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NoMoreSilence

What Would You Do?

A global student writing challenge about power, resistance, and justice, seen through a modern retelling of the David and Goliath encounter.

 

NoMoreSilence: The Return of the Lost Goliath

(Essay by Željko Markota)

 

This is a story that, to begin with, seeks to compel a powerful EU state and its corporation to publicly explain some of their ethical decisions—to over 100 million users of their services.

 

Silence About Injustice – Fool’s Gold!

For years, I too was a lover of silence. It seemed that the systematic study of regulations and adherence to them would surely lead to a solution. Believing in an imminent resolution, I neglected my large, charming, and potent entrepreneurial projects, as well as, to some extent, my family and friends. However, as it is now evident, that was naive. The experience I gathered has shown that the system for achieving justice is deeply contradictory. Namely, in cases involving powerful and large entities such as corporations and states, there are simply exceptions whose resolution cannot be found within existing regulations—for reasons that often go beyond the conventional understanding of legal systems in sovereign countries. It seems that even the European Court of Human Rights in  Strasbourg (ECtHR) is not as “for human rights” as EU citizens expect it to be, what I found out studying the courts practice and reading its founding and statutory papers. All of it leads us to a question: “If so, then, what to do?”.

While trying to grasp the bigger picture, once I even contributed to the publication of a scientific paper in the United States on the phenomenon of state capture in transitional countries—a phenomenon that also affects my case. After that, it became clear to me that an idealistic view of the system, in some cases, is not effective. With the help of a large number of collaborators in Croatia, Europe, and the U.S. (lawyers, philosophers, theologians, communication experts, and IT specialists), I concluded that my problem meets all the conditions for being discussed openly and publicly and that such “discussion” can lead to a final solution.

Unlike typical disputes, this case carries special weight precisely because it reveals how a powerful European country not only unlawfully appropriated someone else's money in another state, but also attempted to legitimize its presence in the national budget through what appears to be organized institutional silence. This profoundly undermines the principles of international trust, the rule of law, and public morality. This issue can no longer be viewed as an isolated incident—it has become a global symbol of moral responsibility. Therefore, breaking the silence is necessary, and moral arbitration and a public tribunal are inevitable. Because, if they come after your money, what will they come for next if we keep silent!

Of course, the idea of engaging in a dispute — even one about the philosophical understanding of morality and private property — with a powerful state initially seemed futile, then somewhat absurd, and even mocking. After all, would such a large country, with all its cultural heritage, really be waiting for me to explain what is moral and just?

 

Authority as a Frequent Source of Ignorance

Then I recalled my experience developing the Učilica brand, a popular edutainment product for TV, PC, and mobile platforms used by primary school children in Croatia—a product I had created. For that project, about twenty years ago, I commissioned a small booklet titled The Open Declaration on Ignorance, which I distributed to students, teachers, and influential individuals. One of its key principles was: uncritical acceptance of authority is one of the most common sources of ignorance.

And then it struck me: maybe the problem lies solely in my uncritical acceptance of the authority of a powerful EU state and its corporation. Maybe it’s not absurd at all to ask them where the morality is in their actions. Maybe what’s truly absurd is the fact that morality in their actions is so unclear that people are forced to ask: Is there any at all?

In that moment, something became clearer: Falsehood loves darkness, and truth loves light. Darkness does not like light.

In my case, silence is darkness, and light is the public. Light does not attack darkness at all—it simply replaces it when the time for darkness has passed.
And I believe that time has come!

 

Silence, Injustice, and the Lost Goliath

I see myself as a storyteller calling upon Davids from all over the world to add new truths and new strategies to my story—strategies for a Goliath who awaits liberation from the chains of falsehood. Long ago, someone convinced this Goliath—perhaps when he was still weak—that he would never become big, strong, or successful without the help of immorality. But I see my Goliath not as my enemy, nor anyone else’s, but as a “lost son,” unaware that his strength—freed from immorality—could be even greater. For that reason, Goliath remains imprisoned by his past misdeeds and cannot find the path back.

At the heart of this story lies an injustice that is painfully simple: a large, wealthy, and influential EU country, through its multinational corporation, unlawfully appropriated a significant sum of money from my company in Croatia. The money quietly crossed the border, ended up in that country's state treasury, and has since been silently funding public services enjoyed by millions of its citizens—with the silence and support of its institutions.

