Woodland Elves and Other Humanoid Species

For days now, the sadness of passing has been lurking within me. It’s okay, it’s part of life, to feel it when a beloved, dear person from the other side rings the bell for us. But we also feel it when an exceptional personality leaves us, someone we also loved, respected, and who “deserves peace after completing their task.” This was Alain Delon for me, the great star of French cinema. His death has led to numerous articles, we have learned about his life, his turbulent youth, which sometimes involved questionable actions, but we also found out that the icon was a great patriot, a true Frenchman, and a free man in the fullest sense of the word. He was a big advocate of normality and spoke in its defense several times in recent years. “Life no longer brings me much. I have experienced everything, seen everything. However, I simply hate this era, it makes me sick. There are these beings whom I hate. People, because everything and everyone present false images of themselves. People imitate each other, there is no respect, and promises no longer need to be kept. I, however, am sure that I will die without regret.” I quoted the actor and hope that he will find peace beyond the gate, where he most likely has already arrived. He was buried on August 24 in central France, on his estate in Douchy. “Delon is a little fascist who made good movies. Let’s take a step back now, take a break, and not get carried away by unworthy praise.” This is also a quote, from a fellow countryman, a certain Patrice Leclerc, the communist mayor of Gennevilliers near Paris. This is indeed “worthy” of taking a little break and trying to imagine the deep darkness that can cause someone to utter such despicable words. Leclerc is not alone, there are many foul-mouthed people who do not hesitate to insult well-known deceased individuals. Cursing is also fashionable here, only if the departed adhered to a conservative set of values, worked and lived accordingly, and declared themselves patriotic. The wounded 21st century has ripened the fruits of decay, among us are the small-minded ones who don’t believe in anything, deny everything, and find nothing worthy of respect or appreciation. But we also have insightful people among us, we just need to pay attention to what they say. Pope St. John Paul II spoke before the European Parliament on October 11, 1988: “It is my duty to underline forcefully that if religion, Christianity is pushed into the background on the continent, no longer effectively stimulating ethics and the social sphere, then not only is the entire European cultural heritage denied, but also the future worthy of a European person. Whether believer or not, this seriously affects the future of every European.” However, the spirit has escaped from the bottle. Today, above all, in our small country, the ego hovers, the command of self-realization, to the detriment of everything. We could live under the benevolent veil of Integrity, Knowledge, and Performance for the common good and the benefit of all Hungarians, but that would require accepting the concept of duty, the will of the majority, and the priority of order. Unfortunately, we are light years away from that, every day brings some nerve-wracking disturbance that makes us feel miserable. Now it is the case of the Gellért Hill cross that stirs public life. Everyone is talking about it, including myself. I wouldn’t have spoken out if I hadn’t read recently that the leadership of the Széchenyi Literary and Art Academy, as well as other artists, public figures, and scholars, have submitted a referendum initiative to the city assembly on this matter. “The cross, the agonizing death of a man bringing moral renewal, a huge symbol of European tradition, but not meant to be flaunted as a political symbol thoughtlessly and tastelessly. It has its place where it has tradition, everywhere in the country, in front of churches or on the tops of church towers, as a monument to believers and saints,” they wrote in their open letter. Like this. So elegantly, understandably, eloquently.

The Gellért Hill was named after the bishop of Csanád, who, according to legend, was pushed off these rocks by Vata’s pagan rebels in 1046. A chapel was built on the hillside even in the Árpád era, and there was a cross on the roof earlier. The prominent hill in Buda then became an important target for foreign conquerors: the Turks, the Habsburgs, the Soviet occupiers all built on top of it to push the Hungarians out of symbolic and real space and preach their dominance to the country and the world. Now the space is ours, without controversy a slender cross placed here could connect the earth to the sky, who would it harm? Radiesthesia is a branch of bioenergy medicine that examines harmful earth radiation affecting living organisms, considered pseudoscience by many. Those who still believe in it often use crosses for shielding. And what does the internet search say about it? “Due to its simplicity, every man of every era recognized it in the shapes of the surrounding world: the cross resembles the four cardinal points, the extended-winged bird, the flag, scales, sword, the swimming human body, ship, flagpole, anchor, harp… The cross is a worldwide symbol, especially in religious and cultural significance.” We can also conclude that in the Christian culture, the cross is a symbol of Jesus’ redemptive suffering and God’s perfect love. According to the grumbling horde, the Gellért Hill would not have that, but would be an ill-considered political symbol flaunted tastelessly. “And we haven’t even talked about the well-known story of the Statue of Liberty, whose shameless removal by a secular state is expected to evoke not the desired effect, but the feeling of violence and ridicule in many people. At that time, it was a justifiable decision to remove the statue of the Soviet soldier from in front of the monument so that the memorial could embrace a broader and more general concept of freedom; the current decision would narrow this concept again, and unacceptably reduce its content,” I quoted the initiators of the referendum again.

Greece’s beautiful, mountainous country is full of tiny chapels. In every valuable promontory, there stands a tiny church, featuring a cross on it and proclaiming the unity of heaven and earth. The locals do not argue, do not organize referendums, they just tirelessly build celestial abodes. Announcing the vastness of the world, the openness to the heights, to everything that uplifts and liberates. What’s wrong with the cross? I don’t think it would imprison anyone. Unless those who carve their own soul cage in exchange for their freedom, throughout their entire lives.

Kiss Gyöngyi