George Chaldakov
by George N. Chaldakov,
BHF*, MD, PhD, DHC, FIACS
Maestro MALKOVICH,
John is dear to me, but the truth is dearer to me, said Aristotle.
Perhaps, there is something symbolic that I am writing you this letter today, November 1st, when it is our national holiday „Day of the People’s Awakeners“, dedicated to our educators and scholars. The letter is based on two interviews with you on the occasion of the play „Guns and the Man“ by Bernard Shaw, which you directed at the Ivan Vazov National Theater. One interview was in “Filter” newspaper (October 30 – November 5, 2024) headlined „First time someone wants me to censor Bernard Shaw“, the other in “24 Hours” newspaper (October 30, 2024) headlined „I’m not here to ridicule Bulgaria!“
To the question of the journalist from „24 Hours“: „How will you comment, Mr. Malkovich?, that some people, even from the BG Union of Writers, were outraged that Bernard Shaw’s play was offensive to our country“?, you answered: „The action developed in Bulgaria simply because Shaw was looking for a country about which not too much is known“. And having chosen Bulgaria, our country became “a country about which a lot is known “ only with the offensive behavior of the Bulgarians, described by the writer. Thus, I would like to ask you: „Doesn’t Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and the „Oscar“ for the screenplay of the film „Pygmalion“ (1938), know what William Gladstone (1809 – 1898), the defender of the Bulgarian cause, wrote in „The Bulgarian Horrors and the Eastern Question“ (1876) after the bloody crush of the April Uprising of 1976. It was Gladstone, not Shaw, who proposed granting autonomy to Bulgaria and also ending British support for Turkey.
To the question of the journalist from „Filter“: „We live in a time of war. Is the world’s attitude toward them changing?“ You, surprising to me, answered: „My personal opinion of the war has never changed. ….what does a war change? I’ll tell you – nothing“. If you were a contemporary of Shaw and Gladstone, would you still answer „nothing“ to the question: „What does a massacre change, Maestro Malkovich?“.
Noteworthy, „Great Powers“ should stop competing in making weapons. And to do everything for the good quality of life of people and of science, education and culture – otherwise the world can be knockouted… in the third round. Does it depend on who – the red elephant and the blue donkey – will be the new president of the USA? Will voters believe genius Elon Musk (for Trump) or pop singer Taylor Swift (for Harris)? “Okay Taylor, you win. I will give you a child and protect your cats all my life“, Musk wrote on his social network X.
November 1, 2024
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* Brain-and-Heart Friend
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