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Russian visitor gives his impression of Sedalia
Sedalia News-Journal (Sedalia, MO)
Posted on November 17, 2008
By Aleksander Danilov
On October 31, a group of 5 high-ranking Russian officials arrived in Sedalia to observe the elections and to get to know the life of an American town "off the beaten path" and to shed some light on the notion of "enigmatic Russian soul."
We came here under the auspices of Open World Program. Its very name can be interpreted differently in English and in Russian. While in English "world" stands for "the globe" or "the Universe", in Russian the same word "Mir" (rhyming with "dear") can mean "world", "peace" and even "community".
A wise man once said that quarrels and fights often occur simply due to lack of understanding or misunderstanding between people. All of us think in images, while verbally only a portion of information can be transmitted accurately. In written messages that portion becomes even smaller. Therefore, it is so important to look first for similarities and common features which will enable us to reach consensus and mutual understanding. We learned that from Dale Carnegie, whose theories have become extremely popular in post-perestroika Russia.
We felt the openness of American society from the first steps we made in Sedalia, during Halloween celebration in First Baptist Church. We saw adults and kids in costumes playing basketball, chasing each other and having extreme fun. Russian church is traditionally a place strictly designed for worship and prayer. It is an abode of quiet and serious meditation and sermon, that requires silence and concentration. Communication with God does not allow for loud play and games. No wonder we were so surprised to see such a relaxed and bright celebration in a temple. In Russia such events usually take place at schools or cultural centers. Church acts as moral and ethical regulator of the society. In Russia church sets up more rigorous requirements for the believers. Everyone should remain standing for the whole duration of the service, we fast on more occasions than American parishioners. The longest fasting period is Lent, observed before Easter. During Lent one cannot eat meat, eggs, dairy products, chocolate and, of course, alcohol. Even fish is allowed only twice over the whole Lent. In real life, it means that the diet is reduced to vegetables and fruit, both boiled and fresh (never fried!). I tried it myself and I can tell you that the first 7-10 days are the toughest - no meat, no butter. Eventually, however, the body gets used to it, and even more important, the mind benefits from it: the worries go away and you start to think more openly and broadly, coming to understand that we need much less than we consume.
The progress leads to the immeasurable growth in consumption, particularly of totally useless things. Properly organized advertising and infinite commercials make us buy things, which we would throw away without ever using them. In highly developed countries, up to 30% of acquired goods are thrown into the bin.
Lent permits one to understand that the body needs much less than it consumes. Having adjusted to smaller amounts, it makes better use of the nutrition. A proverb says, "We are what we eat." A trained yogi can get as much energy and vital force out of a poppy seed, as an Englishman out of the steak.
We also had a chance to witness the most important election in the country¬ presidential election, as well as elections on local level. Passionate desire of the public to have a say and see their candidate elected often leads to conflicts even within one family, team, neighborhood. It draws off all the masks and permits to see the players "raw," leading eventually to the "moment of truth". During presidential elections competition was so fierce, both candidates were so sure of victory, that both parties had to fight valiantly to the last supporting their candidates. We watched not only the elections "sensu stricto" but also the undercurrent processes in Republican and Democratic conventions. The whole range of emotions from sheer joy to deep despondency could be seen on people's faces with the change of figures on the screen. To us it was another instance of the openness in American society, where anyone has an opinion and is ready to defend it with dignity. This openness and trust also impressed us in the process of voters' registration ¬ any ID, even the one with no picture, was accepted. In Russia nothing less than a passport with photo would do under the circumstances.
I, personally, am still struggling with the concept of Electoral College. I see a certain controversy here - it looks like a candidate, who won the majority of votes, can still lose, because the other candidate got more votes from the Electoral College. It seems logical to me that the members of Electoral College would come out not with one vote but with the number of votes proportional to their electorate.
Our group visited the facilities of State Fair Community College and made presentations for American Government and American History classes. Unlike all the other days when kids come to school to answer questions, here they were granted the opportunity to ask questions of Russian delegation. It is common knowledge that the simplest questions require the most difficult answers ¬ how would you explain to a young child why Sun is shining. The students asked the questions on politics, geopolitics, differences between views of common people and those of decision-makers. Having answered their numerous smart questions, I, in my turn, checked their knowledge of history. Namely, I asked, whether Russians and Americans were allies or enemies in both World Wars, and, specifically, which troops occupied Berlin at the end of the WWII. I asked that seemingly innocent question, because, earlier, talking to adults, I found out that their knowledge of this period was either inaccurate or incomplete. To my joy, (and the teacher's also!) kids gave a correct answer, stating that we were allies and combined our efforts to restore peace on the planet.
We were also impressed by the combination of charity and entrepreneurship. Explanations we got both in Enhance Enterprise Zone and in Economic Development Department led me to believe that these two concepts walk hand in hand. The more new jobs are created by the companies, the higher their profits, the larger revenues into the budget, the better opportunities for charity and support of most vulnerable categories of society. That's how I see this cycle.
During our visit to the Senior Center, we saw how this concept is implemented in life. We also learned that construction of the college building became possible thanks to generous donations. Wrapping up I would like to offer you a brief comparison between our countries.
Unlike US we use metric system: liters instead of gallons, Centigrade instead of Fahrenheit, meters instead of gallons. However, we have many common features ¬ both our nations live in huge and vast countries, and, more important the people are very similar, despite of the fact that we live on the opposite sides of the globe.
Both Russians and Americans are very open, hospitable and always ready to help. Our hosts deserve very special praise. LWV accommodated us, fed us and wined us, put up with us, so that we felt like spoiled kids in indulgent parents' homes. I am talking about Mary Merritt, Kathleen and Greg Boswell, Janice Simpson and all the others, who will remain in our grateful memory for years to come.
I wish American people good luck, happiness, strong health and peace (MIR in Russian!) in our common Open World!
[Reprinted with Permission]
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