A View From the Window

Tsim Sha Tsui in the background

Postscript: Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

Шүлэг унших тэвчээргүй намайг Seamus Heaney-гийн бүтээлүүд харин үргэлж татдаг авай. Түүний талаар цаасан дээр бэх дусааж үзсэн бүхэн бичиж буй энэ үед би нэмэрлэх нь илүүц гэж бодмоор. Гэхдээ бид түүний хувь нэмрийг цор ганц Англи хэлтнүүдэд, тэр тусмаа Ирландуудад хамаатай мэтээр ойлгох нь учир дутагдалтай. Сайн яруу найраг хил хязгаар, цаг хугацаагаар хязгаарлагддаггүй; магадгүй бид өөрсдийгөө ойлгоход алс холын Хийнийгийн шүлгүүд Монгол шүлгүүдээс илүү тус болж мэдэх юм.

Миний хувьд түүний Punishment шүлэг хэзээ ч үл мартагдам. Балар эртний үед хөнгөмсөг явдлаасаа болж цаазлагдсан нэгэн залуухан бүсгүйн шарилыг Британичуудтай явалдан Ирландын үндсэрхэг үзэлтнүүдэд шийтгэгдэж буй охидтой харьцуулсан энэ шүлгийг хэдэн жилийн өмнө уншаад удаан хайж явсан зүйлээ олсон мэт болж билээ.

Прүстийн "Алдагдсан Цагийн Эрэлд" дээр гардагчлан хамгийн их сэтгэл хөдөлгөсөн бүтээл гэдэг өөрт тань цоо шинэ зүйл таниулсан нь бус харин өмнө хаа нэгтээ бодож байсан зүйлийг тань яг тэр хэвээр нь цаасан дээр буулгаж чадсан нь байдаг. Миний хувьд анх хятадуудтай явалдсан гэх Монгол охидын үсийг хусч буй тухай сонсоод асар их эгдүүцсэн ч тэрхүү үндсэрхэг үзэлтнүүд яагаад тэгж балмад авирлах болсоныг бас ойлгож байв. Хийний шүлэгтээ яг тэр буруушааж байгаа мөртөө ойлгож буй дундын орон зайг харуулсан байсан юм:

I who have stood dumb
when your betraying sisters,
cauled in tar,
wept by the railings,

who would connive
in civilized outrage
yet understand the exact
and tribal, intimate revenge.

Нэг талаас магадгүй хэзээ ч арилгаж чадахгүй балар эртнээс угшилтай балмад авир, нөгөө талаас соёлжиж иргэншсэн хүний жигшил зэвүүцэл хоёрын зөрчил. Миний харж байгаагаар энэ бол яруу найрагч хүн өөрийн үүргээ гүйцэтгэж буй хамгийн тод томруун жишээ. Мань мэтийг бодвол Хийний үүнийгээ дан ганц уран яруугаар томъёолоод зогсохгүй өөрт буй тэрхүү зөрчлөө хэнээс ч эмээлгүй зоригтойгоор хэлж чадаж буй нь бишрэм. Тэгээд ч King Lear дээр “Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say” гэж гардаг байх аа?

Малчин Цэвээн - Гандий Мод

Addendum: Малчин Сумъяа гуайн уртын дуу

Role of the Beatles in the Mongolian Democracy

Хотын төв дэх Beatles-ийн хөөрхий энэ муу хөшөөг хүмүүс их ад үзэх юм. Үзэмж муутай л гэнэ. Болж бүтэхгүй нөхдүүд цуглуулдаг л гэнэ. Нөгөө талаасаа хөшөөнд дуртай хүмүүс нь дан ганц Beatles-ийн хөгжимд хайртайгаасаа болоод байх шиг. Харин миний хувьд энэ хөшөөг улс төрийн ач холбогдлын талаас нь нэлээд өөрөөр хардаг юм.

Дээрхэн NYU-ийн профессор Jeffrey Goldfarb манай сургууль дээр ирж номоо танилцуулах үеэр энэ талаар богино илтгэл тавьсанаа доор орууллаа. Тэр үеэд нас залуу ч байж, бурамтай чихэрт дуртай ч байж.

After reading a few chapters of Prof. Goldfarb’s book Reinventing Political Culture, I remember thinking “spot on, I’m really glad that someone finally noticed the elephant in the room.” Indeed, this book addresses one of the most obvious questions that constantly hover over us: How should we understand the political culture? What Prof. Goldfarb gives us in his book is a very neat framework of looking at political culture. Through understanding how politics on the one hand and culture on the other hand affects each other and together they form political culture, we can come up with a more realistic picture of how our society functions. But what the book lacks is more examples to support this framework. I feel the three examples, revelatory and fascinating they are, are still not enough to forcefully make case for political culture. I think more cases need to be tested against this framework to fully appreciate its importance. So in this spirit, in the next few minutes, I’ll attempt to see the significance of political culture on our lives.

A few years ago, my father told me a story. I was going through the photos of his youth, and I spotted a picture of him, presumably in the late 70s, wearing weird hair. I made fun of it and said how silly his hair looks—shaggy, with huge sideburns. He said, “guess what, I was actually once got arrested by the police because of that hair.” When I asked how come, he said, “One day I was walking down the street, wearing my bell-bottom jeans that my friend just smuggled from Greece and of course sporting my cool haircut. And two policemen showed up and took me to the station. There they questioned me and almost cut my hair along with the part of jeans that was below my knees.“ And I foolishly asked, why did he dress that way if it was constant object of harassment from the authorities. He said, “Oh that’s simple, because I was a Beatles fan.”

