The Spirit of Masaryk Lives
The name T.G. Masaryk probably means little to the average American, but here in Central Europe the name, like his contemporary Woodrow Wilson, is synonomous with democracy's highest aspirations.
And today, Czechs and Slovaks have a national holiday, in part to honor Masaryk and the country he helped found.
Just after the first World War, the country of Czechoslovakia was formed. Under President T.G. Masaryk (pictured) the republic enjoyed two decades of democracy and prosperity until the Munich agreement in 1938 brought about seven years of Nazi occupation. Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič and his wife will visit the Czech Republic today to mark the anniversary together with Czech President Václav Klaus.
In some ways, the celebration is ironic, considering that Czechoslovakia no longer exists. Since 1993's Velvet Divorce, there are two countries, Czech Republic and Republic of Slovakia. But for today, such distinctions are merely semantics.
It's a chilly, damp day. The trams are slower (they have the national flag draped on the front), but cafes and shops and pubs are open.
It's interesting as a foreigner to mark the anniversary. In America, we celebrate the fourth of July as our official day of independence. Here in Czech, they have this day, and next month, Czechs will also celebrate the 19th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which toppled 40 years of Communist rule.
Masaryk, who incidentally had an American wife, Charlotte, was a great scholar and statesman along the lines of his contemporary, Woodrow Wilson, and an early champion for democracy. There's a statue of him up at Prague Castle. President Bush, during his visit here last year to promote democracy and the U.S. proposed missile defense shield for Europe, posed for a picture next to the statue.
Czechs today are, as has been noted in a recent New York Times article, one of the great success stories of post-Communist Europe. For the past several years, the economy has grown at exponential levels, the crown has been strong, tons of foreign capital has flowed into the country. Czechs will also take over the rotating EU presidency in January. Of course, the stock markets here have suffered in the ongoing global crisis, but it's too soon to tell how much it will affect the real economy, although recent news reports have predicted a slowdown in construction.
The political situation here at the moment is a bit tricky -- the left-leaning Social
Democrats scored big victories in last week's elections, a victory some say was spawned by anger over recently enacted health care reforms (for example, fees to visit the doctor), and there are worries by a few that the country could be moving too far to the left, the nervous area of Communism, but that notion is dismissed by others as paranoid.
At any rate, 90 years after the founding of Czechslovakia, much has changed. Two world wars, half a dozen regime changes later, the Czechs and the Slovaks can find many reasons to celebrate. For one thing, the statues of Lenin and Stalin are long gone, and Masaryk, whose name during those oppressive years virtually was banned from public schools and debate, has reclaimed his rightful spot in Czech history and esteem.
Masaryk's life motto was: "Nebát se a nekrás (Do Not fear and do not steal), perhaps a motto that todays' financiers and political leaders could take heed of. Masaryk died of natural causes in 1937, having devoted his life to building a modern, democratic Czechoslovakia at a time when much of Europe was shuddering under the threat of totalitarian forces which would plunge the continent into war soon after his death. Today, it's a pity that his name is largely unknown in America, although there are statues of him in Washington and Chicago, so I would invite readers to take a bit of time and learn more about this courageous, visionary leader --especially since in these times, vision and courage are surely what are needed.
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