When I checked the news this afternoon I was saddened to learn Vaclav Havel, president of the former Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic had passed away at age 75. During my first semester of studying for my Masters in International Studies one of my final projects was on Havel’s life and role in the peaceful Velvet Revolution in the late 1980s and the bloodless split of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the early 1990s. I was drawn to Havel not just because of his life and role in a peaceful uprising that transformed a nation, but because of his beginnings as a playwright.
Before becoming known as a political dissident Havel wrote plays reflecting the effects of Soviet communism on human creativity. His plays were windows into his mind. I immediately related to this because of my passion for history/international politics and my interest in screenwriting/acting/movie making. My mother, a novelist says that fiction is autobiographical because you are seeing how that author views the world, what makes them tick and their life experiences. An example of this is Alfred Hitchcock. Many of his movies featured male leading characters with problems with their mothers. Hitchcock himself lacked a positive relationship with his mother. My own ideas for movies combine my love for history/international politics with certain themes of my life and how I view the world. In many ways Havel is my inspiration of finding a way to combine both of my interests.
In researching his life and impact on Soviet communism in Czechoslovakia one thing I realized was oppression on creativity is just as destructive as the physical oppression. If the human mind is forced to confine itself, humanity will become stagnant and eventually degenerate.
Politically, the world has lost a respected voice on the power of nonviolent resistance and democracy. The height of the Velvet Revolution was a nationwide strike where virtually the entire Czechoslovak nation filled the streets. The communist government in power at the time stepped down not long after. Of course, the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia was one of many revolutions happening all over central-eastern Europe in the late 1980s. Many have compared these events to the Arab Spring of this year. Before his death Havel commented that the uprisings in the Arab world face obstacles the former Soviet republics did not. Unlike Arab states post-revolution, newly democratic central-eastern European states had at least some experience with democracy as a foundation. The lack of that will test the strength of democracy in the Arab world.
Rest in Peace Vaclav Havel.
This is such a touching an heartfelt essay. And so well-written for these disturbing times.
Vaclav Havel has left this life, but his work and words continue to enrich the lives who survive him. Your essay provides a moving testament to far reaching quality of Havel’s life and mission.
Peace and blessings to you, Empress Samantha.