Estonia and Lithuania this year both held their song festivals 's massive events that bring the peoples of each country together and remind everyone just what it means to be Baltic.
It is a rousing experience, seeing those tens of thousands of singers join voices and hearts to honor their heritage. Even an ex-pat living in the Baltics, even a visiting tourist, can't help but feel some patriotism and pride upon hearing all those voices speaking as one.
Though the song festivals themselves hark back to a time before the Soviet occupation, memories of the fight for independence run strong among performers and spectators alike. It was, after all, just 20 years ago that these same songs helped the Baltics win their freedom.
Let us hope that the feeling of unity, the ability for an entire nation to speak with one voice, does not end with the close of the festivals.
The people of the Baltics need to keep their voice alive, and need to keep their voice unified.
Now, as much as ever, Balts need to work together 's need to speak with one, unified voice 's to pull their countries from the brink of oblivion. That this time the cliffs on which these countries precariously totter is an economic one makes no difference to the need to work together to save the country.
Rather than political infighting at the first sign of weakness and unpopularity 's an unavoidable circumstance for any politician willing to make difficult decisions in today's environment 's the forces that lead these countries need to work together and find some common ground, to pass policies that work toward the good of the country instead of the good of any individual political career.
Rather than each disparate, divided group of workers and bureaucrats clamoring for a little more funding for their sector, for the crisis to somehow pass them by, the people of the Baltics needs to try to work together to pull up those who are truly in need.
Rather than fleeing to a high paying job in Germany or the U.K., trying to make enough money to keep the repo men away from the numerous BMWs and Mercedes that line the streets of Riga, Balts should be joining together to try to pull the country out of recession.
These are difficult times. Everyone has a story, everyone has lost something they thought they could never lose, and everyone stands to lose even more. The time has come to accept that reality and start working toward a solution.
If leaders continue their political infighting and continue avoiding cuts that might hurt their benefactors, then the people of the Baltics should speak with one voice to force them to begin working for the greater good. It may be too late to take back the insane growth that led to the current predicament, but it is never too late to pour hearts and souls into rebuilding a damaged nation.
It's not too late to take the unity that was in abundance at the song festivals and turn it toward making something positive.
The voices of the Baltics still hold some power. They still hold the power to remake nations, and the power to cast of the yoke of an empire. They hold the power to forge a new economy and a just democracy.
