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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.slovak-l
Date:         Sun, 30 Aug 1992 00:51:35 MDT
From:         Jan Szelepcsenyi <janszel@POSEN.MFF.UNIBA.CS>
Subject:      Re: poetry in slovakia
X-To:         Discussion of Slovak issues <SLOVAK-L@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu>

On Tue, 25 Aug 1992 09:59:24 EDT, "Henry Kucera" <HENRY@BROWNVM.BITNET> wrote:

>
> As for the Czechs not having an identity and nothing to be proud of, that
> is simply pathetic nastiness which should be quite alien to anyone
> who wishes to call himself a professor.
>
>    So long, Henry Kucera

I suppose to find an identity for a nation is a hard deal. The
problem is you have to identify the marks of your culture,
mentality, mind etc.  which are different from the culture,
mentality, mind etc. of other nations (as reference nations are
used mostly the neighbours, on the other hand the nations with a
strong political or economical position.

It doesn't exist a culture which we could evaluate as the most
appropriate for man. Every culture enabling a society to survive
has to be honored as a creative work of man, who is trying to
save and keep his being.

Therefore, the biggest mistake which could be done is the
attempt to evaluate the culture of a nation in a competitive
comparison with the culture of other nations. This process of
evaluation and validisation is never objective: no real facts,
but prestige, proud and similar irrational movements of mind are
playing the most important role.

Let us have a glance at some moments in the new history of the
Czech nation.

At first, the Czechs accepted Slovaks as a partners in the new
established CSR only because they didn't know how to solve the
problem of the German minority. But the Slovaks had to play the
role of a tribe of the Czech nation. These were the roots of the
unitarian state. Why they didn't try to follow the model of
Suisse, created by German and Romanian parts (kantons)? Does it
sound very crazy, if I ask you to imagine for a while a state,
in which Czechs, Moravians, Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians have
the same political rights? In 1918 was the right time for it.
Not, they refused.

This German complex appeared in a horrible fashion after WWII.
Was it necessary to punish the ethnic Germans in that way, as
they did? According to inofficial figures approximately 250 000
Germans were killed in Bohemia after the WWII - without any
court, evidence about fascist activities etc. I don't know, if
any European nation in the history tried to solve an ethnic
problem in that way, as the Czechs did. Today we are shocked by
the cruelty of the ethnic conflict in Bosnia - Hercegovina.  But
if you follow the philosophical roots of this intollerancy, you
have to open this sad chapter of the Czech history, too.

At the moment the Slovak asked for rights, guarranted by the
declarations and contracts made in the time before CSR was
founded, the Czechs reacted hastily, with no empathy for Slovak
demands. Please, have a look at the military coup of general
Homola befor WWII or at the reaction of the Czech intellectuals
and politicians in 1991!

A little bit shocking is the attempt of the Czechs to present
themselves as the teacher of nations. It is a messianic complex,
which leads to an artificial production of personalities,
designed as representants of the best traditions of European
policy and democracy, arts and philosophical thinking. You
could see, no Gorbatshov or Reagan, no Mitterand or Kohl, but
Mr Havel was interpreted as the leader of the anticommunist
revolution in Europe. He was traveling through the world and
giving lectures about democracy and liberty.

It is something like a fear: I have to be the best, otherwise
I'll be not allowed to stay in Europe. To be the best between
the nations is a nonsense, because at the top of this hit-parade
you may post only one. But the Czechs are not able to refuse
this competitive thinking. And when they may not measure their
"bigness" by comparing with Germans, Americans or Frenchs, they
use for that purpose the Slovaks, Gipsies and the immigrants.

I know my words sound unpleasant. I like personally Czechs,
I admire a lot of their culture and I'm really sorry that we
couldn't arrange with them. But that's the reality: they are a
nation trying to get a leading position in European politics and
culture not only by their own creativity, but also by
manipulating the authority of other nations. It's some kind of
cultural imperialism, which is so dangareous, as a political or
territorial imperialism.

I suppose this special side of Czech history and political
philosophy had Mr Frajkor in mind in writing his remarks about
the way of the Czechs to a national identity. This way is not an
easy one... For the Czechs as well as for their neighbours.

Thanks for your time!


Jan
--
Jan Szelepcsenyi                        	Telephone: + 42 7 220863
janszel@posen.mff.uniba.cs              	Address  : ul. A. Mraza 4
                                                	   821 03 Bratislava
							   Czechoslovakia
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