On the passing of Vaclav Havel

Collarspace Discussion Forums

Home Login Search

On the passing of Vaclav Havel

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> On the passing of Vaclav Havel

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

On the passing of Vaclav Havel - 12/22/2011 11:30:06 PM

stellauk

Posts: 1360
Status: offline

Vaclav Havel
5 October 1936 - 18 December 2011
Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident, politician and former president.

He was the tenth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (1993-2003).

He wrote over 20 plays and numerous works of non-fiction, and has won the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Order of Canada, the freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award and the Ambassador of Conscience Award.

In the 2005 global poll by Prospect magazine he was voted 4th among the world's 100 top intellectuals.

He rose to fame after the Prague Spring and became internationally known in 1977 through being involved with the human rights manifesto Charter 77 and being the leader of the Czechoslovakian opposition. It was the Velvet Revolution in 1989 which brought him the presidency and he oversaw thirteen years of radical changes in his country.

Among these were the split with Slovakia (which Havel opposed), accession into NATO and the European Union.

Selected quotations

'When a truth is not given complete freedom, freedom is not complete.'

'The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.'

'Work for something because it is good, not because it has a chance to succeed.'

'Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous, and anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.'

'Hope is definitely not the same as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.'

His funeral takes place today 23 December

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16304858

See the Amnesty International video Vaclav Havel an amazing human rights leader

Odpočívej v pokoji - rest in peace

_____________________________

Usually when you have all the answers for something nobody is interested in listening.

Profile

Post #: 1

RE: On the passing of Vaclav Havel - 12/23/2011 1:28:35 PM

seababy

Posts: 845
Joined: 6/20/2008
Status: offline

What an amazing man thanks for sharing that Stella.
I will read up more after I have got through the christmas baking.

(in reply to stellauk)

Profile

Post #: 2

RE: On the passing of Vaclav Havel - 12/24/2011 10:39:42 AM

outlier

Posts: 1111
Joined: 10/22/2005
Status: offline

Stella,

Thank you for this. In the USA we tend to have
a small view this planet and the people on it. It is
good to have such a special example as a reminder.

_____________________________

Avatar from xkcd.com

"A happy sex life may take years to achieve, but it’s worth it in the long run.
Worth the time, the thought - or rather, the thoughtfulness - and, often,
the waiting." Pete Seeger

(in reply to seababy)

Profile

Post #: 3