An epidemic of suicide? It is interesting that, if over 1,000 people were dying every year from sausages with nitrites or swine flu, people might care more. But that is not the case. My experience here is that one of the reasons is, temperamentally, Lithuanians are among, if not the most, pessimistic people in the world. Talk to a Lithuanian long enough and you will find that nothing is good enough for them.
One of their 'jokes,' or 'ironic sayings' is that a 'Lithuanian is not happy unless his neighbor's house is on fire.' Although their standard of living is actually higher than most of the rest of the world, they don't seem to want to recognize this; they just want 'more.' As Joni Mitchell once sang in a sad song about a woman who felt trapped in her existence, 'nothing's any good....' Lithuanians live in a schizophrenic culture that on one hand, wants to retain its culture, and wants other cultures to recognize it, yet paradoxically, want to be anywhere but where they are.
Mondo
Klaipeda
