Deadly: we are doing a very serious job of dealing with this crisis very reluctantly

However, according to him, Lithuanians face a confrontation not for the first time: the breath of non-existence is familiar to Lithuanian culture.

With cultural historian, public figure, 1990-1992. Lithuanian Minister of Culture and Education, 1998-2002. Mr. Kuolis, Advisor to President Valdas Adamkus Delfi.lt He spoke about the impact of the pandemic on society, the historical shocks of Lithuanian culture and the measures that help to survive those shocks.

– Is a pandemic changing society? If so, how is our society changing?

– The pandemic is working and working hard. It also affects the academic world: I see colleagues who live in different states. The pandemic is also weakening the academic and cultural community.

A pandemic brings non-existence to our lives. As a cultural historian, I can say that these kinds of situations have occurred in Lithuanian culture more than once. Non-being approaches and, in the face of non-being, the meaning of our work becomes clear. The meaning of cultural, academic and pedagogical work is increasingly clear.

The departures of Peter Bingelis, Irena Veisaitė and other cultural people are painful and they are with us.

– In pandemic darkness, you also see moments of light. Did you mention that cultural and academic work becomes more meaningful?

– Everyone will answer this question in their own way. Everyone reacts in their own way. For some it is a harder work period, I see colleagues working very creatively. For others, it is a time of impending melancholy, quite a depressing time to endure. The virtual communication and the flickering of the screen begin to act as a kind of stimulus. It is not a substitute for live communication.

Each of us experiences that moment individually. The academic world tries to preserve creative forms, conferences and seminars are held.

– More recently on Facebook, you have noticed that we are currently seeing some not necessarily positive changes in education. What are these changes and why do they occur?

– It’s just our negligence. I see a lot of laziness: we are doing very seriously the very serious work that is determining our future, the destiny of our society, our maturity and the future maturity of society. This rejection confuses me: sometimes we break and push like teenagers, behaving frivolously in situations that require serious attitude, concentration, serious conversation, dialogue, experience, professionalism.

Our politicians lack responsibility and sometimes act like children. This also makes it very painful in a pandemic situation. Basically, this is the irresponsibility and myopia of politicians. The same is true in the field of culture, where decisions are very important, such as updating the curriculum. It is very important that what we give to our young people today, that these young people perceive the world, that is how they will behave and live. Here are the most serious problems of the national political community, and we leave them to self-interest, public procurement, interest groups and commercial interests. At this point, the public should take and consider these things very seriously.

Looking with some experience how those things were considered by dr. I love Lukšienė, in whose team I had to work, I see a certain decline, a certain infantilization of society, especially of those layers that should take a serious responsibility for the future today.

– You mentioned that the Lithuanian nation has faced the absence of a coronavirus pandemic more than once in its history. What were those most pronounced collisions?

– We had great upheavals in the seventeenth century. In the middle of the 19th century, when the city of Vilnius was prosperous, it was a European city that had not experienced wars for a long time, it was rich, beautiful and the Lithuanians were proud of it. Thirty years of war ravaged Europe at that time and Vilnius in the 17th century. in the middle he had not seen wars against crusader attacks. This whole city in 1655. was devastated by Moscow and the Cossack army.

Famine and plague also ravaged Vilnius more than once. Lithuania has many intellectuals ravaged by the plague. There was also a frenzy in the 20th century. at the beginning of the 19th century, when young Lithuanian intellectuals who had not even reached maturity withdrew. The most creative forces fell: Jonas Biliūnas, Povilas Višinskis and other intellectual and talented people of ours, who would still have created our society and our state, contributed to its restoration, but were overthrown by disease.

These clashes in Lithuanian culture occur constantly and the breath of nonexistence is unique to Lithuanian culture, familiar from history.

– In the public sphere, we note that the complexity of the current situation is much commented on by young people, the younger generation. Why is it so difficult for you to survive this crisis?

– Everyone is probably talking about this situation. And for the young, the world was wide and open. Suddenly, that world became very narrow, virtualized and all the spaces they wanted to invade were closed. It’s natural, it’s a big surprise. At the same time, these are the shocks of personal life.

In this case, it is necessary to read Seneca, the Stoics, and discover the Stoic spirit. There were also many lessons in Lithuanian culture on how to endure crises and how to bear losses.

– Perhaps you would advise us on how we can gain the skill and strength to survive the difficulties of today in these turbulent times?

– What would Adam Mickiewicz or Jonas Čečiotas say that it is necessary to cultivate friendship, cultivate friendship? You have to keep your friends in mind, even if you communicate virtually, share your experiences, read books.

In post-colonial Lithuania, we trust less, we make those connections less. But in times of crisis, friendship and camaraderie are very important.

One more thing, we need to wish for the wisdom of all our politicians who seem to be just inertia and play those, well, very boring, banal fighting games or dictated PR games, revenge scenarios that are completely out of place and seem tragicomic. . I would like all of our politicians to wish for wisdom for life, a wider bridge, restraint, and more responsible behavior.

– The quarantine regime forces you to spend more time at home and, at the same time, perhaps more often to pick up a book and engage in self-education. What books, what readings would you recommend?

– You just need to broaden your horizons, take an interest and observe what is currently involving you in the dialogue with others. Books, as wonderfully said in the 20th century. The Russian humanities are talking beings, talking existences. Human beings are often different. It is necessary to start a dialogue, a conversation with these beings. If that conversation doesn’t work out, you don’t have to worry too much. And if you can start a conversation, you need to develop it. You must find as many books as you can talk and dialogue with them.

These books can be very diverse. We have many good and strong texts today that we should rediscover, even texts that have been read in the past, forgotten, perhaps once used. It is worth returning to them. For example, “The Enchanted Mountain” by Thomas Man is a fundamental European text that can be constantly leafed through to turn around and look. Also the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky: when you look now at the political theater, Dostoevsky’s “Demons” become very eloquent and interesting.

There are many interesting philosophical texts to return to. On the other hand, the humanities are evolving and today we have many interesting texts written by both Lithuanian and foreign authors.