Text and cover photo: Petar Vukobrat
“There are days when you wonder,
what your role is in this country and what your future is in it.”
— James Baldwin
Where does one find the strength to think about the future? And not just any future. Our future. There are so many ways for things to go awry, and we expect such a grim outcome almost by default. We’re used to it. We know it’s coming. A disappointing answer always awaits, regardless of the question posed.
What these lands will look like in a couple of decades’ time remains an unsolvable puzzle — and even if we do solve it, I doubt anyone is going to be satisfied with the end result.
And why would they? Our future doesn’t contain a lot of optimism. That’s an esoteric luxury entitled only to a select few.
One has to wonder — how low can we fall? Is there even an end to our seemingly endless decline?
A lot of people are leaving the country, but who gives a damn. Our terminally ill kids are dying, but that’s also not that urgent — we have more important matters to attend to. What is important and worthy of highlighting is the fact that there’s a brand-new mall opening —right next to an old one. More stories, more glass and metal, more cubic meters for shoppers to stand in and consume oxygen while drinking imported coffee from an African plantation no one can even pronounce correctly.
Over time, we became exceptional liars. Lying is our second nature. It is our national pastime and our preferred leisurely activity. We lie in groups but also individually. Day in and day out. If lying was an Olympic sport, chances are we’d be the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champions – the gold medalists. When it comes to lying, we have no equals. Some might come close, but there’s not a nation on the face of the earth that can go blow-for-blow when we’re at the top of our game.
But we don’t lie just because we’re good at it – lying is also our most potent defense mechanism, and we use it generously in order to survive. We lie to others, but to ourselves as well. If we could muster the courage to take a good look at what life has become, we would quickly realize that even the most alarming George Orwell book looks like an endearing bedtime story in comparison.
Fortunately for us and our feeble, fragile minds, there’s always a shiny new distraction right around the corner. An opportunity to escape the dreadfulness of modern-day living and the problems that preoccupy us. If our daily lives aren’t documented on Instagram (supplemented with a palette of adequate hashtags) – they don’t count. How did people even live without photographing their daily meals? #Barbarians.
Also, while we’re at it, is that an unused field over there or are my eyes deceiving me? Why isn’t it covered in asphalt or concrete? What an oversight! Quickly! Call a private investor. We can build a multi-story parking garage. People love those. And let’s not lie to ourselves – trees are so passé, who needs them in this day and age? These bushes are also getting on my nerves. There, I said it. It’s been on everyone’s mind for ages and yet no one had the courage to speak out. Such a nice place for a small exchange office.
Furthermore, this humongous pasture is the definition of “wasted space.” Such an attractive location for a building complex! Oh, and here’s an idea – put two coffee shops on the ground floor. There’s nothing better than an Ethiopia Brazil Peru San Salvador citrus cappuccino mix with a tender whiff of mocha and a pinch of arabica.
Let’s be real – you haven’t lived until you try that one out.
“We do not talk – we bludgeon one another with facts and theories gleaned from cursory readings of newspapers, magazines and digests.”
— Henry Miller
We’re being lured by these large advertisements and spectacular renders that are selling us an exceptional future – albeit not our own. We’ve hit a low point and it doesn’t even matter who’s to blame. We’re used to it – we’re used to being mistreated and undervalued. For us, it is a constant state of being. For a good majority of people, this is the worst possible scenario. Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. We’ve become estranged from one another, but from ourselves as well. To make matters worse, we have replaced our collective conscience with a twenty-four-hour reality TV feed – no wonder most people lack the strength to question the status quo.
Those who are leaving the country aren’t doing so with their hearts filled with dreams. They’re leaving because they’re seeking the bare minimum. They’re leaving a twisted reality and they probably won’t look back. And why would they? All of this feels like a surreal dream – or a nightmare, rather.
But hey, there’s a new mall opening, and these sales really are insane.
