Academician Simion: For three decades, being Romanianism, going through great moral, identity crisis

Academician Eugen Simion states that for three decades Romanianism has been going through a great moral and identity crisis and draws attention that the Romanian spirit is being questioned in a kind of demoralizing pedagogy.

"We are going through a major crisis, and for three decades, Romanianism has been experiencing a great crisis. Our politicians say that it is an economic crisis, and they are right, but I say that the moral crisis is bigger. And even bigger than that - currently worsening - is the identity crisis. Romanians do not want to be Romanians anymore (...) The Romanian spirit is being questioned by academics, honorable people. That is, "What is this, sir? The Romanian spirit?" Calinescu is cursed, there is again an offensive against Calinescu for his last chapter 'National Specifics.' That is, everyone is outraged: "How come gentlemen, are we no longer Europeans?' Please be alert to this phenomenon, this phenomenon of identity crisis that is very serious. And as long as the Romanian peasantry existed and the Romanian boyars, there was no danger, because there was always a support from there," Simion said at a meeting with students and teachers, held in the Council Room of the Faculty of Letters.

He argued that we must be "Romanians with the face towards universality" and criticized the fact that "nationalism is identified with xenophobia."

"We are scattered today. How come? If we do not respect the principles of Maiorescu! 'We must be Romanians with the face towards universality." A sentence that I always remember and which is essential - Let us be Romanians with the face towards universality. Yes. This is it. Or the other attitude ... Look at the Romanian media, what they say about Romanians. What can you expect, sir? Romanians ... Poor them. They are not good for anything." It does a kind of pedagogy which is demoralizing for this people, so it seems to me that we need to be very careful, because otherwise, we are in danger - if not even touched - by another type of Sovietism. They are in fact the same theses differently worded. (...) I was not talking about nationalism ... (...) The entire nineteenth century lived under the umbrella of this concept. This is how Modern Romania was created. (...) Now the term is identified with xenophobia," Eugen Simion further said, professor, literary critic and academician Eugen Simion, the recent winner of the Golden Medal for Philology "Alfred Nobel" for 2018 awarded by the International Society of Philology.AGERPRES(RO - author: Daniel Popescu, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)