And I just thought that perhaps there is a certain political implication of it on the 1989 Mongolian democratic movement. The more I thought about it, the more interesting it got. I’ll give you one fact: more or less all the leaders of the Mongolian democratic revolution are self-proclaimed Beatles fans. But I was never quite sure how to link the four Liverpudlians to the democratic movement of Mongolia. After reading Prof. Goldfarb’s book, things started to make sense. What Beatles did to the Mongolian society was, if we use Prof. Goldfarb’s own words, “to detach truth and various sorts of social commitments from the powers.” The Beatles represented to the Mongolian youths a much more attractive way of living, it represented a possibility of different way of looking at things. Truth does not necessarily mean what the Communist Party says. Truth can be diverse, or sometimes even a completely different thing. And among the youths who were sitting in some dark corner trying to imitate the sounds of Beatles, a space for conversation has emerged. While sitting together and singing, they would address their common problems in their daily lives. And this space is crucial because this is a kind of place where people together form their political culture.

Photo courtesy of Wide Eyed Skittle Juice

Here is a photo of a statue in the center of Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. I’ve been told that this is one of the few Beatles statues in the world (I still can’t understand who else in the world is crazy enough to come up with something like this). It was erected a few years ago by a group of Mongolian political and business elites—some of whom led the democratic movement in 1990. Poor aesthetics notwithstanding, I find it quite remarkable. In a sense, Mongolians who are incredibly pragmatic people, openly acknowledges the impact of music on our everyday lives. If you look at the other side of the statue, you’ll find a lonely Mongolian boy who is sitting and trying to imitate them with the background of a window blocked by bricks—perhaps a subtle reference to Pink Floyd. There is nothing political about this boy. He is just sitting there and singing. But if you think about it, the ideals he is trying to imitate who are depicted on the other side of the wall presents everything that the communists oppose. So that simple act of singing automatically makes him political. It presents him a different sort of truth regime and a different structure of everyday practice that is different than the Communist truth. This of course represents to me the end of the legitimacy of the Communist rule. This is also I believe what Prof. Goldfarb says by the potentiality of seemingly small things to produce a big event.


However, although incredibly attractive, there are two issues that I would like to raise here concerning political culture. First, how should we understand political culture in the context of institutions? Of course, we can say that this is a perfect demonstration of the Arendtian conception of power. Communism both in Poland and Mongolia crumbled because the power was collaboratively created. Through coming together and talking, people developed a capacity to act in concert. But still it seems to me the existing ruling institutions hold the crucial power—namely the Weberian power of coercion. In China, for example, despite the widespread wave of support for democracy by millions of people, the rulers said no they still hold the society in firm grips. On the other hand, the Mongolian Politburo gave up all their power overnight to a movement initiated by a dozen 20-somethings. I feel the idea of political culture still needs to account the decisions made by the ruling institutions. Why in some cases they feel overwhelmed by Arendtian power, and why in other cases decides to confront it?

The second question I have is, how should we understand the erosion of political culture? So far all of the three examples are presented in a way that reinvention of political culture always leads to a better outcome. However, the erosion, if not perversion, of political culture should also be addressed. For example, Mongolia has always been portrayed as a democratic anomaly. In the words of Mongolian president, “From the Sea of Japan to the eastern border of Europe, Mongolia is the only functioning democracy.” However, with the recent discovery of enormous amount of natural resources in the Gobi desert, politics has become a boxing ring where economic interest groups settle their scores. Along the way, money corrupts Mongolian politics, and the freedom of press is undermined because the economic interest groups trying to influence public opinion buys out media. This, at least in the Mongolian case, is eroding our political culture. And I am just wondering how should we address also the fragility of political culture.

So perhaps I’ll go now and change my hairstyle. Who knows in a few years I can tell my child that I contributed to a revolution.

Addendum: A few years ago, Russian historian Mikhail Safonov wrote that Beatles did more for the break up of totalitarianism in the USSR than Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov. He wrote , “The apolitical Beatles, though, slipped into every Soviet flat, packaged as tapes, just as easily as they assumed their place on the stages of the largest stadia and concert halls in the world. They did something that was not within the power of Solzhenitsyn nor Sakharov: they helped a generation of free people to grow up in the Soviet Union. This was a non-Soviet generation.”

Народный Артист оф зэ Дэй

The Best Sentences I Read Today

Х.Чойбалсан нэгэнтээ ТХ гишүүдийн хурал дээр хэлсэн үг мартагддагүй юм. "Төрийн бодлого гэж та нар миний санаа байдаг гэж бодож байна уу? үгүй ээ тийм биш төрийн бодлого гэдэг бол чавганцын санаа байдаг юм. Би түүн дээр нь төрийн тамгийг дараад Төрийн бодлого болдог юм" гэж билээ.

Ц. Лоохууз

Bayartsogt Yagaad Buruutay ve?

