A few months ago, in fact on 17 November as a spin off from the Velvet Revolution 20th anniversary, a group of young students (so I got the impression) started a website called "zdruhejstrany" ["From the other side"], in order to publish articles by students in order to provide a picture of "how young people thought. Where one could find analyses, comments, interviews and articles on interesting subjects". An attempt to be applauded. Equally, a Facebook fan-page was created.
Our yesterday's last activity was to attend a discussion at a prominent quality bookstore Artforum a discussion session on the subject "Enough silence". A group of intellectuals reflected on the current trends within society, historical backgrounds and pointed out some issues. Crammed in a narrow bookstore, we all stood there listening, and it one could watch a mixed crowd in the audience of all generations represented. One continuous warning was ignorance and/or indifference, which could create dangerous thoughts to lure within society. Except for one question from the audience and a person, obviously a bit less content with life murmuring disturbingly at the back of the crowd (but not to address the panel when having the chance).
Just before signing off for the day, my better half brought to my attention an article. Initially I was slightly too exhausted to completely absorb the gist of it, but slowly an alarm-bell started to sound.To make sure, I was not misreading the said article, I read it three times and browsed over other articles as well. Suddenly, jawbone was about to drop.
Especially two authors posted - in my view - fairly dubious articles. The mere fact that in one article the foundation of the cleric-fascist state in 1939 appeared especially around the 14th March is fairly expectable. But to write - similarly as in I mentioned in one of my previous blog-posts - that given the bad and the good side of the coin, we must be more "objective" about this historic fact. Objective in the sense, that it was the lesser evil? That after all, it was good that it happened???
Another article referred to the fact how Slovaks were entitled to have complexes, since the Jews, who according to the author, also constantly refer to the holocaust, so Slovaks should be able to point at the century long magyarisation. The same author in another article also labelled citizens, who went into the streets to air their concern against neo-fascist tendencies, as being extremists (not the first time that day). Apparently the responsible citizens were hampering the freedom of others, while fascism was to be accepted in a democracy.
In all honesty, my adrenaline level was at production speed. Analysing the rise of extremism whether in the 1930s or nowadays is a good thing in order to put things into perspective. However, proclaiming that holocaust collaboration (and not merely pro forma, also very actively as well) or agitating with fascist ideologies being OK, has nothing to do with freedom of speech and should never become acceptable. It is exactly the very same historical ignorance, which leads young people to simply accept such thoughts; perhaps assuming, since they are different from a certain mainstream, they must therefore be better. You name it. This small collective has hardly understood what democratic principles are.
After 20 years - from the very same Velvet Revolution, which was symbolic to these students - the only observations I can get, is that freedom apparently means to acquire material wealth within the shortest time (including at the expense of others) and to spread dangerous extremist ideas. These people (rough estimated) were born around the Velvet Revolution and do not remember totalitarianism themselves, but equally, do obviously not have the intellectual capacity to fathom the memory of it. It is typical for today's state of society.
When attending yesterday's discussion - as well as the demonstrations in the street (so apparently I am an extremist myself!), I was still glad, that a small group of people still care about certain values and do not belong to main-stream. Albeit, that this group is alarmingly small, it should therefore be clear that each of us must actively work hard to break through this circle.
It must be understood, that supporting any totalitarian ideology (and whether fascist or communist, the bottom line is fairly the same), hatred against others or the like is not acceptable. Finding historical or sociological answers why it occurred is one thing - endorsing it, be it even partially, is an absolute no-go. Comparing how Slovaks suffered with the Jewish fate during the holocaust is to say simply disgusting!
MS
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