Jakraj - the voice of your self-destruction

Jakraj (ya-cry) is a Polish word that I have created to describe a very specific concept that is international in scope. "Ja Kraj" means "I country" or "I nation" or even "me nation" in that lose way that words and phrases actually describe reality as opposed to the sense of false definition that dictionaries mostly give.

This morning I slowed and stopped on a back road in the centre of the city to allow someone to back their car onto the road from a parking slot, not an easy task on this particular road as it is narrow and people often drive too fast. As I was only stopping and not turning or even parking, I did not use my indicators. The car coming up fast from behind did not even bother to check why i had stopped: it was enough that I was in his or her way. I hit my horn as they went by to warn the guy pulling out. luckily no contact occurred, but it is a good example of jakraj.

So, what is jakraj?

Jakraj is the me-centric vision of the world, where only your existence has any relevance, the world having its meaning totally defined by your presence. Other people are mere objects, placed in the environment to either assist or hinder you, much as characters do in a computer game. There are no real relations between other people or things, other than some objects withhold certain other objects to hinder your access to them. Jakraj means that you seek no responsibilities, only power.

The jakraj vision of life is incredibly common in Poland, even walking down the street can be a surprising experience because those people with an inflated sense of jakraj naturally expect you to move out of their way, and that means anyone with a job, for example, that has the slightest control over another's existence. The more power, the more jakraj, and the average citizen is adept at recognising the amount of jakraj in another at a glance on the street. What, then, when they meet someone from a culture or background that values jakraj less? Well, initially you steer around people, any people walking towards you, but are surprised when some of these people do not have the courtesy to do the same. Once you figure out what's going on you can play the game your way - dress in your most informal clothes and deliberately not steer out of the way of anyone coming towards you who make no visible effort to steer around you. The result is a bump, but remember to turn your head quick to observe that look of surprise when they think they have blundered and mistaken your level of jakraj.

Well, walking on the sidewalk, what does it really matter? In reality I generally ignore these people as I have better things to do, but on the road it is a different matter, because ownership of a bicycle gives you more jakraj than a pedestrian, and a car has far, far more than either. I have severely reprimanded my wife on a couple of occasions when she has been driving - as a university lecturer she has an unconsciously high amount of jakraj - after she has come very close to pedestrians while travelling at some speed.

In the workplace many managers have severe problems with jakraj, and a common theme is that one's subordinates should be treated like automatons, or, as the Victorian dogma went, they should be seen and not heard. How can one receive any critical assessment of your work if you are motivated by jakraj? Any criticism, whether positive or negative is an attack on the self-esteem, a deliberate attack and nothing to do with the content of the critique. If you are going to be critical in a negative way, it must be done in hiding, so that the person you are criticising does not know it was you who put the knife in their back.

I used to assume that in any country with such a high Christian profile as Poland, concepts as love, mercy, and responsibility would be strong. How wrong I was, the popularity or lack of religion has no positive relationship with morals, family values and all the rest, but it can severely damage it, and this is part of the burden of history that still oppress Poles. The Roman Catholic church is a major offender here, it ensures that community feeling is crushed, although I am sure this is not always deliberate, but when you see, week after week, that your religion does not care to engender brotherly feeling, does this not mean that to achieve salvation it is best not to respect your fellow man or woman? I am not going to say that I know the precise mechanism or mechanisms, but what I do see are some large elements that seem to have cause and effect links. The many people who are good, are good despite of their religion, not because of it, and that is the saddest thing I can say.

Jakraj is alive and well wherever you go in the world, and seems almost a prerequisite if you wish to be a successful politician. Fortunately, when you recognise your own, personal jakraj, you can begin to fight it. You can question the negative ways of society and how you can feel impelled to follow them even if you can see the result is less than good. And if you believe in religion, remember that at the end of the day it is not what society thinks of you that is important, it is what your god thinks of you, and if you are a jakraj-ridden priest then your chances of success in the afterlife are far less than the most despised criminal - for you pretend to represent your god, and gods have little patience with those who mislead their people.