It is 10:00 PM on a Sunday night, and the mountain across the valley is on fire.
We can see it from our apartment windows -- a long swath of orange flame, flickering in and out of view because of the thick billowing smoke. It's pitch black outside, a clear night sky so we can see the stars, except for the bright orange flames.
It's kinda creepy. And kinda cool. And slightly worrisome -- although since it's near the top of the mountain, I don't think we have too much cause for alarm yet.
Or maybe Gondor needs us...
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Grinning toothless accordionists... and other thoughts from church.
Finding a church in Lupeni has been hard for us. However, in the last few months, Jack and I have settled in to Biserica Bethel, a small Pentecostal church on the outskirts of Lupeni. We chose it because it was small, because it was friendly, and because, unlike another church we visited, it didn't have any enormous paintings of Bermuda in the front of the sanctuary (I think it's meant to symbolize heaven, but still, it weirded me out). We also chose it because there are a lot of Roma (Gypsy) people who attend Bethel. In the States, one of the things we treasured most about our church community was its intentional commitment to racial and ethnic diversity, united in the body of Christ. We didn't want to worship at a church where Roma people were excluded, or where we heard derogatory things said about them -- so that left us at Bethel.
Most of the time I like it there. Occasionally there will be a service where there's just too much prophesying and speaking in tongues going on for my comfort, but that's the American Midwestern evangelical/mainline Protestant in me. I appreciate that this church prays actively for the sick and those out of work, and that people from the church spend a lot of time visiting with and praying for those who are bedridden or ill. There are a lot of people who don't have work in our church, and they're transparent about their needs. They are kind and friendly and welcoming to us, and we've met many wonderful people. And I am thankful for that.
Mostly, though, I like Bethel services for one thing: the singing. See, the worship style for the service we attend usually includes a long "open mic" portion, where anyone who feels led can get up from their seat, go to the front of the room, and lead worship -- singing, reciting poetry, reading Scripture, whatever. It's spontaneous and sometimes hilarious, particularly because the instrumentalists (a few guitarists, a 10-year-old on drumset, an old toothless accordion player, and a new person on keyboard for every song) always try to catch the tune and play along, which often means the first verse or two of the person's song is accompanied by a cacophony of instruments trying desperately to pick out the right key. But despite the discord, I like this part. It feels so Romanian. The songs that are sung are often exactly what you'd expect in "stereotypical" Eastern European music -- part warble and wail, part toe-tapping rhythmic chorus, punctuated with shouts of "Ai! Ai! Ai!" from members of the congregation. Some of the people who lead us in song have amazing, beautiful voices. Others don't. But it doesn't matter, because if the song is familiar, soon their voice is drowned out by the enthusiastic voices of the rest of the congregation... plus that amazing accordion.
The kids usually lead a few songs too. They're SO CUTE!
This week was especially jubilant. A middle-aged man had just committed to following Jesus, and he was baptized this Sunday evening in the river which flows just behind the church. It was pretty abrupt, actually -- suddenly in the middle of the service, everyone stood up and put on their coats and traipsed outside, applauding and singing, to cheer and love and encourage as he was dunked in the Jiu. There were lots of hugs and photographs, words of encouragement and promises to walk with this man as he joined the family of faith. At the same time, the church was celebrating the birth of a new baby into the family, praying blessings over the child and his parents, promising to raise him in the family of faith and walk beside him. It brought tears to my eyes to see this newly-baptized older man towering over this tiny little baby held in his mother's arms, the two of them side-by-side in the front of the church, surrounded by loving people of all ages, all promising to welcome them and love them. And then the guitarists and accordion player got started again, bopping to their own beat, fingers flying across keys and strings, grinning and stomping, toothless and all -- and we were singing, and clapping, and there was much rejoicing.
It was beautiful. And for the first time, it really felt like home.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Fără limite.
I'm staring out the window on a gloomy, misty October day, thinking about running. Or rather, thinking about how I wish I could go running. My body has been suffering from a lack of exercise lately, a lack of exercise induced by long weeks of meetings and cold, dreary weather and a lethargy that takes over my willpower just as the fog sinks deep into the Jiu Valley. It's fall, a time that for many years of my life has been marked by cross country season and long runs in crisp, cool air. But here, for some reason, it hasn't happened. It's hard for me to run often in Lupeni. Maybe it's the street dogs, maybe it's the stares, maybe it's the fact that there are few routes to take that don't involve running up mountains. But as I gaze out at the rain and low-hanging clouds today, I'm feeling antsy.
