Make a Donation

Website Sponsored by:
ISIL

Designed by:
Fornits

Winning contest entry in Belgrade:

Dear professor Schoolland,

I am in same time very happy, and proud to be a winner of AJG essay contest. Please finde here enclosed my contribution- both, in English:JONATHAN GULLIBLE-OUR HERO;and in Serbian-Jonathan Gullible-nas heroj.

Please finde here datas aboute myself:

1. Occupation-student of sociology, University of Belgrade
2. Experience-design, publishing, sales
3. Languages-school knowledge of English and French Let me say that reading the book I became for free market. After two books published in our country -The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible and Dr. Mary Ruwart's Healing Our World - free market ideas are more and more present and here.
   Yours in Liberty
   
   Valerija Dasic

   
   

   Jonathan Gullible: Our Hero

   by Valerija Dasie

   The first time I heard about the book was on Belgrade television Studio B, when a young woman reporter talked about the adventures of the young Jonathan, whose boat was flung over the reef of an uknown distant island. She also showed the audience a copy of the book in Serbian. Unfortunately, I did not have time to watch the whole programme, although I was very intrigued. Then I read a rather long text about the book in the Politika newspaper.

   Walking along Belgrade downtown streets, and glancing at the books displayed by a street bookseller, I immediately recognized the character and figure of Jonathan Gullible. I bought the book at once and hurried home to read it as soon as possible.

   As a schoolgirl, and now as a student, I have acquired quite a bit of knowledge about the free market, the values of free market and market competition, about private property, about individual freedoms and human rights. Still, they were mainly theoretical considerations, expressed in dry language of teachers who were more of bureaucrats than educators.

   When I started reading the book, I realized for the first time what the teachers had meant. They had spoken in an unfamiliar, scholarly fashion, without attractiing my attention, without inspiring my interest in the subject; on the other hand, Jonathan imparted to me the ideas, motives, values and decisions which constitute the basis of our society, in a very articulate way, through his adventures. Each one of his adventures was a challenge to me, encouraging me to find out both the apparent and the hidden message, to grasp the full meaning of what the personalities want to say, what Jonathan is doing and for what reasons, as well as to grasp the enriching message of the author.

   I showed the book to my friends, some of whom were disinterested, while some were impressed by the book in the same way as myself. We decided to discuss the questions at the end of the book, chapter by chapter. It was very exciting.

   I realized then, for the first time, that I was a citizen of the world, living in a world without borders. It is true, my country has been under sanctions for years, exposed to the punishment of the international community, but it is a transient matter, and I am convinced that our country will soon find itself among the countries of the international community, with a suitable position. Jonathan, who knows of no administrative borders, only the realms of freedom which are to be discovered, explored and studied, also teaches us in this way. I have realized that freedom has no limits, nor can sanctions reduce it, that every one of us makes their own freedom or enslavement; the books demonstrates that our destiny is in our own hands and that we should make our own well-being and our personal rights and liberties.

   This book has extended my views on education. My notions of education previously consisted of threadbare textbooks, stern and cold teachers, of sweating; I have now discovered a new dimension of learning, a new sensation of renewed energy; I now conceive of education as creativity and joy, an incentive to study and learn as much as possible, instead of sweating which causes boredom and fear.

   I have realized that this book is the best textbook I have ever come across. Having read it at a stretch - in a few hours. I have learnt more about free market, private property, free flow of ideas, people and goods, than during the whole of my studies, both at high-school and now at the university.

   In this way, I have found a novel, extraordinary world of new opportunities; I have realized that my own capacities can be extended and expanded, that there are new, unforeseen potentials, waiting to be discovered; I have become aware of an undreamt-of creativity, that I can create, to influence the world around me, to change it for the better, and to improve my own personal life and the life of my fellow people, my community.

   It is young people who are the most important for changing things for the better; the curiosity of Jonathan the youth, his inquiring spirit, the encounter of his young age and his energy with the challenges of life, have all brought about knowledge which is, for me, incredibly enriching.

   The woman instigating riots, persecuted because she wanted to increase the productivity of woodcutting, is very illustrative. The supervisor who arrests her asserts that she is the guilty person. Let us take a look at the world we live in, we, the young ones, can see this everywhere. We can see supervisors restraining the creative and the inventive. Certainly, there are more of those in societies with less freedom, but they can be seen everywhere. Similar messages, in their own way, for different fields of economics, buisiness and human society in general, are a treasury of enriching messages and insights.

