The potato season is over. Although everything went routinely, this event deserves notice. Come to think of it, potatoes are a pillar of democracy and every other political system. Sacks full of potatoes stored in your cellar make you feel protected, however illusorily, from social cataclysms, including revolutionary upheavals. Let the folks upstairs set their rules of the big game, the masses know better. Accepting or rejecting such rules proves much easier with sacks of potatoes in the cellar, because that means you will survive the winter. Such “freedom,” however, costs months of toil in the vegetable garden, tending the potato crop. It is backbreaking work, which leaves little time for anything else. But then you can heave a sigh of relief, although a thrifty farmer thinks not only of his own crop, but everyone else’s as well, hoping to God the yields will be good. The people also have to decide how to live decently until Oct. 31 and what to “plant,” wondering what will “grow” there. Everyone is an agronomist of sorts. So, how to survive until the elections?
Les PODERVIANSKY, artist:
I think the situation is simpler than meets the eye. An election campaign is a normal phenomenon; it is even useful for society. First, it’s good that we have elections. In Russia and Belarus, for example, no elections as such were held. Second, this process allows our society to take a good look at itself, the way you look at yourself in the mirror and draw the right conclusions. Television comes in very handy, although I would suggest turning it off now and then. Television also conveys some truth, bitter as it may look and sound. We must muster the courage to face this truth, for truth is seldom pleasant. I think that this period will allow our society to take a closer look at itself, which is good.
Yuri MAKAROV, TV journalist:
I believe that we must mobilize our patience and common sense. Picture yourself walking down a street and being apprehended by men in uniform and taken to a precinct, where they say ‘sign this paper or face the consequences.’ At first, you protest, of course, but they pressure you, threaten you with the third degree, and finally let you go. But they make you visit them every day afterwards, saying you could have serious problems unless you agree to cooperate, assuring you that you could have a deal with them that would be kept secret. What I mean is that you can ruin your life by affixing a single signature, and you may find yourself being constantly pressured to make that signature. Some people can’t take such pressure and sign such papers.
Here is another, simpler, example. You meet a girl and then everything changes miraculously; you start receiving phone calls from people you vaguely remember, they say, ‘Oh, the girl you’re dating is so cute, so well dressed, so talented, she’ll make a great wife, she’s so nice.’ Her parents invite you to their dacha and make it clear that everything they have will be yours after you marry their daughter; unexpected and very enticing business offers are offered to you, but all the while you are being told, strictly off the record, that your girlfriend is not as decent as you think. In a word, you smell a rat, but you keep telling yourself that she is gorgeous, although you can’t help remembering all those have informed you of the contrary. At a certain point you are tempted to close your eyes and propose to her, keeping your fingers crossed, knowing that you are crossing the proverbial point of no return. In the end, you feel relieved-and disgusted with yourself.
The recipe is simple and it’s not my invention. You must realize what you actually need, so you won’t be ashamed afterwards; you have to act in such a way as not to offend your aesthetic feelings. After all, it’s not that hard to understand that someone is taking you for a ride, trying to talk you into doing things you wouldn’t want to do.
All it takes is being able to detect the modus operandi. In a word, the main thing is to be able to cast your ballet without anyone breathing down your neck at the polling station.
What I mean is that you should tell all those who are trying to influence your voter’s choice to go to hell, and act the way you think is right.
Natalia RUDENKO, director, Ukrainian Gymnasium /High School/ Training and Educational Complex, Simferopol:
How are we going to survive this month? I believe that people watching television at night, trying to figure out the presidential campaign, must ask this question of themselves. I have also thought about it. There are few reasons for optimism. Most events appear disheartening, leaving most people disillusioned. I never imagined that I would live to see such notions as Ukraine, nation-state, national honor, dignity, and independence being degraded so much, that there would be so many people that hold them in such low esteem, placing the main emphasis on business, profit-making, power-gaining, and personnel well-being. After thinking hard, I came to the conclusion that I should act as Leo Tolstoy wrote: Act as you must, come what may. From my personal experience, I know that if you act that way by upholding honor and law, nothing will harm you personally. Therefore, I believe that there is no alternative for decent people here; we all must act like decent and dedicated citizens of Ukraine, aware of our responsibility for our children’s future. It is easy to feel offended by the rest of the world, by society and politicians, and hide oneself in one’s niche, yet this will not solve your problems. No one will relieve you of the responsibility for your own destiny, for your offspring, and for your country. Sooner or later, you will have to answer, meaning that you must act in a manner that, for years afterwards, will not make you feel abysmally ashamed of those moments of weakness, despair, or very bad mistakes.
