Good morning! The passing of the Resolution on Srebrenica in the UN, as well as the story about Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, show the tendency to change course when it comes to the foreign policy of Montenegro. In this context, I would like to deal with a related phenomenon that we always encounter when talking about Srebrenica in recent times.
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What is Virtue Signalling?
It’s Yom Kippur and in the synagogue the old rabbi beats his hands on his chest and says through tears, “I am nothing, Lord! Nobody and nothing!”. Next to him is the synagogue’s biggest donor, a rich banker who, guided by the rabbi’s example, says, “Forgive me, Lord, for thinking that I am someone and something. I am nothing!”. After a short break, everyone turns to the boy, who falls to his knees and shouts “I’m nothing! I am nothing!”. Shlomo, a poor janitor, who cleans the floors and takes out the trash. The rabbi elbows the banker and whispers “Look at Shlomo, he imagined he was nothing.”
The most colourful stereotype about Jews, and one that is largely true, is that they are masters of humor. Honest, sarcastic, self-deprecating humor. This joke is not just a joke about Jews, this is a Jewish joke. But it is not only Jewish, it is universal and that is why we understand it.
Virtue is value. Signaling is a demonstration. So, a simple translation of this phrase would be “Demonstration of Virtue”. This term is used pejoratively in the English-speaking world, to criticize someone who too often publicly and not sincerely enough advocates for some value.
The joke rabbi demonstrated virtue. Christ speaks about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees:
“And they make all their works visible to people: they spread their amulets, and they build large flounces on their dresses. And they ask for the back seats at feasts and the front seats in assembly halls, and to be worshiped in the streets, and for people to call them: father! father!”.
Sounds familiar? It should. In this passage from the New Testament, Djura Jaksic recognized well monks and priests and turned it into a poem. The paradox is that due to the correct Bible interpretation, Djura’s monument was thrown out of the temple gate countless times.
But it is not only rabbis, priests and hodjas who demonstrate virtue. They are just human like all of us. It is only their job to talk about virtue. But it can also be talked about in various ways.
In politics, virtue is a publicly traded commodity. Politicians buy people’s love. They are not interested in “God’s salary”. “Be careful not to do your justice in front of people so that they can see you; otherwise, you have no wages from your father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, translated by Karadzic Danicic). Someone on the market is selling care for Srebrenica, someone is selling the fight against corruption. Virtue has to be chosen.
Genocide took place in Srebrenica. Point.
What I am going to say now is not criticism, but self-criticism and self-examination. In recent years, Montenegrin society has used Srebrenica as a moral litmus test. As a test of virtue. And it is good that it is so.
However, if we use Srebrenica for our internal political persecutions, and not out of fear for the moral health of society, we automatically classify ourselves as demonstrators of virtue. Hypocrites who remember Srebrenica only when they need to. To pose with a flower. Let’s take selfies. Let’s use it to show how we are better than others.
This is not just a question of categorical imperative, nor a test of our character. We harm the memory of the victims by exaggerating and falsely showing off.
Now let’s separate the personal from the state. Why is it important for Montenegro to be a co-sponsor of the Resolution? Because Montenegro was a co-sponsor of the genocide. Because Montenegrins participated in it. Many will say “they weren’t Montenegrins”, but they were. In the 1990s, 90% of the Orthodox majority wanted to settle accounts with the “Ustashas and balije (*a derogatory name for a Turk)”. Poisoned by state propaganda of course, but who guarantees that propaganda will not happen again or that it is not happening while we are writing and reading this.
If this government calls itself the 44th Government of Montenegro, then it insists on continuity. If it insists on continuity, then it should also take responsibility for all the bad things that the governments before it did.
Those who came to power on the wave of historical revisionism have a special responsibility. Those who are not personally responsible for the 1990s, but have never given up the spirit of the 1990s. Minister Ivanovic silently experienced the transformation. Today, he supports NATO even though he was against the membership. And it’s all ok. People change. Attitudes change. We grow up and mature while we live. It wouldn’t do otherwise.
But in order to be sure that the ruling majority has experienced a sincere transformation, and that they are not demonstrating virtue, it is enough for them to support Kosovo’s membership in the CE without any parentheses and to send clear and loud instructions to the UN delegation to support and promote the Resolution on Srebrenica in the UN. Maybe then we would believe that they have understood and internalized transatlantic and European values, and that they don’t brag about them just because they have to.
That’s it for today. We wish you a pleasant rest of the day.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst and columnist
(The opinions and views of the authors of the columns are not necessarily those of CdM)