As in every suspenseful story, there is hope that Goliath might break free from his chains on his own, because he has long felt the desire for the freedom that truth brings—but perhaps they keep telling him it’s already too late for him. Still, the truths that emerge from the David-like essays will help Goliath see that the world is full of opportunities and joy—if only he would cast off the shackles of silence and wrongdoing. Because what matters more than the mistakes we make is how we choose to correct them.

Twenty years of studying the rules of society—at first casually, thinking it would be brief, and in later years almost obsessively—have led me to a conclusion: my money, and the NoMoreSilence project, are not the destination—they are the path. Over those two decades, I gathered countless court rulings, regulatory decisions, expert opinions, academic papers, support from unexpected allies, and resistance from those whose duty was to support my arguments. People from all walks of life stood on both sides.

This is not just a story. I believe it is an idea whose time has come—and when that happens, nothing is more powerful.

 

When Philosophers Sleep, Who Stands Guard Over Truth and Justice?

Plato once said: “Philosophers are the guardians of truth and justice in the state.”
I asked: “But what happens when the guardians fall asleep?”

At one point, it struck me: in the mentioned country, there must exist—no matter how small—a group of free intellectuals with whom I could begin a conversation, especially if I had already failed to reach those officials whose explicit role is to address the irregularities I brought to their attention. Naturally, I thought of people from the cultural and academic sectors—artists and philosophers.

I studied the cultural heritage of the said EU country, read the works of its renowned philosophers from both the past and the present, along with the writings of their celebrated authors and musicians. I felt there was someone out there I could speak to.

So, I wrote to them. I laid out the moral absurdity: that their modern EU state keeps and uses money in its national budget that was unlawfully acquired—in plain terms, stolen—from another country. It seemed perfectly logical to assume that those most familiar with public morality and ethics would find a way to express outrage over the fact that they, too, are being paid from that same budget—from money wrongfully taken.

I waited a long time for their response. It never came.
And why don’t philosophers defend truth and justice?
Perhaps they’re asleep.

I understood then that this silence marked the end of my efforts to resolve the issue within the boundaries of the EU. But I had already prepared a legal, moral, and public strategy for pursuing my case in the United States.

Now, literary works—filled with David-like truths—will awaken the guardians!

 

Fraternal Admonition

For a long time, I searched for the right strategy to address that country and its company. For I had already learned—from my own experience, from the experiences of others, and through academic research—that taking the mentioned state and its company to court would be doomed to fail.

I knew that there are cases which go beyond the scope and capacity of the legal systems of sovereign states, as I had already mentioned. Around that time, I also became acquainted with the other side of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. So, I began looking for a path—a protocol—that could offer a clear and credible promise of resolution.

I found it in the biblical passage on fraternal admonition, Matthew 18:15–18, which frames confrontation not as aggression but as a moral duty. In this light, the state and the corporation were no longer abstract entities, but collective bodies composed of people—people with whom I share time, space, and, since this is a Western country, even cultural heritage.

That’s why I began to see them as brothers who had gone astray.

I wrote to their presidents, ministers, various state offices, academies, and leading intellectuals. I presented them with the central truth: that my money is in their national budget, which also funds their salaries. I invited them to either dispute my claims or help return what their state had unjustly taken from me.

No one responded—except for a few vague, seductive, and visibly defensive replies that bordered on hostility.

I addressed them following the principles of fraternal admonition: first privately, then with witnesses. And now, I am writing to the broader community—the public!

 

Supremacy Wearing the Mask of Morality

People in today’s Western world want to believe that modern states sincerely and publicly champion the rule of law, public morality, international norms, and friendship among nations.

However, my clear and straightforward evidence shows that at least one major EU country acts as an exception—systematically reviving a form of supremacy, something resembling neocolonialism, in order to appropriate foreign funds for its national budget.

While speaking publicly about morality and friendship, they quietly take what belongs to others.
While writing about law, they wield silence as a tool of power.
While praising humanism, they spend money they never had the right to possess.

By all indications, some within that country believe that strong and profitable immorality is essential to their success.

This country lives in prosperity and has indeed succeeded—but some within it believe it is now too late, or simply unnecessary, to correct the past wrongs and immoral acts committed on the way to their success.