Manaihand neg zan bii: urgun uudam tal nutag shigee uujuu taivan. Uug ni bol saihan l daa. Bargiin yumand neg ih setgel hudluud baihguy, hudulsun ch ter ni dorhnoo zamharchihdag. Uurtuu ch amar, busdad ch aldaagaa zasah bolomj olgono. Ungursun doloo honogt bolson S. Bayartsogttoy holbootoy heregt manaihan aanai l uujuu taivan setgeleeree handatsgaaj zamhruulah tiish ni oruulav. Gehdee medeej MAH-iin medeenii website-uud bolon tuuniig ni ajilluuldag Tsogoo guay metiin heden sain duriin uran saihanchdiig es tootsvol l doo :)

Neg and maani bur tsaana chini nuhduud ulsiin 14 terbumaar casino-dood baihad chini gants neg saya dollaraa nuugaa l biz, surtey shd geed ulaan tsaim tuuj baih yum haha. Bayartsogt ch uuruu gantshan companiihaa l neriig bichihee martchihaj, ternees bish idej zavshsan yum baihguy ee, ee l dee agaa egee, ta nar yaasan muuhaiin gesen baina. Tegsen harin uujuu taivan setgelguy bolhooroo yum bailguy nadad Bayartsogt neg l buruu yum hiichihsen yum shig sanagdaad boldogguy.

Yunii umnu Bayartsogtiin hamgiin tom gem ni ashig sonirhliin zurchil gedgiig olj harah ni chuhal. Medeej Bayartsogtod hun buriinh shig huviin ashig sonirhol bii. Uuriinhuu orlogoo nemegduuleh, gangan mashinii tsugluulgaa arvijuulah geh met. Uund buruu yum yu ch baihguy. Gehdee niitiin alban tushaaltnii huvid tereer mun niigmiin ashig sonirhliig hargalzaj uzeh yostoy. Niigmiin ashig sonirhliig yamagt terguund tavij baih ni alban tushaaliig ni dagaldaj irdeg ard tumniihee, songogchdiinhoo umnu huleesen uureg hariutslaga. Hervee Bayartsogt huviin ashig sonirhliinhoo deer niitiin ashig sonirhliig tavij chadahguy gevel medeej ajlaa huleelgej uguh erh ni urgeljid neelttey.

Bayartsogt uneheer tsor gants companiihaa neriig ashig orlogiin meduulegtee bichiheeguygees uur gemguy, buruuguy baij bolno. Gehdee ene ni niitiin alban tushaaltan atlaa ashig sonirhliin zurchiltey baidald orsniig ni zuvtguj chadahguy. Ashig sonirhliin zurchil gedeg zaaval hen negen hahuuli ugultsuj avaltsaj baina gesen ug bish; harin tiim zuil garch bolzoshguy nuhtsul bii bolsoniig l helj baigaa baigaa hereg. Sangiin said baij unet tsaas ariljij l baidag... Hedii ene hoyor hoorondoo ogt hamaaralguy baisan ch gesen saidiin ner nuluuguu ashiglan unet tsaasnii uned nuluulj ashig olohiig aliig ter geh ve. Uuruur helbel end Bayartsogtiin niitiin albandaa hoyorguy setgeleer zutgej, uneheer niigmiin erh ashgiig tsaashid terguund tavij chadah uu uguy gedeg asuudal yarigdaj baigaa yum.

Sain mergejilten undur tsalintay baidag neg shaltgaan ni ashig sonirhliin zurchliig saitar oilgoj, tiim nuhtsuld uuriiguu oruulahaas sergiilj chaddagt baidag. Harin mani er daan ch ene talaar bodsonguy dee. Haihramjguydee ch bish mani metiig ni yuruusuu l ter dansiig ni olj medej chadahguy yum chini yaasan ch yadag yum geed eleg barij baihguy yu. Yur ni ene yanzaaraa uujuu taivan setgel gargaj baina geed nuhduudiin tolgoig ni ileed yavuulaad baival suuld ni hugjil devshil ch uguy, hund itgeh itgel ch uguy hotsroh ni baina shuu. Tsaashdaa hen hunguy iimerhuu hereg garsan daruid harin ch davchuu bachim setgeleer handaj saitar hariutslaga tootsoj baih heregtey.

"I Deliver Myself Entirely to Them"

When evening has come, I return to my house and go into my study. At the door I take off my clothes of the day, covered with mud and mire, and I put on my regal and courtly garments; and decently reclothed, I enter the an­cient courts of ancient men, where, received by them lovingly, I feed on the food that alone is mine and that I was born for. There I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask them the reason for their actions; and they in their humanity reply to me. And for the space of four hours I feel no boredom, I forget every pain, I do not fear poverty, death does not frighten me. I deliver myself entirely to them.

Niccolo Machiavelli's letter to Francesco Vettori, December 10, 1513

Tvvхийн Mөрөөр

Хожим Лхамсүрэн өөрийн дурсамжид ""Цэдэнбалыг [Нью-Йорк руу] хэн явуулах гээд байгаа юм. Зөвлөлтийн элчин сайд тэгээд байгаа юм уу?" гэсэн асуултыг Маршал надад тавьж байсан юм" гэснээс нь үзэхэд бүрэлдэхүүний талаар, ялангуяа тэргүүний талаар манай удирдлага санал нэгтэй байгаагүй бололтой гэсэн сэтгэгдэл надад төрдөг юм.

