I lived in CZ when Havel was President. Best president of any era. He kept trying to quit.... And I remember him doing so once (or trying to), and people openly wept. He was well known for chain smoking and hanging out in working class bars. So many stories. What a soul. A pink tank for your thoughts. And thanx for reading that.
I grew up in a formerly communist country that had to fight a war for freedom. It took a very ugly war to end up in it and a very ugly war to break away from it. If you end up where we were for 60 years, you definitely don't know how bad things can get. What I can't emphasize enough however is this... Going from ''zero" to war happens so quickly, you are literally swept into it. Although you can see them in hindsight, while moving forward, often, there are no obvious moments that everyone looks at and says "oh wait, this is wrong". Some group of lunatics just starts killing, torturing and demoralizing ordinary people. By the time you organize to defend yourself you are already knee deep in gore of the massacres around you, and that is if you're lucky not to be massacred yourself. To outsiders, signs in United States are very concerning. The recipe is there. It's playing out. Most participants in this lunacy are not aware of what they're doing however. They aren't doing any deep thinking. On the surface the ideas they peddle look attractive and they don't have voices of reason around them to break this down for them.
A friend of mine was an American in The Former Yugoslavia when it all went bad. His description - right up until both teams arrived at the riot with crew-served weapons, it was all Bourgeoisie Muffins LARPing in the streets. The moment a trigger was pulled, it was too late to stop it.
I was really impressed when Bret admitted he would not have understood Havel's point "before the current era". I am from Poland and although I am too young to remember communism, to me and my family it all looks VERY familiar to what communists did. Actually, it's a no brainer. My experience with ppl from the West (esp. from the Anglosaxon world), is that they really cannot get the absolutely insane mindset of communists - the double think, the depth of depravity, the ability to use just causes to wreak havoc and destruction, etc... So, I respect Bret for acknowledging that. And one more thing. All communist parties were 'worker's parties' (e.g. in Poland the full name was Polish United Workers' Party) - so whenever you were against them, you were not against the party, you were 'against workers'. It's a trick, but it's VERY effective. Ironically, the ppl who heavily contributed to abolishing communists, who were the bravest and most outspoken against it, were the workers. BLM is doing the same thing - hiding behind black ppl and using their, sometimes very legitimate, grievances to further its marxist/anarchist or whatever agenda. Anyway, thank you for your podcasts. It is very interesting and I am learning a lot. You have the ability to explain complicated things in an easy way, I really love how you do this. Cheers! SOLIDARNOŚĆ!!! :)
yeah, no. Same here, I'm Romanian, aka the only ones that had a bloody revolution in 89. BLM was never going to turn into anything similar to the communist instalment. It's a simple protest for civic rights, surrounded by a general feeling of enthusiasm and desperation pumped into people by the peculiarity of the era. History has had lots of protests and revolutions. The modern form of state is the result of a way more extremist movement aka the French revolution. So, as a person that lives in a country that still recovers after that dark regime, I think that to say that BLM is in any way resembling the coming of the soviets is not only naive, but also insulting to the history of countries like ours. And I love Havel and I wish my country would've had its own Havel, and I think his vision would've been gracefully welcome in days like these, he being such an advocate for human rights.
Vaclav Havel died 10 years ago on 18 december 2011. Would there be a better day than 18 dec 2021 to honor him and his work, by bypassing totalitarianism around us? Live one day like the free, kind and sensible peoples that we are.
Parties that are currently in power in the Czech Republic managed to scold Havel's ideas. They are actually making an argument that Havel stood for the same thing as Democratic party in US stands now and to my surprise, they are pretty successful in doing so.
It would be interesting to see you apply Havel's essay to ideology that passes as science within the medical establishment. So much power is harnessed by this, especially for the promotion of pharmaceuticals.
A year later Vaclac Havel's "The Power of the Powerless" became even more relevant. I'd love to see you doing a podcast on the countermessures proposed (and executed) in this essay.
