The book "My Century" by Nobel Prize laureate in Literature Günter Grass is a unique chronicle consisting of one hundred stories and novellas.
In this work, which consists of important events and memories, history is depicted like instantaneous snapshots. In Grass's view, the 20th century is an era of wars, the Holocaust, and misfortunes. In this century, every honest person searches for guilt within themselves. The guilt that they either participated in or did not. The guilt that they either spoke of or remained silent about.
The 21st century is an era full of lies and deceptions. The concept of collective guilt has disappeared. Let us note: coffee without caffeine, beer without alcohol, low-calorie and low-sugar soft drinks (we have been convinced that we should consume these), sugar-free and cholesterol-free cakes, virtual sex, voiceless books, wars without enemies; reality shows instead of real life, weekends spent like bourgeoisie instead of genuine spiritual work, impersonal people, meaningless words, Facebook friends instead of true friends, polite expressions instead of care and compassion, endless TV series replacing our real lives, passive sports, people who spend their time and money on changing appearances, meaningless searches instead of knowledge and understanding...
All this is still just the beginning...
Philosopher Naim Shapira poses the question: "Is there anything real left? I think pain is always real, real love also exists. It is not surprising that young people always reach a dead end in their search for Truth."
The middle-aged and older generation do not teach, they observe...
Etibar Aliyev,
education expert