Урианхан Б. Жаргалсайхан, "Алаг Жарны Бодрол," 160-р тал

[Нью Йорк орох замаараа] Парист түр саатах зуураа тэнд олон улсын хуралд оролцож байсан ЗХУ-ын ГЯЯ-ны сайд В. Молотовтой уулзаж, ажлынхаа чиг хандлагын талаар зөвлөлджээ. Энэхүү уулзалтын талаар яамны архивт үлдсэн нэгэн ярианы тэмдэглэлд дурдсаныг иш татвал:

"Цэдэнбал: Олон төлөөлөгч хүмүүстэй уулзах шаардлагагүй гэж бодож байна.

Молотов: Яалаа гэж. Харин аль болохуйц олон хүмүүс төлөөлөгчидтэй уулзаж улс орноо таниулахыг хичээх хэрэгтэй.

Цэдэнбал: Хөрөнгөтний сурвалжлагчдаас аль болохоор зайлсхийх нь зүйтэй юу?

Молотов: Үгүй дээ. Тэд нартай уулзаж, улс орныхоо талаар болон бодлого байр сууриа тайлбарлаж байх нь чухал.

Цэдэнбал: Би оросоор ярина гэж бодож байна.

Молотов: Та аль болохооор үндэснийхээ хэлээр ярих нь зүйтэй санагдаж байна..." гэх зэргээр зөвлөж байжээ.

Миний үзээгүй архивын өөр нэг тэмдэглэлд юу гэж байсан тухай ахмад дипломатч Ц. Дэмиддагва гуай дуртгалдаа иш татсаныг энд сийрүүлбэл: "Цэдэнбал дарга Молотовоос "НҮБ-ын Аюулгүйн Зөвлөл, Ерөнхий Ассамблей гэж хоёр өөр юу байдаг юм уу?" гэж асууж байснаас үзэхэд тэрээр НҮБ-ын Дүрмийг ч уншаагүй, энэ талаар хайхрамжгүй хандаж байсан нь илт байдаг. Энэ тухай Н. Лхамсүрэнгийн оросоор бичсэн ярианы тэмдэглэл ГЯЯ-ны архивт байсан бөгөөд түүнийг Л. Хашбат, Д. Пүрэвдорж, Б. Ванчиндорж бид жараад оны үед уншиж, Ю. Цэдэнбалын арчаагүй ажлын талаар шивэгнэн ярьж байсан билээ. Гэтэл тэр тэмдэглэл одоо байхгүй болсон нь "даргын нэр хүндэд харш" гэж үзсэн Ю. Цэдэнбалын тагнуулууд авч устгасан болов уу" гэжээ.

И. Очирбал, "Дипломат Өвөөгийн Дурсамж," 104-р тал

1940-өөд оны эцсээр Монгол улс НҮБ-ийн гишүүн болох асуудал их яригддаг болсон юм. Ерөнхий сайд, маршал Х.Чойбалсан энэ асуудалд онцгой ач холбогдол өгч байсан юм. Хар залуугаасаа Монголын төлөө өөрөөсөө хамаарах болон хамаарахгүй бүхнийг хийж, үхэхээс бусдыг үзсэн түүнд Монгол улс НҮБ-ийн гишүүн болох нь нэг насны мөрөөдлийн биелэл нь ч байсан байж магадгүй. Ингээд Х.Чойбалсан 1947 онд энэ асуудлыг шийдүүлэхээр Ю.Цэдэнбалыг Нью-Йорк руу илгээсэн юм. Ю.Цэдэнбал тэнд очоод НҮБ-ын чуулганд нэг удаа үг хэлснийг эс тооцвол юу ч хийгээгүй буцаж ирсэн юм билээ. Бусад орны төлөөлөгчидтэй уулзаж, өөрийн орныг сурталчлах, тэдний дэмжлэгийг авах талаар ямар ч ажил зохиогоогүй байдаг юм. Үүнээс үүдээд Ю.Цэдэнбалд Монгол улсыг НҮБ-ийн гишүүнд элсүүлэх сонирхол ер нь байсан болов уу? гэсэн асуулт төрдөг юм. Нью-Йорк хотод очоод, юу ч хийлгүй, өрөөнөөсөө ч гаралгүй хэдэн өдөр зүгээр суусан түүний хачин үйлдлийг юугаар ч тайлбарлах боломж олддоггүй учир яах ч аргагүй ийм асуулт төрдөг юм.

Гэхдээ түүнээс хойших Ю.Цэдэнбалын үйлдлийг ажиглахад тийм сонирхол түүнд байсан байж магадгүй гэсэн бодол төрүүлдэг ч гэсэн Монгол улс НҮБ-ийн гишүүнээр элсэх асуудал 1962 оныг хүртэл сунжирсан юм. 1962 онд Монгол улс НҮБ-ийн гишүүн болж, Байнгын төлөөлөгчийн газраа ажиллуулж эхэлсэн юм. НҮБ Монгол улсыг гишүүнээрээ элсүүлэн авах шийдвэрээ гаргаж байх тэр үед Ю.Цэдэнбал хөлөө хугалаад, Москва хотод эмнэлэгт хэвтэж байжээ. "Дургүй бол хүчгүй!" гэсэн нэг үг Монголд байдаг юм.

