English speaking club, with Løgstrup all the way from Denmark

I prefer to speak with children; for though they dare, they hope that they may become sensible beings; but those who have become! Lord Jemini!

Søren Kierkegaard in Either or 1843

Tuesday the 5th september Anne, Simon and i were at a café downtown Lviv, for an evening event called English Speaking Club. The event host over 1.500 people on a Facebook group, but at this evening in the café, 20 persons including us, the three danish volunteers were at the place.

The topic of the evening were civilisation, and were formed on a philosophically questions which the spectators could think about subsequent start to reflect on their point of view on this case. Behind the event is the university teacher Olga, who took the initiative to form a living and cosy evening, were the one purpose was to speak english, drink a cup of coffee and have a good time with other people. As Olga was the founder of this speaking club, so she was the one to decide evening subject and to prepare what kind of questions and when to put them in the conversations. Overall Olga was a women who we in Denmark would like to call a person who really has the gift and the force of being a teacher. The force of talking all the time, and to control a conversation, which she kindly did when the persons around the table were finishing where speech. Olga controlled very well who one person's reflection could be a start to a new reflection and conversations between other persons. that was very nice to see and learn from.

It was clear for us that the event had been runned for some time. The speak rush was huge, and everyone around the table had a lot to bring into the conversation, and especially try one and others out and see if there statement really would hold water. The talk about civilisation was forming in a lot of directions. Questions would go from different perspective like: What would it say to be civilised? Are you civilised? Would it be possible for a person to drop out of the civilisation? How would you drop out of the civilisation? Pros and cons, and then the evenings last question how will the future civilisation look like?

Some of the people around the table were afraid of the future, new clear bombs, Donald Trump, North Korean, refugee crisis, robert technology, artificial intelligence etc. the debate was living and clearly from a lot different perspective like, natural sciences, social science. humanistic science, theological and philosophical science which were very interesting. Two american businessmen who also attended the café was very sure on that at some point for the next 50 years a new clear bomb would blow off some very stratical place in the world. as their definition were that a clever idiot would not have any problem by getting in position of a dirty bomb. The other perspective was that the immigration of people from the northern and middle part of Africa and the middle east, would with their culture and civilisation destroy the european democracy in terms of the free speech, religious freedom. From my point of view that's not the occasion i see in Denmark. Thought out you must stand by and say that in Europe the peace still hang over us. Of cause you can’t stop an idiot, but i prefer to see that most of the people walking around on this planet basically are good people.

I even threw up the danish theologian and philosopher K.E. Løgstrups ethical that says:

“Each time you have another human being to do, and it may be so infinitely much or infinitely little, you have some of the life of this person in your hands. And it is up to you that this man succeeded!”

The question is do we live in a civilized world? Maybe not, but you can start day by day living on and believing in that the people you meet want you the best, and then it's your own job to return that favour.

• M