So it’s interesting, I found this podcast. I just want you guys to know that I have been inspired by Vaclav Havel and as result, I have formed a group in my town. We started this community about three weeks ago. I have personally have had enough with what’s happening in our country and I just want you to know that there are more people who think like you than you’ll ever know. Me and many other people support what you guys are doing Brett and Heather. I wish you both good fortune for the rest of your lives. Thank you for remaining true to your values. Your actions do not go unnoticed .
Havel's 'open letters' collection is awesome. His brilliant language illuminates all sorts of traps along the path of anyone attempting to be moral in politics (eg A. Dubcek), as well as repeatedly drawing attention to principles and emblems of a kind we can aspire to when attempting to do what seems to be impossible. When a new york musician recently suggested seeking out those who did not post pro blm stuff, i thought of havel instantly. Also Darkness at noon, A. koestler, showing how a slow war of attrition can affect peoples thinking, and effect 'voluntary' actions. Thanks heather for reading.
Fifteen years ago, when I still visited my native Caracas, I used to place a Chavista cap visible on my car’s dashboard to ensure the mobs wouldn’t damage it. It worked, sadly.
It is cute how this framing is attributed to John Mcworther, and how "it is not the state yet". Ask Eric about a guy named Curtis Y. He'll explain it to you.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
The full essay:
hac.bard.edu/amor-mundi/the-power-of-the-powerless-vaclav-havel-2011-12-23
I lived in CZ when Havel was President. Best president of any era. He kept trying to quit.... And I remember him doing so once (or trying to), and people openly wept. He was well known for chain smoking and hanging out in working class bars. So many stories. What a soul. A pink tank for your thoughts. And thanx for reading that.
Much love from Czech Republic. We need more people like Havel now more than ever.
Sending love from the Czech Republic.
I wish more people would expose themselves to this content. I'm a simple plumber from the most ignored state in the country so i can't help enough.
Where's that? My first guesses were either Delaware or north Dakota
acdeeiprrt New Mexico
You should read power of the powerless, its all about Doing your part.
Up until the moment the shooting started, people told themselves it couldn't happen here, cooler heads will prevail.
I'm the one who sent Havel's essay to Heather. I nearly fainted when I heard this podcast and the amount of time dedicated to the topix..
I only learned who he was this last year and was surprised to hear this so I can imagine your surprise!
I grew up in a formerly communist country that had to fight a war for freedom. It took a very ugly war to end up in it and a very ugly war to break away from it. If you end up where we were for 60 years, you definitely don't know how bad things can get. What I can't emphasize enough however is this... Going from ''zero" to war happens so quickly, you are literally swept into it. Although you can see them in hindsight, while moving forward, often, there are no obvious moments that everyone looks at and says "oh wait, this is wrong". Some group of lunatics just starts killing, torturing and demoralizing ordinary people. By the time you organize to defend yourself you are already knee deep in gore of the massacres around you, and that is if you're lucky not to be massacred yourself.
To outsiders, signs in United States are very concerning. The recipe is there. It's playing out. Most participants in this lunacy are not aware of what they're doing however. They aren't doing any deep thinking. On the surface the ideas they peddle look attractive and they don't have voices of reason around them to break this down for them.
I've been reading Czeslaw Milosz's "The Captive Mind." Much of it echoes your sentiments.
We see it
A friend of mine was an American in The Former Yugoslavia when it all went bad. His description - right up until both teams arrived at the riot with crew-served weapons, it was all Bourgeoisie Muffins LARPing in the streets. The moment a trigger was pulled, it was too late to stop it.
So scary.
I was really impressed when Bret admitted he would not have understood Havel's point "before the current era". I am from Poland and although I am too young to remember communism, to me and my family it all looks VERY familiar to what communists did. Actually, it's a no brainer. My experience with ppl from the West (esp. from the Anglosaxon world), is that they really cannot get the absolutely insane mindset of communists - the double think, the depth of depravity, the ability to use just causes to wreak havoc and destruction, etc... So, I respect Bret for acknowledging that.
And one more thing. All communist parties were 'worker's parties' (e.g. in Poland the full name was Polish United Workers' Party) - so whenever you were against them, you were not against the party, you were 'against workers'. It's a trick, but it's VERY effective. Ironically, the ppl who heavily contributed to abolishing communists, who were the bravest and most outspoken against it, were the workers.