They are wrong!

 

Hope is a Force!

There are two kinds of people who need hope: those who suffer injustice, and those who have committed it. We intuitively and easily understand why the oppressed need hope—it helps them endure, stay resilient, and keep fighting. But perhaps hope is needed even more by the oppressors—those who, knowingly or unknowingly, participated in injustice and now don’t know how to find their way out. The first are wounded on the outside but free within; the second are powerful on the outside but inwardly imprisoned, and deep down, they long for the freedom that truth brings.

In this case, the injustice was not committed by the state as an abstract entity, but by specific individuals within its institutions and a corporation. Perhaps in the beginning, they didn’t fully understand the weight of their doings. Maybe they thought it was a minor system anomaly, a bureaucratic mistake that time would quietly erase.

But as the years passed, it became increasingly clear that the mistake was serious, and their responsibility unavoidable. By then, it was too late for a simple admission—silence was the only option left, because every other move seemed too risky.

This silence is not a sign of strength. On the contrary, it is a symptom of fear. Fear of consequences. Fear of facing the truth. Fear that their moral failure might become known to the world, to their citizens, to voters, and to the customers of their products and services.

And the longer they remain silent, the greater the damage—and the harder it becomes to speak.
The more they avoid confronting the truth, the more they need help and hope that there is still a dignified way out of this situation.

 

NoMoreSilence does not offer hope only to me—it offers hope to “them” as well. Namely:

• Acknowledgment does not have to be the end—it can be a new beginning.
• Even after years of silence and accumulated damage, there is still a path toward rightful action.
• Injustice is not irreversible as long as there is a will to correct it.

I firmly believe—and all indicators support this—that both the mentioned state and its corporation possess all the components necessary for true global success, even without the aid of immorality.

NoMoreSilence brings them hope too—a joyful message that they can become even more successful if they renounce silence and wrongdoing.

This contest, What Would You Do?, is the beginning of a public conversation and the delivery of essential truths that I believe can help free Goliath from the chains of old corruption.

This contest is a call to students around the world to present the “other side” with intellectual parables that say: the grass is greener on this, the moral side of the river.

The choice of students as participants is no coincidence.
Their minds are not yet worn out by justifying injustice. They are still young enough to ask questions—and brave enough not to accept excuses.
They are the leaders of tomorrow—the ones who will shape policies, write laws, build societies, and bring hope.

 

Hope shows to me the future moment of Goliath’s joy

…when truth finally frees him from the “chains of the past” and from the fear of letting go of immorality—allowing him to begin honoring other people and their private property.

I base this hope also on the example of VW Corporation, a corporation that became better and more beloved after, with the help of the public, it renounced its dishonesty toward customers, regulators, and the environment.

Throughout all these years, hope has often come to me through unexpected and unplanned encounters with others—often strangers or little-known individuals.

Hope is like gravity—a force we cannot see, but without which life cannot exist.

 

When Does Silence End?

Silence ends like darkness does: at dawn!
It ends in the same place where falsehood ends: in the encounter with truth!

The undeniable truth is that my money is in the budget of the mentioned EU country—against my will. It is also true that the taking of my money was a mistake they made at the very beginning of their path to global success, wrongly believing they couldn’t succeed without such an act.

I am a shepherd whose search for stolen sheep led him to places he never expected his path would go.
I am a storyteller inviting students from around the world to use their imagination—and artificial intelligence—to uncover new truths and strategies that could free this EU state in much the same way the public once helped free a respected car manufacturer from the illusion that immorality was essential to their success.

Let the silence end with a celebration of Goliath’s return—long lost, but guided back by the light of student essays!

(Anonymity regarding the EU country and its corporation described here is important at this stage of the NoMoreSilence project.)

P.S.

So, dear Davids, sling it! 🧄🌶️

• Originality is not prohibited. It's welcomed.

• The shallow can become the new profound if you dive in and look horizontally.

• Quoting and inventing appropriate quotes from historical figures is not prohibited.

• Humor and metaphors, sarcasm and irony, they all really exist.

• Ideas mostly become great when noticed by many. So, don't hold back.

• If you win here $ 5,000, $ 10,000, or more, that will be the least important thing for everyone, including you.

• Construct something grounded, daring, significant, influential, and unique. You are unique too!