No! Vaclev Havel goes into the Great Beyond

Great Debates
1

Hard on the heels of Steve Jobs, Hitchens, and Kim-Jong Il, we must add Vaclev Havel. The Czech playwright and political leader was always a voice of reason, good sense, and compassion - but also stern enough not to tolerate bullshit and nonsense. He was 75 at the time of his death on December 18th, 2011.

That he didn’t receive a Nobel Peace Prize is, well, pathetic. Hell, he probably deserved more than one if anyone received one. He, like Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa, embodied European peaceful advancement and resistance to tyranny, yet also symbolized a truly Czech identity in a global world. He will be sorely missed.

See Václav Havel - Wikipedia for more.

2

The two best things I’ve read in the last day:

  1. The fact that Havel did not get a Peace Prize while Arafat did really tells you a hell of a lot about the Nobel.

  2. Since it went Hitchens, Havel and then Kim, one has to conclude that God let the first two pick the third.

3

Could be worse. They might have given an NPP to Kim.

4

Imagine, a towering intellect and a capable leader.
Makes you wonder what the USA could be, if we had leaders like Havel…instead of the (usual) drunks, morons, and rich people.

5

Havel had to be begged to take on the leadership role. Contrast that to how we choose ours.

6

Our country would split in half?

7

Sad, really. Vaclav Havel was one of the people I had the most respect for. :frowning:

On an entirely different note, I haven’t been watching the news for days on end and didn’t know that Kim Jong Il was dead. I guess I need to catch up a bit.

8

They already tried that. But we had Abe Lincoln at the time, who’s right up there with Havel as a leader.

9

Better, apparently.

10

Havel was a great man and a great leader who played an important role in the peaceful liberation of eastern Europe from tyranny. He should be held up as a model for others to emulate.