Ц. Лоохуузын дурсамж XX зууны Монголчууд /2/: Социалист　Монголын улс төрийн амьдрал, 94-р тал

Элитэрцэнгvvд

Neg marzan niitlel dotor chas hiisen heden paragraph tsohij yavna:

Нөгөө талд нь харин бас өөр нэг элитүүдийг яръя. Энэ бол гадаадад сургууль төгсөөд, эсвэл амьдарч байгаад ирсэн манайхан. (мэдээж бүгдийг нь хэлээгүй нь ойлгомжтой, нийтлэг төрх яриад байна)

Эд нараас харин тийм манарсан байдал үнэртэнэ. (deep confusion) Яах гээд ч буцаад ирчихсэн юм. Нүднээс нь шууд л ойд төөрсөн хүний харц анзаарагдана. Ам ажил хоёр нь зөрнө. Амаараа бол нэг л их мундаг баатар алс холын харь орноос нутгаа санаж ирээд улсаа хөгжүүлэх гээд байгаа юмаа даа. Ажил дээрээ бол таг. Тэгэж хэлчихээд л шууд цалин агнаад нэг уул уурхайн компанид орж өлөнтөнө.

Ер нь бол эд нар хойшоо сайхан алхаад гэр хороолол дундуураа яваад үзчих хэрэгтэй л дээ. Дэлгүүр хоршоогоор нь ороод, хүн ардтай уулзаад яг ямар улсад ирчихээд байгаагаа ойлгох, бүүр болж өгвөл ухамсарлах хэрэгтэй. Тэгэхгүй сэтгэл нь Америктаа, (даан ч тэнд нь хямрал болчихсон юм шүү дээ, юун ажил олдох) санаа нь энд, яриа нь шоктой - тэгээд нэг хотын төвийн хэдэн баараа хэсч нөгөө л нэг уулздаг өрөөсөн дугуй элитэнцэрүүдтэйгээ цаг өнгөрөөвөл амьдрал ямар харуусалтай вэ. Тэр хойно чинь дэлгүүрт талхыг хэрчмээр нь есийн тосыг (юу гээд байгааг нь мэдэх билүү, наранцэцэгийн тос) нь пенцилины шилээр (бас юу вэ?) зардаг юм ш дээ.

Triangle - U. Ganzorig

Persecution and Art

Leo Strauss-iin philosophy-d oruulsan hamgiin tom huvi nemer ni esoteric writing buyu augaa philosopher-uud shashnii bolon uls turiin daramtaas emeej uursdiinhuu jinhene heleh gesen sanaagaa il busaar uguuldeg gesen uzel yum. Udguu zarim neg liberal arts surguuliudad close reading hiihiig golchildog ni neg talaaraa ene uzliin ilrel gej helj bolno.

Gehdee esoteric writing-iin jisheeg zaaval Plato, Rousseau-gaas haih shaardlagaguy, uursdiinhuu ergen toirnoos ch ajiglaj bolno. Sayhan garsan "Ууган" nom deer B. Dolgionii dursamjaas negen sonirholtoy hesgiig end taviya:

Ууган маань шүлэг зохиогоод би аяыг нь хийж "Хослон дуулъя" гэдэг дуу төрж, Ууган Оюундэлгэртэй дуулсан түүхтэй. Үзэл суртлын шалтгаанаар Жон Лэнноны нэрийг нэрлэж болдоггүй цаг байлаа. Тийм учир

"Одтой тэнгэрт мишээхээр
Орчлон дэлхийг гэрэлтүүлэхээр
Онгон талдаа саран гийв үү"

гэж зохиосны Саран гэдэг үгний далд утга нь Жон Лэннон болой. Мөн ая дан дотор нь Жон Лэнноны "Jealous Guy" дууны нэгэн фразыг шургуулсныг минь тэр болгон хүн анзаарахгүй. Үүнийг бол Ууган бид хоёр л мэддэг байв.

Addendum: Badruugan agsnii duunii san

Vлгэр Дууриал

Khovdod 2 jil ajillasan Amerik nuhur sayhan huduunii huuhduudiin bolovsrold dutagddag neg chuhal zuiliin talaar helsen yum: ter ni huduud ulger duurial bolohuits, role model-uud tudiilun baidagguy yavdal. Gehdee ene bol huduud uhaantay, manlailagch hun baidagguy gesen ug bish. Harin tedgeer ulger duurial boloh humuus ni ihenhidee dotooddoo surguuli tugssun, hedii nutag ornoo henees ch iluu medeh bolovch Ulaanbaataraas tsaadahiig hardagguy, harah ch tudiilun shardlagaguy humuus baidag. Iim nuhtsuld Mongold tuiliin ih dutagddag gants Mongoloo tudiiguy gadaaduudiin setgelgeeg saitar oilgodog, tednii davuu taluudiig Mongoldoo avchirch, uursdiinhuu ontslogiig tedend taniulj chaddag humuus turj garah incentive bii boloh bolomjguy bolj baigaa yum. Medeej ene bol huduud husel ermelzeltey, uuriinhuu chadlaar gadaad hel ezemshsen huuhed baihguy gesen ug bish, harin uuniig huduu deh asar ih medlegiin bololtsoog bid aldaj baigaagiin neg ilerhiilel, dohio gej oilgovol zohiltoy.

