LN: Czech-U.S. bilateral agenda meagre inward past times ii decadesWe too the basis are evolving continuously at or so degree so we're non fully appreciating the ongoing alter (like the frog that gets boiled alive). But when I compare the relationships 25 years agone amongst the introduce ones, the differences are striking.
The article inward the Czech newspapers past times Mr Hruška mentions that at that spot have got alone been 3 topics of shared involvement inward the recent twenty years – Havel, the radar, too Temelín (our newer nuclear works life that may acquire expanded too Westinghouse has wanted the job). It's really obvious that these 3 topics have got faded or are fading away, too.
The photograph inward a higher house was taken a calendar month agone too is from the house nigh the hamlet of Míšov inward the Brdy Hills, or so twenty miles East from Pilsen. Up to 2009, nosotros were oft going at that spot because it was a hot place: the radar that was meant to hold out a business office of the U.S. missile defense strength scheme was supposed to hold out built precisely on the house where I stand.
Greenpeace was living inward the tree tops over there, I have got lots of pictures, too nosotros met e.g. January Rovenský, a Greenpeace Czech Republic appartchik for unloosen energy campaigns, who had been my (at that fourth dimension as right-wing) friend for 2 weeks during our 1988 trip to Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk), USSR, Pilsen's twin city.
Up to 2009, nosotros could nevertheless recollect that the Greenpeace too similar guys are irrelevant whackos. They slept inward the tree tops too were using solar panels to run their laptops at the radar base. Many things were already bad but they were non as bad as today.
The Czech radar, a business office of the planned U.S. missile defense strength system, was killed inward a legendary 2009 telephone telephone telephone from the White House. What the Czech prime number government minister does when he gets an of import telephone telephone telephone nigh the national safety at 3:30 am (if I paraphrase a Hillary ad)? Well, he's inward pajamas too listens to Obama's remarks. The projection was dead.
Concerning the other ii "big topics": Whether the Temelín nuclear ability works life volition hold out expanded at all is questionable (also for rational reasons such as currently depression unloosen energy prices) too fifty-fifty if the respond is Yes, the Czech-Russian articulation venture may have got equal chances as the Westinghouse consortium – which is non quite American because it's primarily Japanese-owned (Toshiba).
And (late dissident too ex-president) Václav Havel is oft mentioned past times Americans as the final 1 amid the 3 large topics. Maybe I have got to explicate to you lot but Havel is considered largely irrelevant inward Czech Republic these days. First, at that spot are champaign lots of pensioners etc. amongst or so communist nostalgia who have got negative attitudes to the whole Velvet Revolution etc. They champaign loathe Havel fifty-fifty years after his death.
People similar me who were enthusiastic fans of Havel's earlier too during the Velvet Revolution have got really different attitudes. It was champaign nifty too vital what he was doing too what nosotros did inward belatedly 1989 (he was the most famous representative of us, the dissidents) too several subsequent years. However, for people similar me, Havel was also partly responsible for the immediate contamination of our capitalism too parliamentary republic past times many kinds of the politically right garbage – tight European integration, multiculturalism, apolitical politics, ability to the NGOs, feminism, humanrightism, Cosmopolitanism, mindless obedience to the novel of import (Western) capitals, national masochism, too so on.
It would hold out highly oversimplified to introduce Havel as a beacon of all these things inward Czechia. He would almost never endorse these leftist things – inward the crystal-clear far left cast that nosotros know today – "explicitly". His understanding amongst those NGO-style left-wing positions was ever subtle, covert, mixed amongst or so of his charming idiosyncrasies. Havel was ever complex plenty so that you lot could have got argued that he wasn't a leftist at all. But I only can't acquire rid of the feeling that he was a major individual who helped to convey all these novel bad things to my country. And that's bad.
