3.4 Some Things Will Never Change
We are all, as human beings, the result of a combination of ideas, traditions, impulses and habits, conscious and unconscious, inherited and accumulated. Some of these are so deeply ingrained in us that they cannot change without this having a serious effect on our identity as individuals, while other are learned characteristics that can change given the right conditions.
The same holds true for the things we accumulated as individuals and as national communities during the communist era. Some of these are the result of persistent brainwashing efforts that were carried on for generations. They become even more deeply rooted in us when, as result of communist propaganda, we make personal choices that set us on a specific personal trajectory. Thus, in spite of their lack of communist convictions, some people chose to become members of the communist party in order to be able to pursue a particular career, while those who were not ready to make this compromise had to accept more modest professional trajectories.
Personal story – When I finished my high school studies I wanted to become a philosophy student and specialise in sociology. However, a few months before I had to register for the entrance exam at the university, the government passed a law that required a special recommendation from the Communist Youth League for a number of faculties, including that of philosophy. Since I was already a very active Christian at the time and consequently did not have a very good reputation with the communist authorities, I was advised to not even dare to ask for the reference. As a result, I had to give up my dream and choose a different area of study to which I did not feel specially drawn.
We are all influenced to some extent by the context in which we live and by the decisions we make in life. Some of the results of these influences become so much a part of us that they can never be changed, no matter how hard we try, but will only die when we do, as happened with the Israelites in the desert.
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