Tegvel yur ni niit Mongoliin nuhtsuld bidend, uguy yadahnaa 15 nastay duud mini role model bolj chadah hun hen baina? End bi hoyor zuiliig shalguur bolgoj avch uzlee: 1. Mongoldoo ner hundtey, hiij buteedeg, olnii tanil baih. Uuruur helbel Mongoliinhoo nuhtsul baidliig sain oilgodog; mani met shig Mongol hunii tarhind naalddagguy tengeriin zuil yaridagguy gesen ug. 2. Delhiid nuur ulailgahaarguy medleg, bolovsroltoy baih. Mongoldoo baihdaa hedii hamgiin uhaantay hun met bolovch hiliin dees alhahaaraa neg bol yum medehguygee medeed pag boldog, ali esvel arvan jiliin huuhed shig yavtsuu medlegee duviilgudug humuus Mongoloor bishguidee neg bii (ter utgaaraa jishee ni Amerikiin usvur uyeiihnii shuteen Ayn Rand-iin ulaan fan Temuujin shuud hasagdaj baigaa yum).

Minii huvid yag odoo tiim hoyor role model tolgoid orj irj baina: ehniih ni Sanjaasurengiin Oyun, udaah ni Damdinii Tsogtbaatar (i.e. Baigal Orchnii Yamnii suuliin hoyor said :)). Ene hoyor hunii Mongol dahi ner hundiin talaar yariad yahav. Namiin yalgaanaas garch irdeg shuumjleluudiig es tootsvol huvi huniih ni huvid uneheer ulger jishee avahuits. Nuguu talaasaa asuudliig mash tsegtsteygeer harj, systemteygeer avch uzdeg chadvaraas ni haduurah durtay manai Mongolchuud, yalanguya zaluuchuud bid mash sain suraltsah heregtey. Edgeeriin deer gadaadiinhniig setgelgeeg oilgodog, tedend uursdiiguu buren duuren oilguuldag chadvaraas ni bid yah argaguy ulger duurial avuushtay.

Oyunii talaar ihenh humuus hangalttay meddeg bolhoor end jishee bolgood Tsogtbaatariin sayhan unshsan lektsiig tavilaa. Ene lektsen deer yalanguya asuudliig herhen uur untsguus tailbarlaj, yaj zadalj, bagtsalj baigaag ni anzaarahguy baihiin argaguy. Lektsen deer suuj baisan gadniihan ch gesen uund ni tatagdaj, Mongoliin baigal orchnii talaar negeehen oilgolttoy bolson gedegt ni ergelzehguy baina.



Tanii huvid bidend uur ulger jishee avahuits humuus baigaa bol door comment heseg deer bichne uu (to avoid cliches, please don't say Chingis Khaan or your mom and pa).

Monday Morning Readings

Manaid ihenh humuus unshsan nomon deer ni iim chuhal sanaa gardag gej yarihiin orond nadad iim medremj turuuldeg gej ontsoldog ni barag odoo sonin sanagdahaa ch baichihaj. Neg talaasaa ene ni tuhain hun unshsan (?!) nomoo uneheer uuriinhuuruu huleej avch bui met bolovch nuguu talaasaa buren guitsed oilgooguyn halhavch boldog gedgiig huleen zuvshuuruh tsag bolson baimaar. Yur ni bol "open-mindedness," "empty-headedness" hoyoriin hoorond tenger gazar shig yalgaa bii l dee.

Sonirholtoy ni bi manaihan shig iimerhuu medremj yarisan, esoteric yumand nugasguy humuus yagaad Leo Strauss-iin talaar sonsooguy baidag yum boloo gej zarimdaa ih gaihdag yum. Medeej Strauss-iin rigor-iig manai zarim neg "esoteric" garuud unshaad aih ni buu hel oilgodog ch uguy baih l daa. Gehdee yadaj neriig ni barij uursdiinhuu muhar susgiig reklamdaj ch chaddagguy ni yostoy nuguu bilgiin nud ni neegdeeguyn shinj ni yum bolov uu daa hehe. Yalanguya ertnii nom zohiol, helts yariagaar turii barij "bidnii uvug deedes ingedeg baisan yum" gej yarih durtay nuhduud yadaj Strauss-iin arga barilaas budaa idvel neleed yum garch irne (dalimaar ni ter nuhduud her undeslelguy bulterch zuvhun uursdiinhuu helehiig hussen zuilsee uvug deedsiin ner barij heldgee oilgoh ch yum biluu hen medlee).

