Posted on 12/29/2007 2:17:31 PM PST by joan
Slovenia was a poor and neglected province of Austria before Yugoslavia existed.
And now it is a richer and more lauded republic since Yugoslavia ceased to exist.
Like we didn't know this would happen.
It's sad to see my husbands ancestors country yearn for communism.
Just goes to show, there are many who would gladly trade freedom for stability.
That's true. But wasn't there also a lot of separatist agitation and even some terrorism by the Slovenes against the Austrian government?
I think individuals were probably more free under the Austro-Hungarian Empire than they are now. And certainly more so than under the Communist regime.
You wrote:
“Just goes to show, there are many who would gladly trade freedom for stability.”
Got that right! Look at the Russians who look back at Stalin and actually miss the man! They’re nuts.
Either tragically naive or ignorant of Tito’s wartime and post war atrocities ,eg Kocevski Rog, these persons seem to have adopted a western egocentric view of their country and their history.
I served on a deployment with the US Army in Slovenia a few years ago and they seemed to love their Independence. In fact, I met the President of Slovenia while training their troops how to fight. Great people, great country. This is just a communist bias writer.
But these are the civilians not the army. They prefer a different more cultural and easy going lifestyle than the regimented, obedient type of army men.
Just being picky. You should feel free to ignore this post.
Interesting history, his great grandfather would have been an Austro-Hungarian subject (citizen?). Such things are 'cool,' when people in recent history were part of countries which only ceased to exist recently after existing for centuries.
you wrote:
“But these are the civilians not the army. They prefer a different more cultural and easy going lifestyle than the regimented, obedient type of army men.”
More cultural and easy going lifestyle under communist thugs?
Communist culture is anti-life, anti-freedom, degrades the human spirit, and almost denies the existence of human initiative to succeed. And easy going lifestyle? You mean “Doing little and getting enough without having to pay much or caring about consequences”. That’s called laziness. Look at what the “more cultured” and “easy going lifestyles” did for the Eastern Bloc to prepare them for the 21st century. NOTHING.
I’ve asked hubby’s Mom about the family’s history and it does get confusing, to say the least.
But that’s why they miss Stalin! That’s exactly my point. Some Russians actually wish they had Stalin back because then there was only one uncertainty in life - would you be picked up by the KGB that day? If you stayed a supporter of the Soviet system, you life was essentially set. You would never have much if you were an average nobody, but you would have food (bread, cabbage and not much else), shelter (cramped apartment sharing a bathroom and kitchen with others!), and a job (a complete sham most likely where you did little, achieved nothing and got paid anyway).
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Note that one of the interviewees used "country" even when referencing Slovenia as a part of Yugoslavia.
That said, you could canvas any city in California and find people nostalgic for the days of mexican rule...while the sympathies are probably legitimate, I doubt they are close to a significant minority of the population.
The Slovene military kicked Yugoslav (read Serbian) butt in 1991 when the latter tried to reimpose rule by Belgrade. The Slovene Republic soon became the most prosperous and proudly independent of all the former `republics’ of the former Franken-slavia state.
I heard the same communist nostalgia cr@p in Uzbekistan when deployed there 2003-04. From the young people with no adult memories of the USSR. “It’s all about money now” carped one young Uzbek woman to me as she proclaimed her admiration for Stalin!
This piece is worthless. Slovenes are for liberty!
(full disclosure- my grandfather was Slovenian. Must be in my blood.)
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