   Each story is self-contained, with a lot of new ideas. While reading this book, I have conceived of several new chapters, which might, one day, interest the author.

   I have grasped the meaning of the messages, but it should be grasped by a majority, which should be the real way for creating public opinion and for promoting free market ideas.

   I have asked myself what kind of book it is. Is it like Robinson Crusoe? I have discerned the influence of various other authors. I asked myself if it is fiction, a travel essay, a children's book, a comic, or it might be a philosophical work, a political analysis. I have realized that it is something else. It is actually a fantastic textbook, where ideas and the essence of free/libertarian business are explained to the young ones and to children in a very original, effective way.

   Upon reading the book, new horizons and new possibilities have opened up before me. I have found out that my capabilities are far greater than I had thought. I have realized that, despite the restraining life circumstances, I am the master of my own life and that I create my present and my future, that I can create my possessions with my own work, with the objects of work everywhere around me. I have found out that my inspiration, creativity, carefully thought-out use of resources, are the source of potential wealth which I have only started to discover. I have found out that resources are everywhere around me, but I have not recognized their possible applicable values until now. Then I can turn them into products: projects, actions, achievements, etc.

   Jonathan has become my hero, my teacher; I am a different woman now that I have read the book. I shall try to pass these insights and revelations on to other people.

   In Serbian:

   Dzonatan Ggalibl-nas heroj

   Vrlo sam sretan , i zaista ponosan, sto ucestvujem u konkursu za essay o

   Dzonatanu Galiblu.

   Za ovu knjigu sam cuo prvi pre par godina preko beogradske televizijeStudija B, govorila je jedna mlada novinarka, o avanturama mladog Dzonatana ciju je barku bura izbacila na grebene dalekog i nepoznatog ostrva. Tom prilikom je pokazala i primerak knjige na srpskom

   jeziku. Na nesrecu nisam imao vremena da pogledam emisiju do kraja, iako

   me je jako interesovala. Zatim sam o knjizi u listu Politika procitao jedan poduzi tekst.

   Jednom sam prozaleci ulicom u centru Beograda video na trotoaru izlozene

   knjige ulicnog prodavca knjiga i odmah sam prepoznao lik i figuru Dzonatana Galibla. Knjigu sam odmah kupio i odjurio kuci da je sto pre procitam.

   Kao djak, i sada kao student ., podosta sam ucio o slobodnom trzistu, o

   vrednostima slobodnog trzista i trzisne utakmice,o privatnom vlasnistvu,

   o individualnim slobodama i ljudskim pravima, .Ali to su bila teorijska razmatranja iskazana suvoparnim recnikom profesora.,vise birokrate nego li vaspitaca.

   Kada sam poceo da citam ovu knjigu shvatio sam po prvi put sta su profesori hteli da kazu. Oni su govorili meni stranim suvise ucenim jezikom, nisu privlacili moju paznju, budili moj interes za tu tematiku,

   dok mi je Dzonatan kroz svaki svoj dozivljaj i avanturu saopstavao na meni vrlo razumljiv nacin koje su to ideje, motivi , vrednosti i odluke koje cine osnove naseg drustva. Svaka njegova avantura je bila za mene izazov, podsticala me je na razmisljanja da pronadjem vidljivu i

   skrivenu poruku, da shvatim sta kazu junaci, sta cini i zasto Dzonatan, i koja je obogacujuca poruka autora profesora ekonomije i politickih nauka na Hawaii Pacific University Kena Skulanda.

   Knjigu sam pokazao mojim drugovima, neki su bili nezainteresovani, ali su drugi knjigu dozivljavali na meni slican nacin. Dogovorili smo se da diskutujemo pitanja po poglavljima koja su bila na kraju knjige. To je bilo vrlo uzbudljivo.

   Shvatio sam tada, po prvi put mi se javila ta misao, da sam gradjanin sveta, da zivim u jednom svetu bez granica. Da, moja zemlja je vec godinama pod sankcijama i izlozena kaznjavanjima medjunarodne zajednice.

   Ali to je stvar koja je prolazna, ubedjen sam da ce vrlo brzo nasa zemlja biti ponovo u okrilju zemalja medjunarodne zajednice i naci svoje

   mesto koje joj pripada. To nas uci i Dzonatan koji ne poznaje administrativne granice, nego samo prostore slobode koje treba istraziti

   i upoznati, otkriti, .Shvatio sam da sloboda nema granice niti se moze suziti sankcijama, da mi ,svako od nas sebi stvara slobodu li neslobodu, knjiga nas uci da uzmemo sudbinu u svoje ruke i da sebi proizvedemo blagostanje i licna prava i slobode.

