Thursday, 20 December 2018

18) From green paradise to the desert!
Written by Rainer: rainer.lehrer@yahoo.com
Learn languages (via Skype): Rainer: + 36 20 549 52 97 or + 36 20 334 79 74
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18) From green paradise to the desert!
(translated by Bence)

How does a jungle or green land become a barren desert? Humanity destroys nature, even with the simplest agriculture.
When Moses led the Jewish tribes out of Egypt to show them the land of Canaan, after 40 years of wandering through the desert they came to Palestine. Because of scientific research, we now know that milk and honey, as described in the Bible, were unlikely to flow there but that the quantity of rainfall was much higher than it is today.
Today, oranges from this area exported in the whole world can only grow because of intensive irrigation.
Ancient Greek myths tell us that Apollo killed the dragon at Delphi in a forest and later built the temple for the oracle there.
Acteon was chasing a deer with his dogs across the forest when he saw Diana bathing naked in a small lake.
Titus Livius informs us about the Romans having to march across a large forest when they were at war with one of the nearby peoples. These neighbours had previously sawn the trees to bring them down all together and bury the Romans under them. The cunning plan worked out well and that way a whole legion was literally crushed without the least fighting.
Another Roman writer wrote that a monkey climbing a tree in Gibraltar could swing from branch to branch and reach the Pyrenees without even once touching the ground.
This wealth of wood was later needed for shipbuilding.
At the time of the greatest expansion of Roman Empire, just the small plain between Danube and Theiss had been omitted because it was deep swamp and forest, so the excellent Roman turtle combat formation couldn’t be used.
Later the Hungarians with their small ponies hid in these swamps to escape the persecution of the German knights, who with their large horses and heavy armour immediately sank in the swamp.
This landscape dramatically changed only at the time of Bela, who after the invasion of the Tartar had ditches dug, in order to drain the soil to make it suitable for agriculture.
Catholicism lasted for a very long time in Wales, because the barbarian Angles, Saxons, and later Normans did not dare to enter the marshy area and the English king was only able to call it part of his kingdom after he had managed to dry it and cut most trees out.
Northern and Western Europe were spared of agricultural devastation, as overpopulation found a channel to America in the form of emigration.
In the background of this short historical overview, it can be observed that even careful or organic agriculture leads to the destruction of the soil and nature.
The solution to this problem would be the reduction of the world's population to around 10 million, which would leave nature the opportunity to regenerate.
It is very funny to hear some politicians irresponsibly talking about necessary population growth, especially considering that Europe (the territory of the European Union) is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth after India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

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16) The disobedient leaf (A fairy tale for adults)
Written by Rainer: rainer.lehrer@yahoo.com
Learn languages (via Skype): Rainer: + 36 20 549 52 97 or + 36 20 334 79 74
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16) The disobedient leaf (A fairy tale for adults)
(translated by Bence)

It had been hanging there for a long time. If it had been a fruit, it would have had to fall overripe on the ground. However, it did not depend on the leaf to still hang there. The tree held it tight, did not want to let it go.
"Where do you want to go?" The tree asked his little sprout.
"It's true, I'm hanging very high here and see a lot. But what's behind it, beyond the horizon?" The leaf replied.
"Why are you interested in that? Why don’t you ask the clouds, or the birds sitting beside you on the branch?" sounded the critics of the other leaves.
"I want to gain my own experience, to grasp everything with my senses!"
The surrounding trees and their leaves also looked at the leaf with suspicious eyes. They did not like someone else thinking and wanting something different like them.
"How can you be so stubborn and antisocial?" They thought to themselves.
The leaf sometimes felt lonely and misunderstood. What had it done? Was it a sin to dream a bit, to send the senses flying with the birds and .........?
It hung there. It just hung, it did not hold on anymore, it was held. Held by the tree that did not want to let it go. Then the wind came to its aid. This heavenly child blew strongly into the tree’s branches for several times. The tree groaned because he did not want to lose any of his dear children. The leaves screamed because they were afraid, fearful of the unknown. Only the small, disobedient leaf was happy, shaking that iron hand that did not want to let it go. However, suddenly it flew in the air, it was free. It enjoyed the absence of gravity. The wind played with it, blew it up and down, to the right than to the left.
It heard high voices of other leaves screaming in fright, and the deep voices of trees shouting angrily. "What do you want, what are you doing?"
But the leaf did not want to listen to them anymore. It flew and was free. Then the wind got quieter and quieter and slowly stopped blowing. The leaf sank lower and lower. It was a long way from its tree, but there were other trees.
 "Where are you from? Where are you going? Why did you leave your tree? Why did you leave your safety?"
Fortunately, our leaf did not hear the last question, otherwise it would have wondered if all trees and leaves were the same everywhere.
It fell into a small brook in which other leaves danced on the waves. They played together "Find me", danced around and much more. As it had found some traveling companions who thought the same way as it did, the adventure was even more enjoyable. They swam together, danced, parted again, met new friends, saw wonderful landscapes, as the brook grew ever wider, becoming a river and finally reached the sea. How wonderful life is, the leaf thought.
Then the summer was over. The leaf was flushed onto an unknown shore, dug itself into the ground, to look up at the sun the next year as a small tree sprout.
Let's hope our leaf has learned something and will not even tell its own leaves that life is dangerous.

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Saturday, 1 December 2018

17) Self-criticism, and 'Them or Us'!
Written by Rainer: rainer.lehrer@yahoo.com
Learn languages (via Skype): Rainer: + 36 20 549 52 97 or + 36 20 334 79 74
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17) Self-criticism, and 'Them or Us'!
(translated by Bence)

What is the meaning of left-wing, liberal or tolerant? For right-wingers, these are just as impertinent as gay and traitor. For us these terms are smoke in the wind, in reality, we don’t want to waste our time on anything or anyone, it’s only our personal life which is important. What did we do when we met such a poor, fanatical, religious, nationalist, and perhaps even talked to him? We only smiled at him. But if we were really serious about him then we even laughed at him. We felt strong and independent. We performed in our theatres, enjoyed our modern pieces, looked at our latest and most modern works of art, which we mostly did not even understand ourselves (The more incomprehensible and modern our art was, the more enthusiastic we were about it and despised those who could not or did not want to follow us.) and looked down on these poor, suffering right-wingers. We were fashionable, rich and successful. Not because we were tolerant, but because we devoted our time to nothing and no one, except ourselves. We took away the most beautiful girls and were more than visible, we were conspicuous!
They swore revenge! What we see today is the revenge of the misunderstood, the outraged, the outcast, the sometimes despised of the nations. We thought that kind of spirit had long since died out, lying six feet under the ground. We really thought that right-wing people had learned something. But from whom should they have learned, if not from us? We did not want to waste our time on them. We were satisfied with ourselves! If we were so smart and thought we could stand above everything and were convinced that our way was the way forward, we should not have left these poor, misunderstood, right-wing children of the nations so lonely and alone.
Now they are taking revenge, and this revenge is bitter, not only for us but for themselves as well. I do not think they notice anything, because we too did not want to notice the way they suffered. But there is a big difference between them and us: they are zombies who do not even sense their own pain.

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