cool3a2
Deity
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2007
- Messages
- 2,177
Székelys. Read about Tökés and RMDSZ for example.
That's what I want to explain to you. Neither the romanian culture is part of the hungarian nor is it vice versa. I am sure that Romanians would feel offended, too, if you'd say their culture is part of the hungarian culture. Specific parts of it may be (I guess that's what you mean actually, but it sounds like you want to say all of hungarian culture is part of he romanian culture), due to mixing if you want. Although I'd prefer to say that they share something. But initialy they are completely independent from each other. And these shared culture is a bit tricky if wanted to be used to represent only one of these cultures like you do with your romanian civ mod. As I said in my last post, even Romanians could feel offended that you use this settler. But sure, do what you want.
I could imagine that is because you are American. That's not meant to be offensive, so let me explain. Americans are initially a mixing of a lot of cultures, so it is part of your habits to take over other cultures habits. I don't want to say that all you have is stolen, I just want to say that mixing of cultures is somehow normal for Americans. There are a lot of peoples making up Americans: German, Italians, Englishmen, Indians and so on. So, you are somehow assimilating all the time. The problem is, that from the moment on a Hungarian would get assimlated into romanian culture, he would stop being hungarian as assimilating actually means that you take over others habits and stop using your own (see also my signature). Habits mean traditions and language here. Traditions and the language are what defines a culture. If the Hungarians wold assimilate into Romania, that would mean that their own traditions get lost as it wouldn't been used anymore and therefore would get forgotten afer a while. And for example the Székelys a pretty unique within the hungarian culture (btw: you see the difference to above? The székely culture is a part of the hungarian culture...). Wouldn't that be sad if it gets lost for all time? In easy words and to speak with an example you may be more familiar with, assimilating means that Indians of America would stop speaking their language, wearing their specific clothing, cooking their meals and so on. Don't tell me that wouldn't be a loss. Another, simpler example from reallife that really happened. My grandgrandma always baked a specific sort of cake and my father really enjoyed that one. It got part of his childhood memories, but that's actually not the point. The recipe for this cake was written down on a piece of paper. That paper has been put into a sort of bible. As that bible meaned a lot to her, it was buried with her after she died. Together with that bible the recipe got buried as well. My grandma didn't know how to bake this cake, nor did my father. This ways the recipe was thought to be lost. A part of tradition was lost. And memories of my grandgrandma got lost. And thus a part of my grandgrandma got lost, too (for a second time if you want), as this cake would have kept my grandgrandma alive in some ways: in our memories and traditions. For ever. Or at least while this cake gets baken. I can't explain you better, hope you see the point. Just to tell you the end of the story: fortunately the recipe got recovered. My grandma got it from more distant relatives I think. Also, I live in Germany and my mother is German. But I kept care for my hungarian roots. I learned hungarian as child, learned cooking some hungarian food and learned about hungarian history. And you know what? Hungarian is part of myself, it defines me. Assimilating is therefore, in a special sense, like killing someone. That's why assimilating is not good. Integrating on the other side is something different. All in all, the use of the word 'danger' was accurate in this context.
Autonomy would simplify it very much to not get assimilated. Also, take a look at what happened recently in Slovakia. They just created a law that forbids that public writings like labels can be written in hungarian. In regions where mostly hungarians live, that's really a problem. Also, they forbid that László Sólyom, hungarian president, enters Slovakia - by viiolating european laws (anyone can move freely to wherever he wants within the eus border). These are just examples. Well, from Slovakia. But that can happen in Romania as well.
The clue is to get the interest for learning it by yourself awaken. And it is much easier if they would learn it in school as in freetime there is less time, you are tired and so on. And of course it is much more organized. Believe me: hungarians would forget about their own very faster if they could not learn about it in school. And if you would ask these people: they would all say that they want to learn about it in school.
The Széklersland is not 1/3 of Romania. Transylvania is not the same as Széklersland. And I am pretty sure that not only some Hungarians want the other solution. If you would ask them, let's say via referendum, all Hungarians in the Széklersland would join Hungary again. Of course there are Romanians in Széklersland, but they are in minority there. I don't have exact data by hand, but we speak about 80% Hungarians vs. 20% Romanians or such.
It's not a secret that our government is unwanted since some years. The current government may have given it up, but that does not mean that the people did. People that usually vote for the socialists may care less for traditions and thus may care less for the Hungarians living on the other side of the borders. Still, there is a significant part of the population that cares. Not some. Also, I think I heard recently, that caring for the Hungarians on the othe side of the borders, is even part of the hungarian constitution. Sure, 'caring' is fuzzy, but it clearly forbids giving them up.
No, it's not. There are no Germans in Poland anymore (or at least they are so few that we can ignore them here), but there are Hungarians in Slovakia and Romania. As I said before, this is not about land. That's why I wouldn't claim the territory that is now part of Croatia or Slovenia. But you gave a very good example for something else. In practice, the complete Silesian Germans disappeared, taking their specific folk art with them. It's copletely lost. Officially, there are still some Silesians inside Germany, but they are few and can be seen as kind of living memorial for what happens if a people disappears. Frighteningly, a few Germans actually care for that. Silesians, in a way, got forgotten. I could imagine that a lot of Germans don't even know what a Silesian is / was... That's the point: we don't want that this happens to the Székelys for example, too.
As said before, it is not that simple. Check for the Széklersland. I think, that Transylvanias population is ~20% hungarian. That's too few for returning it, but too much for simply ignoring them (when it is about politics). Note: autonomy isn't necessarily sticked to an ethnicity. If TRansylvania would be completely autonomous as region, that might be okay. In the Széklersland, it is, as mentioned before, vice versa. Ergo: ...
EDIT: Actually, The Capo is right. You migh start a thread in an apropriate section of civfanatics' forum.
