Havel Dies
He was a great leader in an age of great leaders. Today’s youth, having grown up in an age of mediocre-to-miserable leadership, cannot imagine what is what like to have lived at a time when the destiny of the planet was largely decided by the likes of Reagan, Thatcher, John Paul II, Dung Xiaoping, Walesa, et. al.
Havel was one of them, and he was the most artistic of them, coming as he did from the world of Theater, and loving jazz music, which he credited with inspiring Czech dissidents. Why? Because it was so free, it featured creative improvisation, and it was a vital part of the pursuit of happiness. It took a great man with plenty of creative juices to understand that.
He was a forceful and captivating man who beat lung cancer and, against the odds, remained a beloved figure to the end. He was a staunch anti-communist who remained a democratic revolutionary, a pure example of what the phony reactionary leftists call “neoconservatism.”
Have a drink in his honor and toast the jazzman-cum-revolutionary-leader. We’re not likely to see another one quite like that.
How does Obama get the peace prize and not Mr. Havel?
In 1995, my husband and I were on our way to Theresienstadt, and a convey of three or four cars came up behind us and passed us going at least 100 mph. When we got there, we discovered that Vaclav Havel was there to meet with the Austrian Prime Minister (I think that who it was) for some sort of reconciliation, this-will-never-happen-again sort of ceremony. Reporters were walking along with the two men, and I decided to join the group. I walked within a couple of feet of Havel, something that wouldn’t happen today. He was a small man in stature, but just being so close to him was an experience I won’t forget. A great man. Would that there were more like him!
Don’t forget King Juan Carlos of Spain as a great liberator.
He and Vaclav Havel fought for freedom from very different positions. I hope there are no more struggles for Mr Havel now.
I met Vaclav Havel as a hotelier in Washington D.C.
He was incredibly down to earth, curious, and an absolute gentleman. He was as inspiring one one one as he was as a writer and leader. We are much the poorer for his absence. Americans would be well advised to read his essay’s; they represent much of what we seem willing to let slip away.