In or so broader perspective, it's really just the Prague Café (the generally Prague-based, intellectuals-dominated community that tries to re-create the state-of-the-art Western PC discourse as accurately as possible) that maintains an unequivocally positive mental attitude to Havel's heritage. And those are almost sure a minority of my nation. Especially when nosotros utter nigh the nearly uncritical opinions nigh the European integration too the multiculturalism (and migrants that Havel would almost sure desire to covert as well), it is really a little minority of the Czech acre that would hold out on the same frequency as Havel.
When the U.S. politics was making a sudden plough to the left or so 8 years ago, people similar me were secretly thinking "it can't hold out true, it won't happen". Except that it was happening, it did happen, too amongst hindsight, the consequences for the relationships are dramatic.
During the Velvet Revolution inward belatedly 1989, nosotros were intensely exposed to the coverage inward the American too other Western media. And I champaign loved the positive press that the Velvet Revolution was receiving – too the applause for Havel inward the U.S. Congress, amid many similar things. I believed that the meaningful ideals were out at that spot inward the club too move past times politics too I tended to recollect that nosotros were extremely closed as nations. And when I was maxim that it would hold out amend to bring together the U.S. as the 51st province instead of joining the EU, I was alone partially joking.
These sentiments human face completely surreal to me today.
It seems obvious to me that inward the 1990s, Havel was already generally a kitschy fad that was made pop past times or so grouping recollect too I am non really proud nigh the U.S. back upwardly for Havel anymore because I've seen almost the same – if non to a greater extent than intense – waves of the U.S. back upwardly for assorted oligarchs (such as Poroshenko), jihadists (Taliban too Muslim Brotherhood) too lots of other despicable, anti-freedom, religiously fanatical, inhuman, subhuman, too uncivilized leaders, movements, too views.
With this broader experience – amongst a much amend thought nigh the sort of causes too heroes that have a large applause inward the U.S. – I am closer to beingness ashamed of or insulted past times our nation's too leaders' analogous pose inward the past. I am nevertheless a fan of America but I experience that my back upwardly has to hold out extremely careful too selective. It's plausible that Trump's America volition alter these feelings – maybe fifty-fifty speedily – but I am afraid it won't.
The huge cultural too value gap isn't just nigh Barack Obama, John Kerry, too similar politicians at the really top. In the recent twenty years, I learned that many of the attitudes that I observe unacceptable are deeply embedded into the volume of the U.S. world – too to a large extent, it's been the instance for decades fifty-fifty though I didn't realize that (because I didn't really know what America was too what modern Americans believed).
After the 10 years inward the U.S. too many insights independent of that, I recollect that I know better. Needless to say, this increased cognition is a mixed bag. I was belike feeling safer too happier when I believed that the U.S., the world's most powerful country, was systematically supporting the skillful guys, skillful values, right solutions. I was happy – but I was uninformed, too. These ii adjectives were largely inseparable.
Moreover, it was unavoidable that I was going to larn the truth nigh many things at or so point. Lots of Americans, including "mainstream GOP" – perchance including people similar to George W. Bush – loved to hold out hypocritical, play games, pay lip service to staunchly anti-Enlightenment ideologies such as Islam, strength the whole club to worship homosexuality too do hundreds of other things I consider utterly unacceptable too nearly isomorphic to (and sometimes perchance fifty-fifty worse than) the things I was fighting against during communism.
And America just doesn't seem to hold out a beacon of liberty anymore. When I read that Twitter has permanently banned the Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, a famous "gay for Trump", because he didn't similar a dark actress inward the feminist parody on "Ghostbusters" too because many of his 300,000+ followers didn't similar her performance, either (and I recollect that I read several similar tidings every day), it's difficult to recollect that the ban is really different from the bans nosotros knew inward communism, particularly because the U.S. fellowship Twitter basically possesses a global microblogging monopoly. If it were or so idiosyncratic conclusion of 1 company, it could hold out OK except that this is clearly non so. Every mainstream fellowship too organisation too academy is nether this gigantic pressure level to impose the political correctness. You may basically reliably predict which views volition hold out banned too which views volition hold out artificially spread past times a large plenty fellowship or academy etc. So the strength that is spreading this bias too these restrictions is clearly non "isolated" or "linked to item companies", it is non "privately owned", it's something that has conquered pretty much the whole ("total") society. This is non what I telephone telephone freedom. It's a cast of totalitarianism, the same thing I fought against inward the belatedly 1980s.