The reality is that there's not much to do in Lupeni. Our entertainment options are limited to three restaurants, which serve semi-decent pizza and traditional Romanian food, accompanied by pop music and thick clouds of cigarette smoke. There are a few bars and betting parlors and one dance club, none of which we have tried. There are a couple parks, which are always full to the brim on warm days. But that's about it. We usually make meals and share them with people, play games, watch movies, or go for hikes when we are looking for something to do. And for the most part it's fine: we are busy, we rest well, and we are mostly content. But as this fall chill rolls in, I'm a little worried that this winter will make me stir-crazy.
And we're not the only ones. Most of the IMPACT kids I talk to are astonished that we moved here. They can't wait to move away, either to big cities like Cluj and Timişoara, or out of the country entirely. They think Lupeni is boring and hopeless. The mountains are beautiful, they'll admit -- but they don't really like it here.
So what to do?
Well, one of our friends here, Felipe, is obsessed with rock climbing (to put it mildly). There are some nice outdoor climbing spots nearby, and in the summer we spent plenty of Saturdays climbing together in Uricani. But in the winter, it's cold and snowy (heck, it snowed here on October 3rd, so we're not just talking about the winter!)... and climbing in the snow is not so fun. Felipe has been bringing IMPACT kids climbing with him too, and they also have loved it. So a few months ago, he decided to try and open a climbing gym in Lupeni. With help from other FNO staff, he's found a building, gotten the support of the organization that oversees that building, put together a plan for renovation and construction, and now is raising funds to build it. Eventually he hopes to turn it into a self-sustaining business. It's a sweet project, and one that I'm excited to watch unfold. There's a community of climbers here, some of whom struggle to find steady employment, and a climbing gym would give them a place to work, a chance to develop business skills. There are a lot of kids who have expressed interest and willingness even to pay a small fee to be able to come and climb. And quite frankly, there's a huge need. Lupeni doesn't have a community center, it doesn't have a YMCA, it doesn't have anywhere where kids can go hang out and engage in constructive activities -- particularly in the winter. If the climbing gym goes well, it could potentially expand into a much larger community center (the building is huge -- but that's far down the road). And for me personally, the thought of getting to climb in the winter? Well, it helps me feel far more optimistic about the dark, cold, wet, and snowy months ahead.
If you want to pledge money to the Fără Limite Sală de Căţărare (Without Limits Climbing Gym), please donate here. We -- and the youth of Lupeni -- would be really grateful.
The reality is that there's not much to do in Lupeni. Our entertainment options are limited to three restaurants, which serve semi-decent pizza and traditional Romanian food, accompanied by pop music and thick clouds of cigarette smoke. There are a few bars and betting parlors and one dance club, none of which we have tried. There are a couple parks, which are always full to the brim on warm days. But that's about it. We usually make meals and share them with people, play games, watch movies, or go for hikes when we are looking for something to do. And for the most part it's fine: we are busy, we rest well, and we are mostly content. But as this fall chill rolls in, I'm a little worried that this winter will make me stir-crazy.
And we're not the only ones. Most of the IMPACT kids I talk to are astonished that we moved here. They can't wait to move away, either to big cities like Cluj and Timişoara, or out of the country entirely. They think Lupeni is boring and hopeless. The mountains are beautiful, they'll admit -- but they don't really like it here.
So what to do?
Well, one of our friends here, Felipe, is obsessed with rock climbing (to put it mildly). There are some nice outdoor climbing spots nearby, and in the summer we spent plenty of Saturdays climbing together in Uricani. But in the winter, it's cold and snowy (heck, it snowed here on October 3rd, so we're not just talking about the winter!)... and climbing in the snow is not so fun. Felipe has been bringing IMPACT kids climbing with him too, and they also have loved it. So a few months ago, he decided to try and open a climbing gym in Lupeni. With help from other FNO staff, he's found a building, gotten the support of the organization that oversees that building, put together a plan for renovation and construction, and now is raising funds to build it. Eventually he hopes to turn it into a self-sustaining business. It's a sweet project, and one that I'm excited to watch unfold. There's a community of climbers here, some of whom struggle to find steady employment, and a climbing gym would give them a place to work, a chance to develop business skills. There are a lot of kids who have expressed interest and willingness even to pay a small fee to be able to come and climb. And quite frankly, there's a huge need. Lupeni doesn't have a community center, it doesn't have a YMCA, it doesn't have anywhere where kids can go hang out and engage in constructive activities -- particularly in the winter. If the climbing gym goes well, it could potentially expand into a much larger community center (the building is huge -- but that's far down the road). And for me personally, the thought of getting to climb in the winter? Well, it helps me feel far more optimistic about the dark, cold, wet, and snowy months ahead.
