Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.
This past weekend, the world lost another great man with the death of Václav Havel. Writer, playwright, dissident, human rights activist, leader of the Velvet Revolution, and president of the Czech Republic (and Czechoslovakia), Havel stands out as one of those individuals who fought for what was right, because it was right. He spent his life in the struggle for freedom and human rights, both through his art and as a leader. He, too, will be missed.
Related articles
- Vaclav Havel, Czech leader and playwright, dies at 75 (rombizco.wordpress.com)
- Velvet Revolutionary Vaclav Havel Dies (rollingstone.com)
- Vaclav Havel, former Czech president, dies aged 75 (guardian.co.uk)
- Vaclav Havel Dies: Former Czech President Dead at 75 (huffingtonpost.com)
- Vaclav Havel (1936-2011): A Literary Consideration (www.praguepost.com)
- A ‘courageous and fervent supporter of human rights’ – Irish Times (irishtimes.com)
- Vaclav Havel, Czech leader of ’89 ‘Velvet Revolution,’ dead at 75 (latimes.com)
- Revolutionary, artist and man of conscience, Vaclav Havel R.I.P. (dangerousminds.net)
All these passings,
and yet millions working to take up the torch! Keep up the fine work, Kris.
Thank you
I wish I could have caught him when he was visiting NYC a few years ago. Czechs love their literature. I’m sure there are huge memorials going on right now.
A lot of people have forgotten how funny Havel was in his early writing career. I like to remember the clerk in The Garden Party, who tells his progress-obsessed boss that he’s just read Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, to which the enthusiastic boss replies “Soon we’ll be able to read at even greater depths!”