And or so witch hunts are featherbrained plenty to hold out cute. An Italian eating seat inward the U.S. just invented too written downwardly (on a billboard) a cute too friendly slogan "Black Olives Matter", a squeamish peaceful parody of the call of the notorious vehement anti-police racist organization. The eating seat hasn't fifty-fifty been critical of the dark activists inward whatever explicit agency – non fifty-fifty to the extent that I was inward the previous judgement – but it found itself inward serious problems (before its describe of piece of work concern was supported past times the publicity, of course of teaching LOL). The call "Black Lives Matter" was promoted to a taboo that can't fifty-fifty hold out referred to inward whatever clever or witty way. Sorry, inward a genuinely complimentary country, no 1 tin await to hold out able to effectively forestall restaurants from maxim that dark olives affair (they're great, past times the way) because everyone would know that there's no agency of preventing people from praising olives too you lot (a critic of the slogan) at most demonstrate that you lot are a consummate idiot yourself. The critics have got launched the laid on against the eating seat because they believe – too I recollect that they correctly realize – that their ability inward the U.S. has grown so huge that they tin really basically forestall anyone from praising dark olives. They have got done similar things so many times inward the past times that they know too everyone know that your liberty to utter nigh dark olives (and sure everything that is to a greater extent than controversial than dark olives) is heavily constrained inward practice.
This cooling has also affected my views nigh the big-picture human relationship betwixt America too Europe. As latterly as a decade ago, perchance fifty-fifty when this weblog had existed for a few years, I was really allergic to the suggestions that something similar the European Union should hold out established too strengthened in monastic enjoin to deed as a counterbalance to the U.S. I just didn't desire to acquire a business office of whatever entity that defines its identity past times a negative correlation amongst or a negative human relationship to the U.S. because aught major was bad nigh the U.S. too aught anti-American was so skillful to purpose it as a cornerstone of a sensible organization.
Now, when I am much to a greater extent than Euroskeptical than I was 10 years ago, I am belike much less of a pro-American enthusiast, too. Even though nosotros oft blame the European Union – too the largely undemocratic integration procedure inward it – for many incorrect developments, it seems obvious to me today that many of the bad things are really beingness imported from the U.S. inward the starting fourth dimension place. In particular, America is the primary culprit of many of the deeply flawed (especially pro-Islamist) state of war machine too political interventions inward recent decades. For a major example, America's intervention on behalf of the anti-Assad jihadists inward Syrian Arab Republic turned to an of import co-reason why Europe has been bombarded past times millions of Muslim migrants inward recent years. And a counterbalance to those misguided U.S. efforts could hold out a nifty idea. Sadly, this is precisely where the European Union apparently doesn't desire to acquire a counterbalance at all. Brussels has acquire a novel Moscow that spreads its ideas over much of the European continent – but it largely listens to the orders from D.C. when it comes to geopolitical too state of war machine issues. Perhaps, Europe has to do so due to its express state of war machine powerfulness – or it has to increment its defense strength spending considerably.
The starting fourth dimension time I considered the thought that America could deed wrongly inward similar geopolitical contexts took house inward the 1990s when Serbia was declared a move past times enemy. Even though I was extremely far from beingness a fan of Miloševič inward general, I found this labeling of the province of affairs over-simplified but I ultimately appeased myself amongst the fact so fifty-fifty a few years after when Republic of Iraq was invaded again, I largely tolerated the invasion (although I was never a loud defender of it). But I was growing much less uncritical presently afterwards – too I recollect that the U.S. policies were getting increasingly misguided inward the next years. And yes, amongst hindsight too because of the persistent Russophobia, I recollect that fifty-fifty the clearly anti-Serbian too pro-Kosovar-terrorists U.S. policies inward the belatedly 1990s were artifacts of or so highly oversimplified instinct rooted inward the anti-Slavic racism, aside from similar bad things. Just similar the anti-Slavic racism became sort of self-evident to me, so did the pro-Islam attitudes of the U.S. Paradoxically, it seems to me that 9/11 turned America into an unquestionable defender of Islam inward the world. From the starting fourth dimension days after 9/11, I was really confused past times the awkward verbal constructions of George W. Bush too others to clit who was the enemy. Something telephone substitution was wrong, I could see, but nosotros alone saw consequences of the wrongness many years later.
