“As many as 3.4 million Romanians have fled the country since it joined the European Union in 2007. The figure represents 17 per cent of the country’s total population. The exodus is unprecedented anywhere in Europe during peacetime. Over the same period, only war-torn Syria has seen a higher percentage of its citizens emigrate.” (New Statistics Confirm Romania’s Demographic Catastrophe – Emerging Europe)

About living abroad, I think the following tends to be more true than not:

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” ― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

We need people who are at least partially unhappy with the situation, so that there is change.

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One friend of mine told me that at the beginning of a school year, at the opening ceremony, a teacher told them something in the lines of – “Welcome to the best high school in all Constanța”.

There was just a small, tiny, little problem – it was clearly not the best high school in Constanța.

The best high school in Constanța is, by pretty much all measures, Mircea cel Bătrân National College (Constanța).

Of course, if you compare two entities with lots of features and comparison options, perhaps the teacher was right – in some specific niche, in some specific situations, there might be disputes on which is the “best” high school.

But coming back to the original assertion – that’s not the way to start the school year.

There are so many ways in which you can find bridges between two high schools, and yet, you start the year with the divide.

All those school years, the pupils will likely question which really is the best high school in Constanța.

That shouldn’t be the question and the dilemma. It doesn’t even matter.

What good is of me to know that a few hundred kilometers away you can go into a high school that is in top 10 in the world? This information brings me little to no value.

And if you start with negative things (comparison, what divides us, how are you different than me, why are you better/worse than me), you tend to keep staying in that place.

That’s not the place to be; the focus should be on useful things.

This happens a lot in other fields, also. Football fans state that they are not following brand X, but Y. Political audiences keep showing how they are much better than others.

A better solution? Start with what unites us, with what brings us closer. Also, focus on what’s in your control (your actions), not on something that is likely out of your influence (Team X has more titles than us).

A quote:

Division among humanity is not random. It is not just a social trend or a collection of misunderstandings. Division is a calculated tactic and deliberate strategy used by the enemy. Jesus Himself said Satan’s goal is “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10) and division is one of the tactics he uses to do so.

The Tactics of Satan: Division.

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I buy watermelons from a local seller.

He doesn’t know me personally; I don’t know him personally.

I came to think of it – even if we respect each other a lot, we know little of the lives outside the process of buying/selling melons.

Not complete strangers, not far from it.

This happens in most contexts. We know some parts of others’ lives, but generally few things.

The question comes: how do you treat a complete stranger? Is it someone worth your deepest respect and care, or is someone not worthy of such honors?

In my opinion, the answer should always be: treat others with the highest respect. You can’t go wrong with this rule.

There isn’t anyone on this Earth (OK, not even in space) not worthy of being treated with respect.

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