So much has happened in the last five-thousand years that there is no way to explain it to a homo sapiens. And? The historical lessons will have to be repeated.

Addendum I (March 11, 2019)

I sent this haiku to Jean-Claude Juncker, Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel, in alphabetical order of their family names. To beef it up a bit, I added two more haiku on the same subject—”The Real Homo Sapiens“ (October 5, 2017) and “Life Worse than Death” (November 17, 2018). I pasted the whole lot on one of my favorite postcards, which shows my face after my brush with death in the Alps nearly two decades ago. The three postcards are on their way already. They will reach Brussels, Paris, and Berlin later this week. Now that the three major politicians of the European Union are bound to learn a thing or two about their species, I hope they will ease off with their untoward ambitions. For crying out loud, homo sapiens is but a primate. A monkey in all but name, that is. Expecting too much from such a species cannot but put in jeopardy. And the sorry state of the Union is the proof.

Addendum II (March 15, 2019)

To my surprise, today I sent to Juncker, Macron, and Merkel yet another postcard. This time around, I regaled each of them with my three haiku in the language of my ancestors—“Hoc maxime verum est” (November 1, 2014), “Culpa nostra” (November 3, 2014), and “Stultus sum” (June 28, 2018). Soon enough, I am bound to send all of them the third and last postcard, but I am not sure at this stage what it will be about. Chances are that it will be something about human stupidity, I reckon. At any rate, I am really surprised by my return to postcard terrorism, as it were. In London of the Nineties, nearly all of my postcards were about art. Nowadays, they are about the human condition. What in the world could leading European politicians do about such an esoteric topic, though? Nothing, of course. All I am doing is amusing myself with the human species. There is nothing else left for me to do, anyway. The species is on its hind legs, and only humor can make a tiny dent in its predicament.

Addendum III (March 21, 2019)

As it happens, my third and last postcard to Juncker, Macron, and Merkel, which I mailed earlier today, goes back to Roman times. Also, it mirrors the present conundrum of the European Union pretty well. The piece I chose for this special occasion is my humble correction of Cicero’s saying about stupidity—“Omnium malorum stultitia humani generis est mater” (February 19, 2015). It is my hope that the politicians in question will search my magnum opus for my further thoughts about Cicero, as well. Indeed, “Omnium malorum intelligentia humani generis est mater” (November 14, 2018) crowns my thoughts about the human quandary, but it is way too wordy to be pasted on a postcard of any workable size. Even though the likelihood of such a search is pretty close to zero, I cannot but try my luck with those in power at this day and age. One way or another, my unexpected return to my postcard days is finally over. Or so I sincerely hope. For I am perfectly aware of the futility of such interventions into this tottering world of ours. It is time to wave it goodbye with a smile on one’s face. Turning back is but a fool’s errand, too.

Addendum IV (March 23, 2019)

Well, well. With a slight delay, the piece amending Cicero also went to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Narendra Damodardas Modi, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping, in alphabetical order of their family names once again. Alas, the urge to include all those in power—real, indubitable power—at this historical juncture was so strong that I could not curtail it any longer! Besides, the underlying conundrum is global rather than limited to the European Union. For good measure, the propitious piece about human stupidity was pasted on postcards showing me in military uniform in 1970, just a few months before I went to the States for the very first time. I was twenty-four, and the barely visible smirk on my face shows it. To be sure, I was full of myself at the time. Indeed, I was bigger than life, which explains my choice of postcard in this particular case. Returning to the concluding lines of the previous addendum, I cannot but hope that my urge is fully satisfied by now. Sending postcards around the globe is to the benefit of postal services only. As well as secret police establishments concerned with the safety of those entrusted to their tender-loving care. My postcards cannot but arouse their suspicions, I suppose. Not to worry, though. For all my hubris, I know that any hope for the human species is entirely in vain (“On Liberation,” October 4, 2017). Alleluia!

Addendum V (April 10, 2019)

To my joy, I just received a reply of sorts from Juncker’s office in Brussels. Signed by the head of his unit, it acknowledges receipt of one of my postcards addressed to the President of the European Commission. And in a single sentence. I did not expect any reply, and so I was tickled pink by the letter. Unable to contain my exuberance, I decided to send Juncker yet another postcard. What the heck. This time around, it is my reaction to baroness O’Neill’s worries about democracy (“I Do Not Fear for Democracy,” March 19, 2019). Given that it mentions the British Parliament’s unending shenanigans, it may well make Juncker smile. He must have had enough of this travesty of democracy. Be that as it may, I would not mind receiving replies of any kind from all the other potentates who had received my postcards in the recent past. If and when this happens, I will respond with yet another little gift, I promise. Given all the givens, having a tiny bit of fun is the best we can do in this wobbling world of ours.