In his essay "At the Crossroads of Europe" Capek gives a warm appraisal of his friend "T. G. Masaryk, the Liberator and first President of our Republic."
"For him, who for eighteen years and to such a ripe old age guided our State, politics represented a realization of love of our fellow men; in his eyes democracy and liberty were based on respect for man, for every man; they issued from recognition of his immortal soul and the infinite value of human life; for Masaryk the ultimate goal of all honest politics and all true statesmanship was to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth."
It is interesting to think of the times when a figure like Masaryk can actually be effective in political life in our world. I don't think they occur very often. We (as mortals) are particularly open to them at the inception of what we might term the founding epoch of a national cycle. The optimism and enthusiasm of new freedoms and opportunities create a place where a Masaryk, a Gandhi, a Mandela, or a Havel, can actually have a substantial political impact as well as a spiritual influence.
No comments:
Post a Comment