Only 70 years old.
February 1948 ushered in a period of more than forty years that gradually transformed into a state in which those for whom it was natural to be without opinion, without freedom, and without choice felt comfortable. In exchange for obedience they had job security, cheap holidays in ROH convalescent homes and the right to a newlywed loan. After the experience of the World War and the tyranny of German fascism, this was something that, especially at first, was worth considering. Gradually, however, many people came to their senses and it was just really hard to overcome the combination of force, demagoguery, systematic denunciation and propaganda. We have had another almost thirty years in which, unfortunately, those in whom we had pinned our hopes have failed many times. The naive ideas of a new, better society, learned from the experience of living under two criminal dictatorships, have dissolved and we are faced with new challenges. The main one is not to succumb to frustration and not to allow speculation about the dysfunction of basic democratic principles in the name of a "small, temporary, harmless dictatorship" that will only fix some broken mechanisms in a hurry and then move on. The politics of appeasement has not been proven to pay off very well, and it is therefore necessary to make sure that opportunists and political businessmen do not take the lead. It is necessary to continue to build on good foundations, including, for example, the long-term good standard of living of the majority of society, adequate education, improving health and associated longer life expectancy, and relative social maturity. The public's access to information through many easily accessible channels has created a situation in which it is possible to influence opinion in a desired direction in the short (and long) term, creating a form of anonymous despotism. This is being massively exploited at the moment and we are indeed direct participants in a (hybrid) technological cut. The risks of irresponsibly ignoring the symptoms of the combination of passivity and aggression are considerable. Latent and overt extremism, confusion breeding hasty decisions and an emotional reversion to supposed certainties. This is why we listen to the advice of the communists and our hand does not clench into a fist, why we have allowed extremists to share in power and have not locked ourselves at home for two sunsets, why we tolerate former apparatchiks and nomenklatura cadres in important positions and do not stand in line to sign petitions or in crowds in squares. It's time to get civically engaged again!
(photo is from the demonstration on Wenceslas Square, February 25, 2018)