At the same time, I believe that surviving this month without going insane watching television and hearing all that political nonsense is only the first point on the agenda. The closer the election date, the more acute another issue becomes: How will we live after the elections? The thing is that this campaign is not being held to elect the next head of state, but to establish our way of life afterwards. Therefore, everyone must act and cast his ballot so he can live with this burden after the elections. We must make sure that mistakes made by individuals will not cause an overall disaster, crisis, poverty, deceit, and mounting social tensions and disillusionments. We must see that these elections ensure growth and progress, instead of bringing us back to where we were, wasting time and resources, seeing nothing good in the offing. We must follow examples set by people who went far ahead of the rest of us, although the starting conditions were equal. There is only one answer to the question why all those countries with far fewer resources than Ukraine have surpassed Ukraine: because they did it by relying on their popular will expressed during elections; because they put forward progressive politicians; because they drew the proper conclusions from their past experiences, and because they did it better than we do in Ukraine. In a word, we must each cast our ballot as our conscience bids us, acting in keeping with our moral dictates and the law. Each of us must consider every nuance and think twice before making a decision; we have to know exactly where we are headed, which direction to take. If we do all this, we will not make a mistake.
Volodymyr BONDARENKO, political analyst:
Elections are an excellent way to democratize our society. People are talking about politics, trying to figure out what’s happening. The more they get involved with the stormy sociopolitical process, the better their choice will be when it comes time to cast their ballots; the more active their civil stand will be after the elections. In this sense, the campaign situation should not be regarded as disastrous, but as a very important growth medium in terms of building a civil society.
Of course, the nagging political advertising, all those commercials and ads, along with endless political scandals involving practically all of the key players of the game, can only make one feel irritated. However, I would like to urge my fellow Ukrainians to show courage and refrain from burying their heads in the sand. Those who want to abstain from casting ballots will thus allow room for maneuvering for all those who are interested in rigging this campaign, so that power can pass into the hands of those who are not worthy of the people’s trust.
Stepan DETOCHKIN, President, Global Pespectives Strategic Studies Foundation:
The problem is not that the presidential campaign is heaping data and emotions on people, which are not always positive. It is that the course of events, and especially the outcome, may change life in our society for the worse, rather than for the better. In other words, we don’t know what kind of society we will arrive at after the elections; that it can turn out much worse than the population logically expects, far less comforting than what we consider discomforting now. For example, those who engineered the 1917 Russian revolution could have hardly imagined that man-made disasters like the Holodomor and purges of the 1930s would be its outcome. In this sense, current political leaders, especially the leading presidential candidates, have shouldered a staggering responsibility. The road Ukraine will embark upon after the elections will depend not only on who will become the next president, but also on the methods employed. Therefore, each of us has a share of the responsibility, and this is what I strongly suggest that none of us ignore.
Vasyl KHARA , People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Chairman, VR Social Policy and Labor Committee:
The closer the election date, the worse the moral-psychological situation becomes in this society. There is the real and present danger of various provocations on the part of those who crave political power; this is not making our people live any better. Another factor is the rising consumer prices. I feel perfectly sure that there are no objective reasons for this phenomenon; that it is one of the power-play levers that is being pulled in order to lower the ratings of the presidential candidate representing the current regime.
Some of the presidential contenders, primarily Viktor Yushchenko’s men, are acting in an expressly aggressive manner in order to reach their goal — and this is being done not to have a decent person elected as the next president, one who will really care for his people’s good; here each and everyone is concerned for his own selfish good, making every effort to occupy Ukraine’s highest executive post. What can one do to resist this pressure? First of all, there should be personal contacts between people representing the government and those involved in all these negative processes. Above all, there should be dialogue. In addition, the government should take preventive measures by acting on lawful grounds, so that there are no confrontations. We are very proud of the fact that there have been no interethnic hostilities, no mass public unrest over the years of Ukrainian national independence. It is the duty of every decent Ukrainian national to make every effort to maintain this situation. I trust the intelligence of politicians and the common sense of the masses, which should not acquiesce to being manipulated into any kinds of upheavals. There are sober-minded people in Viktor Yushchenko’s entourage, they are aware of the danger of such confrontations, and their leader should also listen to their reasonable ideas. The elections will come to pass, we will have the next president, but life must take its course. Whatever differences we may have now, we will have to keep on living after Oct. 31. Our planet is too small for someone to succeed in provoking a civil war (God forbid!) and then hiding.
