I never understood how people allowed Hitler to come to power, or here in '48, the communists and people allowed themselves to be deprived of their freedom.
Unfortunately, people usually look at historical events with distance and the advantage of someone who knows how everything turned out in the end. However, when an individual finds himself in the middle of an event, he is unfortunately often unable to understand the seriousness of the situation. Because people absolutely do not accept the fact that history keeps repeating itself - that is, they know all the platitudes about freedom, they even like to quote them, but they are not willing to accept that this could actually apply to their current lives as well.
After all, people are far ahead today, today is the 21st century, it can't happen today - but whenever people lived at one time or another, it was "now" and the most modern present and the peak of progress.
So it is sad to see the complete failure of the elites and quality journalists who so easily jump on the wave of propaganda, self-censorship and put themselves under the cauldron of unfreedom, where they slowly boil voluntarily like those frogs.
Palach was called mentally deranged in '69, piets were destroyed and the media remained silent. At the beginning of March this year, a person shot himself in front of the Ministry of Health. But the next day, the big headlines reported a new miracle vaccine, and the news was completely lost, or not even published by the mainstream media. People carried candles and flowers in front of the ministry, but again this pieta was deliberately removed from the place in front of the door. But the media continues to be silent - just like in '69.
Propaganda, one single correct opinion, self-censorship, ostracism of other thinking, intimidation - those methods are still the same and still perfectly functional.
Eighty people gathered to save an old tree in the middle of Prague, but only thirty people gathered in front of the Faculty of Education to support children and the literally lost generation who have been denied the right to education for a year, while thousands more "fought" for Facebook likes from the comfort of their rooms. After all, they are at work in the morning...
Thousands of crosses on the historic Old Town Square don't matter, but for spray-painting the words "For the victims of an incompetent government" the offender is threatened with a fine and the police are intensively searching for him.
I regret to discover that there are people – and probably the majority of them – who simply do not need freedom for their lives. They adapted under socialism and they have adapted even now. It is important for them to be able to ski and get to their cottage in another district, but they do not solve this by fighting for freedom on principle, but they are only looking for instructions on how to get around some senseless regulation, or to finally have peace of mind, they get vaccinated. And if they also receive 100% compensation for their often no longer existing job – which they do not know yet – they are perfectly satisfied. They do not complain, but alas, when they finally lose their job, or find out that they have damaged their health with an insufficiently tested vaccine – then they will gladly remember freedom and even start to invoke it. But then it will be too late again.
But that freedom is not about taking a picture of yourself with a tear in your eye in the square next to thousands of crosses and getting a few likes from the friends of the "democrats" on Facebook - the silent majority sitting nice and warm in the living room.
Freedom is a constant struggle, monitoring what is happening around you, and active involvement, and most importantly, involvement even at the cost of your own sacrifice. Because without it, it is simply impossible. You cannot wait for salvation from someone. Because that one someone He has never come in the past – and he will not come today.
So it is again only up to us.
Written for Prima Zoom (April 2021) – minor edits
You will best support my work buys books,
if you don't read, you can and otherwise....