Yutay ch manaihan shig guilgee uhaantay, gants hoyor sonsson zuiliinhee talaar uursduu zohioson yum shig medemhiireh durtay nuhduud neg l udur Amerikiin augaa gun uhaanch Lev Shtraus geed avch uguhuus ni umnu Strauss-iin talaar gun gunzgii bish yumaa gehed davguy sain oilgoltiig avchihsan ni zugeer baih. Strauss-iin yag uuriinh ni nomuud, uguulluud ni oilgohod neleed yarvigtay; political philosophy, ertnii Grekiin gun uhaan tuhailan sonirhdogguy bol barag noirnii ch em bolj medne (bi uuruu ch heden udaa nam untaj baisnaa nuugaad yahav). Harin Strauss-iin uuriinh ni lektsuud mash sonirholtoy. Husvel shavi nariinh ni ajilluulj baigaa website deerh audio and transcripts gesen hesgees bichleguudiig ni sonsoj uzehiig zuvluyu. Yalanguya heleltsej bui text-iig ni unshchihaad sonsvol bur iluu ur duntey :)

Sedevtee butsaad orohod, Leo Strauss-iin talaar bid yamar neg oilgolttoy baih yostoy hoyor chuhal shaltgaan bii: Negd, bidnii ergen toiron dahi Strauss-iin nuluug hezee ch chamlaj bolohguy. Jishee ni Bush-iin uyed yalanguya Amerikiin gadaad bodlogiin ideology-g todorhoilj asan neoconservative-chuud barag bugdeeree Strauss-iin shavi nar (uguy yumaa gehed shavi nariinh ni shavi nar) baisan. Ene talaar Amerik, Europe-iin hevleluud, sain duriin uran saihanchid ch bishguydee neg shuursan. Magadguy ene sedveer bichigdsen hamgiin surjin nom ni Shadia Drury-giin Leo Strauss and the American Right baih. Minii huvid harin Anne Norton-ii Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire-iig sanal bolgoyo. Endees gol ni gants hunii sanaa bodol (opinion bish idea) yamar huchtey ve gedgiig oilgoh ni chuhal. University of Chicago-giin neg seminar-iin uruunuus odoogiin Iraq-iin dain hiih sanaa turun garna gej hen medeh bilee? Nuguu talaasaa Strauss-iin arga baril Amerikiin turiin salbar burt herhen nuluulsun ni neleed sonirholtoy. Jishee ni tuunii shavi asan Abram Shulsky-giin Leo Strauss and the World of Intelligence uguulliig unshaad uzeerey. Tuuniiheer bol Strauss-iin arga bariliig tagnuuliin medeellig bolovsruulahad hurtel ashiglaj boloh ni:

With Tocqueville, Strauss would have argued that the regime shapes human political action in so fundamental a way that the very souls appear different. For this reason, among others, social science could never hope to be "scientific" in the sense of the natural sciences, which can be confident that the phenomena it studies do not vary from place to place [...] Strauss's view certainly alerts one to the possibility that political life may be closely linked to deception. Indeed, it suggests that deception is the norm in political life, and the hope, to say nothing of the expectation, of establishing a politics that can dispense with it is the exception.

Hoyort, Strauss-iin asuudliig bur ugaas ni olj hardag, yamar ch zuiliig buren utgaar ni oilgohiig charmaidag arga baril ni tevcheerguy, yumand system-teygeer handdagguy bidnii huvid asar tom ulger jishee boloh uchirtay. Yalanguya Strauss-iin arga barilaar ertnii zohiol buteeluudee close reading hiij uursdiin gesen interpretation, oilgoltoo olj avah ni sayhan Sh. Bira guayn helsen "it is critical towards the understanding of our past and the preservation of the future" gedegtey agaar neg yum. Hervee husvel Strauss-iin arga baril, nuluunii talaar shavi Werner Dannhauser-iin bichsen Becoming Naïve Again gesen uguulliig unshihiig sanal bolgoyo:

Leo Strauss taught us how to read a book. We learned that books were wholes, and that it was safest to assume that they were perfect wholes [...] So we would read books carefully, line by line if possible, and we found that a great book is indeed a magic structure. It is wonderful- literally full of wonders, a house of many mansions, secret rooms, labyrinthine passages [...] He trained us to see things as they come to sight, to let them appear without the distortions modern opinion imposes upon them, and, yes, to let them speak to us. That meant we had to divest ourselves of many habits, including the habit of viewing things as budding social scientists. We learned what is, perhaps, hardest of all to learn: to become a bit more naive again.

P.S: Hervee political philosophy sonirhdog bol Strauss-iin emhetgesen History of Political Philosophy nomiig zaaval olj avaaray.

The Best Paragraph I Read Today

Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay. In the modern state there are very few sites where this is possible. The only others that come readily to my mind require belief in an omnipotent creator as a condition for membership. It would seem the most obvious thing in the world to say that the reason why the market is not an efficient solution to libraries is because the market has no use for a library. But it seems we need, right now, to keep re-stating the obvious. There aren’t many institutions left that fit so precisely Keynes’s definition of things that no one else but the state is willing to take on. Nor can the experience of library life be recreated online. It’s not just a matter of free books. A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal.

from The North West London Blues - Zadie Smith

Who Needs A Road?

A video that I should watch every morning

Addendum: and let's not forget the great Husky Power video!

A Shared Sense of Humanity

I've been reading Ryszard Kapuściński lately. Apart from his magnificent style, I was deeply touched by his humaneness. From every single sentence he wrote, you could feel his determined effort to understand the lives of ordinary strangers and describe them as best as he could. What a style, what a soul!

Here's one passage that really touched me. Even though it's about a slum district in Nairobi, I feel like these words could easily apply to our ger districts as well. Perhaps this is an indication of the scope of his perspective that allowed him to distill the universal from a particular observation.