Volodymyr MALYNKOVYCH, political analyst:
It is important for every voter to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. We are flooded with all kinds of data, some of them obviously dubious or of minor importance, some often calculated to cause a sensation; journalists naturally hunt for hot stories. I think our electorate should ignore all this and consider what they will gain after casting their ballots and what their candidate will have to offer them; what they can actually expect from him in the positive and negative contexts. Increasing pensions is a positive aspect, of course, meaning that millions of people are allowed to live a little better. Also, the electorate should not trust every story being fed from upstairs, or being promised by every candidate; they should clarify what they expect from their candidates by being quite specific. So, I would personally emphasize the health care aspect. Regrettably, this issue is practically nonexistent in the current campaign — considering that these days most Ukrainians feel that this topic is a top social priority. In other words, the candidates should be prepared to broach the subject and promise a constructive approach. Also, every candidate should be prepared to make decisions aimed at increasing the standard of living, meaning that people should vote for those they believe can really accomplish all this. Another important aspect is the problem of democratization. Our country appears to have overcome its economic crisis — or is apparently getting out of it. Yet we have not created a true democracy. Quite often party oppositionists lash out at the existing system, all the while voting against political reform, proportional legislation, and so on. I believe it is very important for every voter to demand from his respective candidate — we actually have only two leading ones — that he implement political reform once he has shared his powers with the parliament and cabinet.
Yevheniya SOKHATSKA, Associate Professor, Kamianets-Podilsky State University:
Will we live to see Monday? This is the title of a popular Soviet movie. Its lighthearted tone has little to do with the alarming situation developing in our country. The situation is alarmingly similar now, but we must hope for the best, despite what we are seeing on our television screens at home and reading in our papers. We must read between the lines, think things over, and come to the right conclusions.
The rising prices for meat, oil, and gas are alarming us. But we all know that man shall not live by bread alone. The most alarming phenomenon is the cadre purges that are replacing Ukrainian-minded people. The regime does not seem to have the situation under control, and the masses do not seem to understand what is being decided upstairs.
Last week, I was happy to watch our parliament pass bills despite the majority’s demarche; our parliament looked very businesslike and capable, showing a constructive approach. To me it was proof that not everything is rotten in the state of Ukraine, that we have sober-minded statesmen and politicians.
Regardless of all the alarming signals, as of Oct. 1, I want to believe that our people will make the right choice (as was the case with the 1991 referendum), in favor of a civilized process and the national idea. I believe that our choice will serve as an example for other post-Soviet countries. After all, we are relying on the memory of our past generations and millions of victims. We have no right to betray that memory; we have no right to turn away from our mother tongue, lest we become fatherless sons and daughters, reduced to subsisting on the periphery of civilization. We are Europeans and our place is in Europe. It will happen as Dmytro Pavlychko wrote in his poem: “When people, not slaves, take the helm!”
By the way, the potato procurement season is over. Time to think about the next harvest.
Roman NIKIFORUK, Chief Physician, Pavlov Kyiv City Psychoneurology Clinic #1:
I think it’s best to apply for a leave of absence to stay away from all these problems. When you’re on vacation, no one can blame you for anything. I’m kidding, of course. Seriously, every individual must carefully study the presidential candidates’ biographies, service records, and action programs to see whether these people can make reasonable decisions in terms of their personal views and overall political orientation. We must regard this campaign as a normal democratic phenomenon, which is something that happens in every country. Campaign technologies, however, are a different matter altogether, as some of these may well prove to be rigged. My fellow Ukrainians who are feeling nervous and mentally unbalanced about such things ought to be provided with professional help. This is not the last election campaign to take place in Ukraine; we will all have an opportunity to correct the situation five years down the line.