If you want to pledge money to the Fără Limite Sală de Căţărare (Without Limits Climbing Gym), please donate here. We -- and the youth of Lupeni -- would be really grateful.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Street dogs and euthanasia.
As previous posts have mentioned, Lupeni's street dogs are a less-than-savory part of life here. There are hundreds of them, statistics show that there are somewhere around 200 attacks per year, and plenty of people are scared of them, recoiling and jumping back when one comes close. It's not nice. So in response, some IMPACT kids and New Horizons Foundation staff were working on getting a city-wide sterilization program going. They've spent the last few months on the project, working hard on getting cooperation from Lupeni's notoriously-corrupt city officials and gathering public support through round table discussions, press appearances, and community meetings. They finally found a public building which they could use as a temporary shelter to house the dogs after the procedure was completed, got commitments from vets from all over the county to come and help, and in mid-September, they started rounding up dogs.
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But things didn't go according to plan. Ideally, the county was going to send dogcatchers to Lupeni with special equipment, and they would go neighborhood by neighborhood to round up all the dogs. The leaders of the project had already talked to animal-lovers in each neighborhood, asking for their support and assistance in luring the dogs with food, etc., so that the dogcatchers could take them away. But it all went much slower than expected, with only about 40 dogs captured in the entire first week. The city hall also restricted access to the shelter, meaning that none of the IMPACT kids, NHF staff, or animal lovers who had purchased food for the recovering animals were allowed in to see them. And then the dogs started disappearing.
It's still not clear what happened to those first dogs, but a few days later we learned that the city hall was changing its policy. In Bucharest, Romania's capital, legislation had been pending for years to allow local authorities to kill street dogs -- an approach that was illegal, except in cases of attack. However, recently a four-year-old boy was tragically killed by street dogs in a public park in Bucharest, and that terrible incident was enough to turn the tide. The legislation was passed -- and suddenly Lupeni's city administration decided they were going to enact it. Their policy changed from sterilizing to euthanizing, and we were no longer sure what to do.
So after discussion at the NHF office, we withdrew our support from the project. We wanted to do a sterilization campaign because statistics show that sterilized dogs are less aggressive, less likely to attack people, and also because mass sterilization would slowly diminish the population of street dogs in Lupeni (if done properly). Plus, we recognized that many people love the street dogs -- they feed them, play with the puppies, and have a lot of fondness and affection for them. Euthanizing them all was not a solution we could support. But unfortunately, that's what the city hall decided to do. So we sent out a press release and withdrew from the project.
I was gone last week in Cluj at meetings, but when I returned home on Monday evening something already seemed different to me. And it's true: the streets are emptier. The city hall is slowly capturing and killing the street dogs of Lupeni. But there are dogs left, and I'm sure there are dogs who will escape the round-up. Currently the city hall is paying people 20 lei (about 6 dollars) per dog, so citizens of Lupeni who are in need of cash are helping with the efforts. But the biggest, scariest dogs aren't being taken -- the risk isn't worth a mere 20 lei -- meaning that the project to make Lupeni safer is actually leaving the least safe dogs free. And we've noticed that the dogs are changing territory. I don't know if they're scared or trying to run away or what, but there are new dogs in new places, which is weird -- usually they stick close to their territory, and there's a type of security in that. I'm not sure what the new big white-and-black dog behind the office is like, and that makes me more nervous. At least before I knew what to expect.
Yet in some ways, it's a victory -- people will be safe from attacks, children can play outside without fear of being bitten, we can go running without paranoia. Plus, the advocacy efforts of the IMPACT kids really did make people pay attention, and now something is being done about the problem. But in other ways, it makes me sad -- and I don't even like the street dogs! But I did like seeing the roly-poly puppies on the train tracks, and I didn't mind the friendly ones who curled up to nap in the sunshine in alleys and by dumpsters. It makes me sad that hundreds of animals are going to die simply because a problem has been left unaddressed for so long that there seems to be no other efficient, cost-effective way to deal with it. It makes me nervous that this disregard for life and well-being carries over into other areas of the governance of Lupeni. It makes me angry that the city hall waited until now to do anything at all about the street dog problem -- and now, they take the "easy" way, the way that is gruesome and sad even if it ultimately accomplishes a good thing.
