ON GOLF AND FREEDOM (August 21, 2012)
As I am sitting in an outdoor café and sipping my drink, I find myself marveling at my good luck. I not only write whatever comes to my mind, but I also publish it on the World Wide Web as soon as I finish writing. Presto! This is an unprecedented freedom. I had to worry about the Yugoslav police until a bit more than two decades ago. And I had no way of publishing my writings by myself until a bit more than a decade ago. While I am relishing my sweet freedom, though, I suddenly remember the mayor of Motovun. Hey, I am in Croatian court for my writings on the World Wide Web! And I still worry about the Croatian police whenever I write and publish anything that could land me in court once again. I censor my writings accordingly. In particular, I choose my words most carefully whenever golf in Motovun, Istria, and elsewhere in Croatia comes up. This is where politics and wealth meet nowadays. To put it gingerly, golf and freedom do not go together. Indeed, it is time to stop marveling at my good luck. Instead, I should bite my silly tongue.