Americans, particularly American conservatives, beloved to recollect that Americans are a special acre that is immune towards diverse pernicious collectivist, particularly left-wing, ideologies. But it doesn't really seem to hold out the case. Largely because of the long tradition, the actual life inward the U.S. may nevertheless hold out freer too the revenue enhancement rates may hold out lower than the European ones inward average, if I bring upwardly an of import instance of a technicality, but it's plausible that the speed of drifting to the left is really fifty-fifty higher inward the U.S. than it is inward Europe.
Whether countries are beingness formally politically integrated or not, sure novel ideas too approaches – oft highly pathological ones – are spreading across the Western culture regardless of the borders.
When it comes e.g. to the migration wave, I am sort of proud nigh the official attitudes of the Visegrád Group. And I am convinced that that tens or hundreds of millions of Americans handgrip amongst if non admire these V4 policies, too. However, it seems obvious to me that the "official America", the business office of America that is generally ideologically integrated too owns the bulk of the influence inward the U.S. sees things differently. It seems to me that lots of these powerful interests would really similar an Islamized Europe too they would back upwardly steps to sideline those who observe the Islamization of Europe unacceptable. This disharmony (and the Islamic migration was just one, albeit important, example) can't neglect to weaken my beloved for the U.S. as a geopolitical player. This is no tyke issue. The conflict amongst Islam may really good acquire the adjacent large conflict that volition influence Europe too the expectation that America could really good back upwardly our enemy instead of us is pretty terrifying.
So the political drifting of the U.S. towards the left inward the recent decade is something that oft makes me experience sick too it is champaign a large business office of the cooling of my attitudes to the U.S. And I am no longer proposing whatever sort of a tighter integration of my province amongst the U.S., non fifty-fifty as a semi-joke. But aside from the political differences (in the mental attitude towards the multiculturalism too many other things), at that spot are really sort of "personal" reasons why this proximity has turned out to hold out an illusion.
The article inward the Prague Monitor says that "it looks similar the Czech politicians' personality is also inconvenient inward the U.S. for them to hold out given a top-level reception overseas". Folks similar prime number government minister Bohuslav Sobotka are also wearisome piece folks similar president Miloš Zeman are also eccentric. The article claims that the actual reasons of the mutual depression temperature relationships are different but I do recollect that this is a business office of the answer, too.
Well, allow me say that I do recollect that Americans are superficial when it comes to the alternative of the politicians. I recollect that almost all American politicians have got almost the same amount of self-confidence too modesty, the same values of other of import quantities describing the personality. It oft looks similar they have got the same height, too. I am pretty sure that the measure departure of move past times amid the U.S. politicians is much smaller than it is inward the full general public. And it's or so sort of "averageness" that matters. It's difficult non to conclude that they are really beingness selected for this "average personality". Everyone must check or so universal template, 1 that oft emphasizes appearances. Perhaps or so template refined inward the Hollywood movies. All politicians are effectively the same.
Even though it may sometimes hold out skillful to have got many copies of these Hollywood personalities, I am happy that this is non how it works inward Czechia. Some politicians are extremely boring, others are highly outspoken, they may hold out tattooed, bald, hairy, half-Japanese, as brusque as Havel or shorter, married, divorced, unmarried inward love. Much similar people inward general, politicians may differ from others inward these respects too they're non beingness chosen according to or so universal P.R. or Hollywood templates. People come upwardly inward different personality kinds too the politicians should reverberate that as well, I think, too the actual qualities that brand a pol successful shouldn't hold out or so rules outlined past times P.R. agencies but the beef.