Graţiela, our fearless NHF co-worker, with local authorities in the soon-to-be shelter.
IMPACT kids worked hard to clean up the building
and make it an appropriate shelter for housing dogs post-surgery.
IMPACT kids after cleaning up the shelter.
But things didn't go according to plan. Ideally, the county was going to send dogcatchers to Lupeni with special equipment, and they would go neighborhood by neighborhood to round up all the dogs. The leaders of the project had already talked to animal-lovers in each neighborhood, asking for their support and assistance in luring the dogs with food, etc., so that the dogcatchers could take them away. But it all went much slower than expected, with only about 40 dogs captured in the entire first week. The city hall also restricted access to the shelter, meaning that none of the IMPACT kids, NHF staff, or animal lovers who had purchased food for the recovering animals were allowed in to see them. And then the dogs started disappearing.
It's still not clear what happened to those first dogs, but a few days later we learned that the city hall was changing its policy. In Bucharest, Romania's capital, legislation had been pending for years to allow local authorities to kill street dogs -- an approach that was illegal, except in cases of attack. However, recently a four-year-old boy was tragically killed by street dogs in a public park in Bucharest, and that terrible incident was enough to turn the tide. The legislation was passed -- and suddenly Lupeni's city administration decided they were going to enact it. Their policy changed from sterilizing to euthanizing, and we were no longer sure what to do.
So after discussion at the NHF office, we withdrew our support from the project. We wanted to do a sterilization campaign because statistics show that sterilized dogs are less aggressive, less likely to attack people, and also because mass sterilization would slowly diminish the population of street dogs in Lupeni (if done properly). Plus, we recognized that many people love the street dogs -- they feed them, play with the puppies, and have a lot of fondness and affection for them. Euthanizing them all was not a solution we could support. But unfortunately, that's what the city hall decided to do. So we sent out a press release and withdrew from the project.
I was gone last week in Cluj at meetings, but when I returned home on Monday evening something already seemed different to me. And it's true: the streets are emptier. The city hall is slowly capturing and killing the street dogs of Lupeni. But there are dogs left, and I'm sure there are dogs who will escape the round-up. Currently the city hall is paying people 20 lei (about 6 dollars) per dog, so citizens of Lupeni who are in need of cash are helping with the efforts. But the biggest, scariest dogs aren't being taken -- the risk isn't worth a mere 20 lei -- meaning that the project to make Lupeni safer is actually leaving the least safe dogs free. And we've noticed that the dogs are changing territory. I don't know if they're scared or trying to run away or what, but there are new dogs in new places, which is weird -- usually they stick close to their territory, and there's a type of security in that. I'm not sure what the new big white-and-black dog behind the office is like, and that makes me more nervous. At least before I knew what to expect.
Yet in some ways, it's a victory -- people will be safe from attacks, children can play outside without fear of being bitten, we can go running without paranoia. Plus, the advocacy efforts of the IMPACT kids really did make people pay attention, and now something is being done about the problem. But in other ways, it makes me sad -- and I don't even like the street dogs! But I did like seeing the roly-poly puppies on the train tracks, and I didn't mind the friendly ones who curled up to nap in the sunshine in alleys and by dumpsters. It makes me sad that hundreds of animals are going to die simply because a problem has been left unaddressed for so long that there seems to be no other efficient, cost-effective way to deal with it. It makes me nervous that this disregard for life and well-being carries over into other areas of the governance of Lupeni. It makes me angry that the city hall waited until now to do anything at all about the street dog problem -- and now, they take the "easy" way, the way that is gruesome and sad even if it ultimately accomplishes a good thing.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
"Uniți, salvăm Roșia Montana!" A few thoughts on democracy.
This past weekend, Kelly and I were in Cluj on IMPACT business/seeing friends business, and there was a protest that we wanted to, at the very least, check out.
From what we've heard, there have been many protests like this in Cluj, as well as around the country. The tagline is, "Salvați Roșia Montana!" Save Roșia Montana, a command to many.
