A quote from Czech President Havel's 2003 New Year's Address to the Nation:
"I am not certain whether the Czech Republic has its own special, fundamental ideas
that could be named, let alone proclaimed. But I am certain that many great men and
women of our history formulated a set of wise principles of coexistence to which we
should always return, which should be remembered, built upon, propagated and reflected
into our lives and our work. These principles include responsibility not only for oneself
and to oneself, but also for and to one's fellow citizens, not only for and to a community
or country, but also for and to the broader human society. "The Czech issue is the human issue,"
said the first President of Czechoslovakia, T. G. Masaryk. I thus think that we do not have
to use the words nation, or national interest in every sentence, but that we should concentrate
instead on our neighbors, be they on our street or on the other side of the world.
Yes, I am indeed saying that we will serve our national interests best if we simply
treat each other well, treat the country we live in well, treat other nations well,
and think of human history, human fate and our human mission in this world without
prejudices. May humility, interest in others, responsibility for mankind, and a sense
of justice and solidarity be that which can be called ideas underlying the Czech state!" |
Once again: Following Masaryk, Havel states that the Czech
identity equals that of human beings as such.
Yummy for a discourse analyst. Read my MA thesis to learn more about past
quotations like this:-)