So the attitudes to personalities differ. But what may hold out perchance fifty-fifty to a greater extent than of import is that the actual emotional relationships betwixt the ii nations weren't expanding too were belike shrinking. In particular, I recollect that Americans nevertheless know almost aught nigh my province too they don't give a damn nigh it. You know, fifty-fifty if the nations' values heavily overlapped, too I have got argued it isn't really so, that wouldn't hold out plenty for a closed relationship.
The Soviet government was inferior too inhuman inward many respects. But Stalin's SSSR has nevertheless sacrificed the lives of or so 100,000 soldiers when they were liberating Czechoslovakia. The arrival of General Patton's regular army to Pilsen was a wonderful lawsuit but the American sacrifices inward their business office of the task were smaller past times or so 3 orders of magnitude relatively to the Soviet ones. It seems to me that those 25 years ago, I wasn't really noticing such differences or didn't tending nigh them. Today, I recollect it's impossible non to care. This is a major thing that does affair for the actual human relationship betwixt nations too countries – perchance to a greater extent than so than or so verbal understanding nigh politics. The Russian republic isn't something that makes me say "cool" most of the time. But if I experience that they're to a greater extent than probable to defend Europe from an Islamic state of war machine intervention than the Americans inward 2025, I only have got to realize that imperfections of the Russian republic are secondary for us.
I only experience that if a U.S. agent would have got to select whether he shoots me or or so jihadist or anti-string crackpot or or so other private similar that, he could really good select the former. This expectation is non something I tin rigorously evidence earlier I cash inward one's chips – too it's fifty-fifty harder to write downwardly proofs after 1 dies – but it's a feeling that only has to cool my human relationship to the U.S. And most Czechs experience inward similar ways, e.g. when Obama's friend Ambassador Andrew Schapiro behaves as if he wanted to overthrow e.g. our president inward ways that could resemble the U.S.-supported coups inward other countries. For these too other reasons, I do recollect it's of import for us non to hold out maneuvered into or so rigid dependence on the U.S. (or Western Europe). This dependence on the Western capitals has failed inward the past times too fifty-fifty though nosotros optimistically believed otherwise 25 years ago, it may neglect again. I observe it much to a greater extent than plausible than I did a quarter of a century agone that my province volition have got to rely e.g. on Russian Federation – instead of countries nosotros telephone telephone our allies inward the West – 1 time once again sometime inward the future. In the peaceful times, countries of the basis co-exist too almost all pairs interact amongst each other inward or so agency but I observe it obvious that e.g. my province doesn't really have got whatever "truly special relationship" to the official allies such as the U.S.
Obviously, my province isn't of import for 96% of the TRF readers. But the broader lesson is belike much to a greater extent than general. I do recollect that the province of affairs of the countries that have got been making a large bargain from their special human relationship to the U.S. – Israel, Poland, too fifty-fifty the United Kingdom of Great Britain too Northern Ireland are 3 major examples – isn't also different from the Czech one. Even these countries should admit that their "truly special relationship" amongst the U.S. has acquire an illusion or a fairy-tale. Obama's America has improved the U.S. paradigm amid many dictators, jihadists, mass killers, too fanatical leftists across the basis but it has heavily cooled or harmed the ties amongst countries that used to hold out closed allies. It's unlikely that this cooling volition acquire reverted soon. I recollect it's unlikely fifty-fifty if Donald Trump (now the official GOP nominee) volition win the presidency.
P.S.: Concerning the sometimes non stellar relationships, a 24-year-old American amongst Czech roots Kevin Dahlgren was just sentenced to life inward prison theater for having murdered iv relatives who were Czech citizens. His defense strength justifies the deed past times maxim that he had dreams that encouraged him to murder. Even if it were truthful too if those dreams could hold out classified as a mental disease, I don't really recollect it should matter. To murder piece beingness "sick" inward this item agency is a crime, too. Such people have got to hold out kept inward a facility that has to hold out a prison theater of some sort, anyway.