Comments on: THE LONELY VOICE #15: Be Aware of Your Own Ridiculousness, A Small Tribute to Václav Havel

By: Jim Freeman

Jim Freeman — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:40:06 +0000

Living over here in Prague, I was struck by the massing of thousands of Czechs in Wenceslas Square and elsewhere, somberly lighting candles and wiping their eyes, further struck by the streaming of my own tears. This is not my country, this man was not my president. And yet I was as empty and drained as after Kennedy’s death. If Havel was the Czech Jefferson, it’s useful to remember that Jefferson was just a man (and a controversial one at that) during his life, only becoming a bedrock of our national conscience after his death. Havel will be remembered and better-read from now on than when he was among us. Your piece is the opening testimony to that.

By: Jep Streit

Jep Streit — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:07:36 +0000

Peter, you nailed it. Inevitably after death the tributes and adoration comes cascading in, and just as inevitably the sanctification starts, the unalloyed whitewashing that removes someone from the human race and puts them in the bloodless pantheon of the too-good-to-be-true. Who can relate to people like that? Thanks for your deeply felt appreciation of a man who was human, and reminding us of his humanity, which of course makes him all the more greater. Because he was human, and so not some saintly being different from us, it raises the uncomfortable question, what are we doing to make the world better?

By: Ralph Ciancetti

Ralph Ciancetti — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:50:32 +0000

I’m interested in reading more of those letters from jail. This is a fascinating subject. Thanks for digging in.

By: Micah

Micah — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:17:54 +0000

This is great, Peter. I love Havel.”Be Aware Of Your Own Ridiculousness” goes on a 3by5 card.

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:06:15 +0000

Thanks for this piece.