska Kafana, with a youngish lawyer and his wife. They have four children, are considering more, and work hard to build a decent life in occupied Serbia. The next night I was taken out by a group of young scholars, and one of them bragged of his four children. I think most old-fashioned people know right from wrong and know how they should live. They

should forget about the obstacles and begin the adventure. Posted by: Thomas Fleming | 12/13/2011 at 03:14 PM Dr. Fleming, most of my friends grew up in families of five to ten children. I do agree with you, that "think most old-fashioned people know right from wrong and know how they should live" and that we ought to "forget about the obstacles and begin the adventure." The thing is, most people are NOT so magnanimous. They do what seems comfortable and there are plenty of forces making marriage and family appear very uncomfortable. And unfortunately, the mediocre elements of society will always be with us. They need more inspiration than their own mediocre virtues. Put it another way. The good Roman Catholics of France all have large families, sure. But they remain a minority. Will they be enough to outbreed the Maghrebian immigrants? If not, then while perhaps they will be rewarded in the life to come, there is every reason to think that the future will be bleak. It isn't enough just to CALL for people to have more babies. People higher up have to call for this AND set the example--and revoke student discounts for pretty much everything under the sun. You know, in France, you used to get a discount of 20 to 50 percent on the TGV if you were between ages 12 and 25. Well, as of last month, you get this discount if you are between the ages of 12 and 30! When will this pro-Bohemian/anti-reality madness stop? Only when we have abolished the notion of adolescence in Western society, in France, in the U.S., in Serbia and everywhere else! Posted by: NGPM | 12/13/2011 at 06:23 PM Great Article! I've lived in Serbia for 11 years and you are 100% correct in everything you said, including your assessment about having more babies. I'm going out for a rakija with some friends tonight. (and maybe make some babies ; ) Posted by: Betty | 12/13/2011 at 11:12 PM I'm trying to locate the pictures that Allen W. mentioned in his comment. Would someone (or Allen, if you are back) post a link or share search terms? I'm just dying to see photos of the place. Posted by: Francis N. | 12/13/2011 at 11:18 PM "If they return to their traditions and start having babies again, then they will be able to endure whatever form of subjugation the American Empire and its European satellites imposes." But it will take faith in God to do so.

"I believe it would take very little to put them back on track--a patriotic government, a school system that is not dedicated to destroying the mind and character of the children, the chance of getting a decent job." The same could be said for the United States. I apologize if this is a duplicate, but I'm experiencing some difficulty in posting my comments. Posted by: Andrew G Van Sant | 12/14/2011 at 12:31 AM In general, I agree with practically everything Tom Fleming wrote. @NGPM - when you are backed into a corner, what do you do? It may even be as simple as that. Having said that, look up 'Dveri' from Serbia here on the net - the slogan is 'movement for life of Serbia'. Posted by: Armand | 12/14/2011 at 04:32 PM I agree, the Serbs would have to be crazy to want to join the EU that is sitting on a mountain of financial dynamite. Posted by: Arius | 12/14/2011 at 05:08 PM Serbia is not unique.America us is broke,corrupt and going over the cliff, Euro is sinking, while China is rolling in money.. And to top it all Russia is offering 10 billion Euros to bail out Europe from its financial quagmire. If somebody had told you this ten years ago you would have questioned his mental health! Saludos, Nick Posted by: Nick D. Petrovich | 12/16/2011 at 01:38 PM Thomas thank you for this right here. It is the kind of thinking my people need. We Serbs in the diaspora are forming a group called 28. Jun "June 28th" which will promote everything you have talked about in the piece. These are words inspiration. Posted by: Nikola | 12/20/2011 at 10:44 PM Well written article, but I dont agree with the babies thing... What good have it done Somalian and Palestinian parents to have many children they cant feed? Nativity isnt the only important thing, I doubt that in this times it would do

Serbs good to have more babies born into poverty. Posted by: Srboslav | 12/20/2011 at 11:24 PM "The babies thing" is an unfortunately revealing turn of phrase, both inaccurate and contemptuous. Babies are not "things," but human beings. Children are a kind of earthly immortality granted to parents and to a people. When a people ceases to reproduce, it is almost always a reflection of some deeper moral problem, the hedonism and materialism that leads one to say such stuff as "the babies thing," or, in the case of many Serbs, despair of the future. Many Serbs in Serbia, today, are poor indeed, but they were manifestly poorer in earlier times when they continued to have children. They are caught, alas, between two crushing forces, both of them from the West: the defeat, humiliation, and subjugation imposed by the US and accepted by pro-Western liberals like Tadic, and the degrading hedonist culture of Hollywood. There are signs of hope, however. Consider Goran Bregovic. He used to front a very popular rock and roll band, and he now tours the world with a gypsy brass band, promoting more traditional music. Personally, I am betting on the creativity and buoyancy of the Serbian people. Posted by: Thomas Fleming | 12/21/2011 at 02:58 PM Nikola I would like to support the group. I'm in Perth WA. Srboslav you miss the point and I don't think you have enough IQ to understand what agenda is. Read this carefully until it touch your brain cells, do not get upset if don't happened, that mean you are not Serb or you don't have a brain : "...Many Serbs in Serbia, today, are poor indeed, but they were manifestly poorer in earlier times when they continued to have children..." All the best from Perth from Serbian family with 4 kids. Posted by: Sinisa | 12/24/2011 at 03:10 AM "Serbs were conquered, subjugated, and humiliated by the Turks for 400 years, but they still survived to rise again in the early 19th century. They maintained their loyalty to the Orthodox Church, nourished their historical memory on their folk poetry, and they were remarkably prolific and spiritually buoyant" And that is exactly the answer why Serbia is on her knees this time! Not be cause of "crooked politicians or the world's hatred" but be cause of the absence of "loyalty to the Orthodox Church" and "historical memory". We Serbs are separating, (splitting from within) from our roots under extern Western pressure. Only those who go back to their Orthodox roots will be saved from the decadent desire of indulging in materialistic world. The desire projected on (colective conciusness) so lavishly by the EU mirage of promised land. The future is not in baby only, the future is above all in the choice one makes in his in heart of hearts .That is procreation. Posted by: jako | 12/31/2011 at 08:53 PM

NOTHING and NOBODY can destroy Serbs, not U.S. or EU, Germany, Vatican, absence of babies, etc.etc. Only God and Serbs themselves can do that. But our heart to Him is visible and He will save us from ourselves. Posted by: jako | 12/31/2011 at 09:03 PM http://fleming.dailymail.co.uk/2011/12/serbia-surviving-the-american-imperium.html