It's interesting. On the internet, I see a lot of little questionnaires asking me to "Say DA to Roșia Montana!" Say that I support blowing up the mountains to get at some gold. Make a lake of cyanide to give a hurting economy jobs for a period of time. Show that I want the Romanian government, from what I know a decently untrustworthy entity, especially when it comes to money, to make a deal with a big corporation to "develop" a possible UNESCO World Heritage site.
Wouldn't it be nice if these things were clear-cut, like the movies I grew up watching, and the stories I read? Where good and evil are spelled out from page one, and when they fight, it's obvious who's winning? Evil is deceptive. Evil is almost good. Evil is almost so good that you go for it, and only after you can't take it back do you realize it's evil. I guess this is why Jesus said for his disciples to be as innocent as doves and as cunning as snakes. Still have hope, but not stupid hope that "it'll just all be alright in the end." To try to trust the people involved, but not after they've proven themselves untrustworthy. To know the times, find the factors, try to understand the people involved. It's complicated, especially in a decision this big. I hate that it seems like one has to choose between jobs for a community that's 80% unemployed and blowing up mountains to get at gold and leave behind a lake of cyanide. One of our friends said he wasn't going because it was too complicated of an issue and he couldn't give his allegiance to either side. I agreed with him for a long time.
Well, on Sunday in Cluj, a crowd gathered in the big square, Piața Unirii. The Square of Unity. The leaders led us in chants like, "Uniți, salvăm Roșia Montana!" (United, we will save Roșia Montana!), and "Educație, nu cianura!" (Education, not cyanide!), and "E România, e țara noastră, și nu vrem cianura voastră!" (It's Romania, it's our country, and we don't want your cyanide!). Their main thrust was that Romania will solve its economic problems by being educated, not by blowing up mountains. They were saying that a lot of false information about the project was going around, and that if everyone knew the truth, they would for sure want to save the area. A guy mentioned that it was so important in the "uniți, salvăm Roșia Montana" yell that we were saying WE will save the mountain. Not just the rich folks, not just the government, but all Romanians participating in saving the mountain as well. Democracy in a fine moment, especially knowing that in the past, the government took care of all the big decisions, and punished the people if they tried to get involved.
It made us glad to see the people taking part in their democracy, the system living up to its name. In Lupeni, most folks still need a lot of persuasion to be involved with any decisions and projects outside of their own home. Even for something like addressing the hundreds of street dogs that bite a hundred or two people every year, the community didn't really get behind the sterilization project that FNO tried to accomplish in conjunction with the town hall and the resident wealthy philanthropist. And the project fell when, after two days of bringing dogs to the old shelter and sterilizing them, a third went missing, no one was allowed in the shelter except city hall members, and the mayor told our colleagues that he wanted to kill the dogs now, not waste money sterilizing them.
FNO left the project because we don't want to kill dogs. We want to treat them with some sort of dignity, even though they bite people and scare kids. We wanted to walk the line between the people that hate the dogs and want to never see them again (they have to deal with it until they die or get adopted), and those who still love the dogs (they can say goodbye to the ones they love in a natural way, or adopt them). But the city hall just wants to kill them, and since they control the shelter, they got to make the call. I don't know if FNO could sidestep the city hall to continue sterilization, but if we did, there would be some sort of nasty response, I'm sure.
I just wonder how it could be different, if the thrust to do something came from the people, the governed, the alleged citizens who should have a say in their democratic government. The project began from an IMPACT club, and the kids put up posters, did a press release, and were going to take care of the dogs as they recovered from being snipped. I don't know if they plan to try to continue the project in any way. I hope so. I hope they realize their say in decisions, like people have with Roșia Montana. I hope that we can see a democratic country living up to its system of government's potential. It's especially odd to write this as our own US government is shut down over our Congress' inability to agree on a budget. How can we, as US citizens, participate in this decision? Would our calls and letters and emails outweigh the money they get from special interest groups? Even though many districts are drawn according to partisan lines these days, can we, the people, find it in ourselves to say that we will vote you out if you don't compromise in order to make decisions that are for our good? Can we convince the president to not give up on talking with the House Republicans, even though their talks seem to go nowhere, and they fight every three months on a budget?
Democracy exists for the people to be involved in for their own good. For our own good. And in this age of global trade and communication, everyone's good. How do we realize it, whether we live in a small town in Romania or in the biggest city in the US? How can we participate, together, in making decisions that affect us all?
From what we've heard, there have been many protests like this in Cluj, as well as around the country. The tagline is, "Salvați Roșia Montana!" Save Roșia Montana, a command to many.