BLM is doing the same thing - hiding behind black ppl and using their, sometimes very legitimate, grievances to further its marxist/anarchist or whatever agenda.
Anyway, thank you for your podcasts. It is very interesting and I am learning a lot. You have the ability to explain complicated things in an easy way, I really love how you do this. Cheers!
SOLIDARNOŚĆ!!! :)
yeah, no. Same here, I'm Romanian, aka the only ones that had a bloody revolution in 89. BLM was never going to turn into anything similar to the communist instalment. It's a simple protest for civic rights, surrounded by a general feeling of enthusiasm and desperation pumped into people by the peculiarity of the era. History has had lots of protests and revolutions. The modern form of state is the result of a way more extremist movement aka the French revolution. So, as a person that lives in a country that still recovers after that dark regime, I think that to say that BLM is in any way resembling the coming of the soviets is not only naive, but also insulting to the history of countries like ours. And I love Havel and I wish my country would've had its own Havel, and I think his vision would've been gracefully welcome in days like these, he being such an advocate for human rights.
@@rares-andreidinu2279 It doesn’t have to be a one to one comparison.
Vaclav Havel died 10 years ago on 18 december 2011. Would there be a better day than 18 dec 2021 to honor him and his work, by bypassing totalitarianism around us? Live one day like the free, kind and sensible peoples that we are.
Parties that are currently in power in the Czech Republic managed to scold Havel's ideas. They are actually making an argument that Havel stood for the same thing as Democratic party in US stands now and to my surprise, they are pretty successful in doing so.
It would be interesting to see you apply Havel's essay to ideology that passes as science within the medical establishment. So much power is harnessed by this, especially for the promotion of pharmaceuticals.
A year later Vaclac Havel's "The Power of the Powerless" became even more relevant. I'd love to see you doing a podcast on the countermessures proposed (and executed) in this essay.
So it’s interesting, I found this podcast.
I just want you guys to know that I have been inspired by Vaclav Havel and as result, I have formed a group in my town. We started this community about three weeks ago. I have personally have had enough with what’s happening in our country and I just want you to know that there are more people who think like you than you’ll ever know. Me and many other people support what you guys are doing Brett and Heather. I wish you both good fortune for the rest of your lives. Thank you for remaining true to your values. Your actions do not go unnoticed .
Havel's 'open letters' collection is awesome. His brilliant language illuminates all sorts of traps along the path of anyone attempting to be moral in politics (eg A. Dubcek), as well as repeatedly drawing attention to principles and emblems of a kind we can aspire to when attempting to do what seems to be impossible. When a new york musician recently suggested seeking out those who did not post pro blm stuff, i thought of havel instantly. Also Darkness at noon, A. koestler, showing how a slow war of attrition can affect peoples thinking, and effect 'voluntary' actions. Thanks heather for reading.
THANK YOU FOR THAT!!!
Fifteen years ago, when I still visited my native Caracas, I used to place a Chavista cap visible on my car’s dashboard to ensure the mobs wouldn’t damage it. It worked, sadly.
The Velvet Revolution.....I'll never forget the man.
Heroism is interrupting the status quo.
Thanks
It is cute how this framing is attributed to John Mcworther, and how "it is not the state yet". Ask Eric about a guy named Curtis Y. He'll explain it to you.
Btw, if you want to nail the pronounciation try it more like "Wah-tzlaff Ha-well"
I am fairly conservative but also drawn to you podcasts. Keep up the good work! Ps the ending was ominous and somewhat disquieting
the lady's voice sounds very tired...a bit like mine if i do not exercise regularly
Your example of the power structure of the state is a college. Lololol deeply unserious
Old school baby ;) but tnx
I love learning from liberals. There are so few left. It's all leftists now.
Absolutely unbearable narrator
So this is a right wing podcast? Lol.
Hello to my students! (Others: I've set this as one of the weekly 'readings' for my unit on politics and popular culture at USYD).