Socialist Yugoslavia was born on this day sixty-five years ago. And it passed away some seventeen years ago, long before it could get its well-deserved pension.

Addendum (November 30, 2008)

No kidding here. Socialist or otherwise, Yugoslavia could have been in the European Union by now, which would be its well-deserved pension. It would have nursed its people to a point where further strife could never lead to bloodshed. But that was not in the books as the Union was taking shape in the early Nineties. Economically, socially, culturally, and politically backward, the people of Yugoslavia could not possibly reach the level of consciousness needed to enter the Union by refraining from violence. Uneducated and uncouth, they went into battle with relish. More, with joy. Among such historically deprived people, it is always more fun to kill than to argue. Arguing is for sissies. The trouble with all the remainders of Yugoslavia, with a possible exception of Slovenia, is that they are still unreformed in this regard. Killing is still much more fun than arguing. Although the impoverished splinter-states will eventually reach the pension reserved for Yugoslavia of old, these bloodthirsty pensioners will never be fun to be with. Well, not within this century, for sure.