It's interesting. On the internet, I see a lot of little questionnaires asking me to "Say DA to Roșia Montana!" Say that I support blowing up the mountains to get at some gold. Make a lake of cyanide to give a hurting economy jobs for a period of time. Show that I want the Romanian government, from what I know a decently untrustworthy entity, especially when it comes to money, to make a deal with a big corporation to "develop" a possible UNESCO World Heritage site.
Wouldn't it be nice if these things were clear-cut, like the movies I grew up watching, and the stories I read? Where good and evil are spelled out from page one, and when they fight, it's obvious who's winning? Evil is deceptive. Evil is almost good. Evil is almost so good that you go for it, and only after you can't take it back do you realize it's evil. I guess this is why Jesus said for his disciples to be as innocent as doves and as cunning as snakes. Still have hope, but not stupid hope that "it'll just all be alright in the end." To try to trust the people involved, but not after they've proven themselves untrustworthy. To know the times, find the factors, try to understand the people involved. It's complicated, especially in a decision this big. I hate that it seems like one has to choose between jobs for a community that's 80% unemployed and blowing up mountains to get at gold and leave behind a lake of cyanide. One of our friends said he wasn't going because it was too complicated of an issue and he couldn't give his allegiance to either side. I agreed with him for a long time.
Well, on Sunday in Cluj, a crowd gathered in the big square, Piața Unirii. The Square of Unity. The leaders led us in chants like, "Uniți, salvăm Roșia Montana!" (United, we will save Roșia Montana!), and "Educație, nu cianura!" (Education, not cyanide!), and "E România, e țara noastră, și nu vrem cianura voastră!" (It's Romania, it's our country, and we don't want your cyanide!). Their main thrust was that Romania will solve its economic problems by being educated, not by blowing up mountains. They were saying that a lot of false information about the project was going around, and that if everyone knew the truth, they would for sure want to save the area. A guy mentioned that it was so important in the "uniți, salvăm Roșia Montana" yell that we were saying WE will save the mountain. Not just the rich folks, not just the government, but all Romanians participating in saving the mountain as well. Democracy in a fine moment, especially knowing that in the past, the government took care of all the big decisions, and punished the people if they tried to get involved.
It made us glad to see the people taking part in their democracy, the system living up to its name. In Lupeni, most folks still need a lot of persuasion to be involved with any decisions and projects outside of their own home. Even for something like addressing the hundreds of street dogs that bite a hundred or two people every year, the community didn't really get behind the sterilization project that FNO tried to accomplish in conjunction with the town hall and the resident wealthy philanthropist. And the project fell when, after two days of bringing dogs to the old shelter and sterilizing them, a third went missing, no one was allowed in the shelter except city hall members, and the mayor told our colleagues that he wanted to kill the dogs now, not waste money sterilizing them.
FNO left the project because we don't want to kill dogs. We want to treat them with some sort of dignity, even though they bite people and scare kids. We wanted to walk the line between the people that hate the dogs and want to never see them again (they have to deal with it until they die or get adopted), and those who still love the dogs (they can say goodbye to the ones they love in a natural way, or adopt them). But the city hall just wants to kill them, and since they control the shelter, they got to make the call. I don't know if FNO could sidestep the city hall to continue sterilization, but if we did, there would be some sort of nasty response, I'm sure.
I just wonder how it could be different, if the thrust to do something came from the people, the governed, the alleged citizens who should have a say in their democratic government. The project began from an IMPACT club, and the kids put up posters, did a press release, and were going to take care of the dogs as they recovered from being snipped. I don't know if they plan to try to continue the project in any way. I hope so. I hope they realize their say in decisions, like people have with Roșia Montana. I hope that we can see a democratic country living up to its system of government's potential. It's especially odd to write this as our own US government is shut down over our Congress' inability to agree on a budget. How can we, as US citizens, participate in this decision? Would our calls and letters and emails outweigh the money they get from special interest groups? Even though many districts are drawn according to partisan lines these days, can we, the people, find it in ourselves to say that we will vote you out if you don't compromise in order to make decisions that are for our good? Can we convince the president to not give up on talking with the House Republicans, even though their talks seem to go nowhere, and they fight every three months on a budget?
Democracy exists for the people to be involved in for their own good. For our own good. And in this age of global trade and communication, everyone's good. How do we realize it, whether we live in a small town in Romania or in the biggest city in the US? How can we participate, together, in making decisions that affect us all?
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