Public Republic

By Dimitar Patarinski
Translation from Bulgarian:Asya Draganova

I suggested to Valentin Hristov that we talk about the good within us. He answered – the key to the good is in searching for it…

When you turn the computer on, do you find words related to goodness?

As a whole, the understanding of good is very complicated a. People interpret it in different ways. We can hardly come up with a word which contains in itself all the good on Earth. If you write “good” into Google, dictionaries and encyclopaedias will appear, and those will try to guide you to the meaning of the word. But it’s something which is in us and surrounds us but does not have boundaries and dimension.

Is it related to searching and defence?

This is a task for absolutely every person: to find what is good for them and what is good for others. This is our worldly mission; that which accompanies us. The good comes with the one who has it. And if you feel the good within yourself, give it to the world.

Are humanists the conductors of good?

They are definitely not the only people: in the nature of every human being there is some good to be found, and whether one seeks good within themselves or those around them, it doesn’t matter because we are all on a quest for good. Even if they don’t admit it, some of us call it happiness, and everyone articulates it and perceives in accordance to their own marginal image. The unifying factor is the search.

Is there universal good?

A man is individuality, he is rational and decides alone what is good and how to achieve it. But that does not mean that good for one person is good for another. It’s with this that I find the reason why there is no universal good. The ideal of good is in longing for it; it is wishful, because everyone needs it. That ideal has to be followed. And its clear incarnation is to be found in creation.

Shall we search the beast in the man?

This theory is one of initial good: if we go back to the creation of the world and take a glance, we will see that Adam and Eve were not bad, but good people. Humanists also search for the initial good in people, what they turned into later, thanks to their evolution… To discover that initial good is a premise for a spiritual revolution; the good that used to exist before that human being goes through something and changes… but then looks at their reflection in the water and finds the sublimating force.

Is it in a creator’s vocation to discover good first?

There are great works in drama which are directed towards the discovery of the good in people. Chekhov, Shakespeare and Henry Ibsen for example are humanists. But here I want to highlight that they are not preachers of moral because every individual has to re-discover and search alone. In terms of this we are all exhibiting the evolution of what is called good.

In ancient Greek drama, works by Sophocles and Aeschylus express values of good and evil and the conflict between them is clearly stated.

In contemporary drama is developing on the borderline, on the edge and in fact we do not know which is good and which is not. Modern man and the love for the world are making us all face the situation of searching…

The return to the roots in order to attain the initial good…

This is not accidental because in the modern world people lose their identity and turn into globalists. There are no physical or mental barriers and things begin to lose their initial sense. Milton writes exactly about that, “Paradise Lost” – we have vitiated it, modernised it, re-created it.

Barbarianism…

The influence of cultures and multicultures results in the formation homogeneous mixture of values.
This provokes alienation from the human being, from our neighbour. One’s real self inherits their reflection, that is their new identity and nostalgia for the past grows – the Promised land.

Good as an ancient value…

The world at that time was purer and built on proven good, healthy spirit, healthy body. Whatever is good for the soul is good for the body: an attempt for attaining harmony. In the middle ages the body was underestimated because it is made of rotting flesh whilst the uprising of the soul is an eternal aim.

The conflict between the traditional and the modern man is based on body, soul and the attainment of fulfilled self through the process of getting to know oneself.
The world is enriched artificially and is becoming complex; we are starting to ask ourselves, more and more, the questions to which we demand answers.

How does the good reach us?

There is one constant aspiration for good, searching for a way for its realisation.
Modern communication creates a short cut to the expression of good through sharing, liking, mutuality. But at the same time this is a virtual environment.

It is an artificially created environment where bad news dominates. But it provokes good in us because it illustrates its nuances. If we see the event from the screen it makes us think how can such a thing happen?! The good that we wish for is provoked. We must co-experience the bad news, to change things and to strengthen the will for us to live in a better word that we understand.

If you “make” good, then do you receive good in return?

The good is for the one who receives it but this is a two-way process. You “make” good to feel satisfaction. If good is the answer in return this leads to bringing together.

What are the symbols in which good is coded?
For some of us, it is the symbol of the American dollar – “money is the ruler”. But symbols are hidden before the eyes of all of us; they have to be felt and discovered so that they may enrich mankind.

Noble lie in the name of good….

It reminds us how much sorrow is there in this world and that not much is needed for us to be good to each other.

What means of expression from literature would you use to interpret goodness?

A riddle, because it makes people reveal things and think. The core of that riddle expresses aspects of the good. When you ask yourself “what is it” you can find “good” written upside down in the brackets nearby.

Emotions are caused by what is inside us, which imposes one desire upon us: the desire for understanding ourselves. Eyes are sometimes turned to the soul.