Vaclav Havel
Vaclav Havel
Václav Havel; 5 October 1936 – 18 December 2011) was a Czech writer, philosopher, dissident, and statesman. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the last president of Czechoslovakia. He then served as the first president of the Czech Republicafter the Czech–Slovak split. Within Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs...
NationalityCzechoslovakian
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth5 October 1936
CityPrague, Czech Republic
danger task
Our task is to feel the danger of these regimes.
again attack fact freedom ignored threatens
It is as if many have again ignored the fact that an attack on the freedom of individuals threatens the freedom of all.
freedom solidarity striving uneasy
Just as many showed their solidarity with us when we were striving for freedom, so now we must show solidarity to those who are only striving for it in uneasy conditions,
democratic divided equally great growth pulled slow tolerate wall
We long ago pulled down the great wall which divided us from democratic Europe, but equally we tolerate the slow and inconspicuous growth of new walls, no better than those which fell,
afterwards behaves bourgeois burning capable commanding concentration death explain instance life man neutral petty possible rather returning sudden thousands tries
He tries to explain why man behaves most improbably, strangely, at variance with his nature, how it is possible for instance that a calm, rather neutral petty bourgeois is all of a sudden capable of commanding a concentration camp, burning to death or gassing thousands of people, and afterwards returning to his clerk's life as if nothing happened,
change confront deal felt force others situation stir
I felt the need to stir things up, ... To confront others for a change and force them to deal with a situation that I myself had created.
agree courage demands domestic fortunate respected therefore wish
All respected domestic and international organizations agree that your demands are justified. Therefore I wish you strength, endurance, courage and fortunate decisions.
doe martyrdom totalitarianism
I have read somewhere that in a totalitarian system martyrdom does better than thought.
cuba certain
What's certain is that a totalitarian enclave like Cuba's can't continue to exist, so change will definitely come there, eventually.
dark squares light
People have passed through a very dark tunnel at the end of which there was a light of freedom. Unexpectedly they passed through the prison gates and found themselves in a square. They are now free and they don't know where to go.
trying citizens might
When a person tries to act in accordance with his conscience, when he tries to speak the truth, when he tries to behave like a citizen, even in conditions where citizenship is degraded, it won't necessarily lead anywhere, but it might. There's one thing, however, that will never lead anywhere, and that is speculating that such behavior will lead somewhere.
hero winning intelligent
There's always something suspect about an intellectual on the winning side.
love life family
Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance.
giving advice citizens
In my opinion, theater shouldn't give advice to citizens.