They go, either tempted by the mirage of employment, or frightened by an epidemic that has suddenly broken out nearby, or evicted by the owners of the clay huts and verandas, whom they were unable to pay for the space they occupied. Everything in their life is temporary, fluid, and frail. It exists and it doesn't exist. Even if it does exist—then for how long? This eternal uncertainty causes my neighbors to live in a perpetual state of alert, of unabating fear. They fled the poverty of the countryside and made their way to the city in the hope tha,t life would be better for them here. Those who succeeded in tracking down a cousin could count on some support, some help getting started. But many of these former peasants did not find any of their relations, or any fellow tribesmen. Often, they didn't even understand the language being spoken in the streets, didn't know how to ask about anything. Still, the force of the city absorbed them, its life became their only world, and by the next day already they were unable to extricate themselves from it.

"My Alleyway, 1967" from Ryszard Kapuściński's The Shadow of the Sun

The passage also reminded me of this another brilliant point by Edward Glaeser. Especially when discussing the issues of ger districts, it is essential to understand that those people are here because they find relatively better conditions in the cities. I wish the public discourse in Mongolia would explicitly acknowledge this fact.

The basic point here is that cities don’t make people poor. They attract poor people with economic opportunity, with a better social safety net, the ability to get around without a car for every adult. People are moving for a reason. It’s a terrible thing that there are so many poor people in the world, but it’s not a terrible thing that they have come to cities to try and make their lives better.

Edward Glaeser - Triumph of the PPP: A Leading Urban Economist on Risks and Rewards

Or perhaps those people who discriminate recent migrants should read more carefully what the great David Simon recently said,

So what am I saying? Do you all need to move to Baltimore, or Mogadishu, or Karachi and flagellate yourselves because you happened to be born and raised and educated in better circumstance? Of course not. That’s not what this is about. No one’s asking for cheap, useless guilt here. No, this is about empathy, about a shared sense of humanity, about – and here it comes again – responsibility.

Library of the Day

"Agnon's Library" by Yuval Yairi (via James Wood - "Shelf Life")

And in this way, I began to think, our libraries perhaps say nothing very particular about us at all. Each brick in the wall of a library is a borrowed brick: several thousand people, perhaps several hundred thousand, own books by F. E. Peters. If I were led into Edmund Wilson's library in Talcotville, would I know what it was Edmund Wilson's library, and not Alfred Kazin's or F. W. Dupee's? We tend to venerate libraries once we know whose they are, like admiring a famous philosopher's eyes or a ballet dancer's foot.

Erging in UB

After gulping down a cup of tepid cocoa in the dining room downstairs, I would dash, with my fur coat half on, through the green drawing room, toward the library, from which came a medley of stamping and scraping sounds. There I would find my father, a big, robust man, looking still bigger in his white training suit, thrusting and parrying while his agile instructor added brisk exclamations ("Battez!," "Rompez!") to the click-clink of the foils.

Panting a little, my father would remove the convex fencing mask from his perspiring pink face to kiss me good morning. The place combined pleasantly the scholarly and the athletic, the leather of books and the leather of boxing gloves. Fat armchairs stood along the book-lined walls. An elaborate punching-bag affair purchased in England - four steel posts supporting the board from which the pear-shaped bag hung - gleamed at the end of the spacious room.

Working out in my library always reminds me of this passage from Nabokov's "My Russian Education." I guess he was right when he said, "the scholarly and the athletic" go together really well.

Photo of the Day: Le Tour

David Millar of Britain collapses after crossing the finish line to win the 140-mile 12th stage in Annonay on July 13, 2012. (Peter Dejong/Associated Press) #

David Millar-iin Racing Through the Dark-iig ene jiliin eheer unshsan. Hedii mundag nom bish bolovch mergejliin duguich boldog zamnaliig ih todoor haruulsan baisan. Mun sonirhvol Millar-iin FT-d ugsun yariltslagiig unshaaray.

Hervee Tour de France-iin talaar sonirhoj ehelj baigaa bol "Chasing Legends"-iig zaaval uzeerey. Tegeed bolj ugvul Phil Liggett-iin commentary-tay buh video-g :)

Ene bas cycling-iig social context-d ni avch uzsen Philip Gourevitch-iin suuld unshsan neleed sonirholtoy niitlel:

Cycling is an excruciating sport—a rider’s power is only as great as his capacity to endure pain—and it is often remarked that the best cyclists experience their physical agonies as a relief from private torments. The bike gives suffering a purpose. Jock, who was one of America’s foremost cycling champions in the nineteen-eighties, told me that he got into racing to get out of the house after his parents divorced. “I relate to pain,” he said. Gasore’s home-town teammate, Sibo, told me much the same thing. When he bought his first bike (like Gasore, with earnings from growing potatoes), Sibo had gone joyriding. With the bike, he felt rich and tried to act accordingly, like a man of leisure and ease: “Every time I’d come to a beautiful place, I’d pedal around, checking it out.” Then he took up racing, and he found the hardship addictive. “The bike is good. I forgot all the pain I had before I joined the team,” Sibo told me. “Cycling is like a fatal drug. When you get into it, you don’t want to do anything else. You don’t look to one side or another.”

Addendum: Mongolia Bike Challenge - it's on my bucket list :)

Perfect Library

from Bookshelf Porn

Addendum: Antilibrary + A House to Look Smart In