   Ova knjiga mi je prosirila moja shvatanja o obrazovanju. Moja predstava o obrazovanju su bili izandjali udzbenici,, i strogi i hladni profesori,

   bubanje, sada sam otkrio novu dimenziju obrazovanja, onog za mene novog osecaja, nove energije,obrazovanja koje je za mene postalo kreativnost, radost, i motiv da sto vise ucim, umesto, da bubam.sto je izazivalo dosadu i strah.

   Shvatio sam da je ova knjiga najbolji udzbenik koji sam ikada pre toga imao u rukama .Procitavsi ovu knjigu iz jednog daha za nekoliko casova ,ja sam vise naucio o slobodnom trzistu, privatnoj svojini, slobodnom protoku ideja, ljudi i roba, nego li za celo vreme mojih stuija.u srednjoj skoli i sada na fakultetu.

   Tako sam otkrio za mene novi i nepoznati svet novih mogucnosti, shvatio sam da se moje licne sposobnosti mogu prosiriti, produziti, da tu pored mene leze nove neslucene i za mene neotkriveni potencijalii, saznao sam da posedujem neslucenu kreativnost, da mogu da stvaram, da uticem na svet oko sebe, da ga menjam da bude bolji, i da unapredim svoj licni zivot i svojih bliznjih, svoje zajednice.

   Mladi, da mladi su ti koji su najvazniji da se stvari menjaju na bolje.,radoznalost Dzonatana mladica, njegov eksplorativni duh, susret njegove mladosti i energije sa zivotnim izazovima, to je davalo za plod neverovatno obogacujuca saznanja za mene.

   Zena izazivac nereda koja je proganjana samo zato sto je htela da poveca

   produktivnost u seci drveca, je vrlo ilustrativan primer. Nadzornik koji

   je hapsi tvrdi da je ona krivac. Pogledajmo oko sebe svet u kome zivimo, mi mladi to vidimo na svakom koraku. Vidimo "nadzornike"koji sputavaju kreativne i inventivne. Sigurno da takvih ima vise u manje slobodnim drustvima, ali toga ima svugde. Slicne poruke, svaka na svoj nacin, i za razlicite oblasti ekonomije, privredjivanja i ljudskog drustva su prava riznica obogacujucih poruka i saznanja.

   Svaka prica je svet za sebe, ima mnogo novih poruka. Ali citajuci .ovu knjigu na pamet su mi pala mnoga nova poglavlja, o tom potom, mozda ce to interesovati jednog dana autora.

   Ja sam shvatio poruke, ali to treba da shvate mnogi, vecina, to bi bio pravi put da se stvara javno mnenje i promovisu slobodarske ideje.

   Razmisljao sam o kakvoj se knjizi radi? Da li je to slicno Robinzon Krusou? Prepoznavao sam i uticaje razlicitih autora. Pitao sam se koje prirode je knjiga, da li je to beletristika, putopisni esej, decija knjiga, strip, ili je to filozofija, politikoloska analiza. Shvatio sam da je to nesto drugo. Da je to ustvari fantastican udzbenik da se ideje

   i sustina slobodnog preduzetnistva na jedan vrlo originalan, i uspesan nacin, objasne mladima i deci.

   Posle ove procitane knjige meni su se otvorili novi horizonti i mogucnosti. Otkrio sam da su moje mogucnosti daleko vece nego sto sam ja

   to mislio. Shvatio sam da sam ja uprkos ogranicavajucih okolnosti gospodar moga zivota, i da svojim promisljenim radom, mogu stvarati moju

   sadasnjost i buducnost, da mogu stvarati moju imovinu radom, a nalazeci predmete rada svugde oko sebe. Shvatio sam da se iz moje inspiracije, kreativnosti, smisljene upotrebe resursa nalazi moje potencijalno bogatstvo koje sam poceo da otkrivam .Dosao sam do saznanja da resursa ima svugde oko mene, ali da ih dosada nisam prepoznavao i njihovu upotrebnu vrednost.. A zatim da pretvaram u proizvode: projekte, akcije,

   dostignuca, i drugo.

   Dzonatan je postao moj heroj, moj ucitelj, ja sam sada kada sam procitao

   knjigu drugi.covek. Trudicu se da ova nova saznanja i otkrovenja prenesem i na druge.

   [an error occurred while processing this directive] visitors