In a Nut Shell - Czech Republic

 

 Prague Castle - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Gone is Vaclav Havel, the modern country’s George Washington, who led what was then Czechoslovakia to freedom after 41 years of Soviet style, soul-crushing Communism.  By most accounts it was a horrible time for the Czech people, as the secret police deprived them of nearly all personal freedoms.  The world’s largest statue of Stalin, which has been subsequently destroyed, and a dilapidated 200,000 people capacity stadium, where Czechs were obliged to act like North Koreans, were constant reminders that totalitarianism and personality cults are inseparable.

Prague, the capital, is a splendid city to visit and despite its violent past, is safe for women to walk alone at night.  They are usually tall and beautiful and more attractive than their males counterparts.  Often with a cigarette in hand, they glide around the streets of the city, childless like most women of Central Europe.  We were told it is simply too expensive to have children, but perhaps motherhood is too much work compared to the excitement of city life.  And who will provide the labor for an aging country with a falling population?  Hard working Poles, Romanians, and Vietnamese fill the demand, so unlike much of Europe, minarets do not dominate Prague’s skyline.

Our first city guide, a glib, thirty-five year old from Brno, spent as much time expressing his hatred of Communism, as he did telling us about Prague.  He reveled in being able to openly criticize the current President as a drunkard and thief and contrasted him with his personal hero, Vaclav Havel, who by many accounts was noble to a fault.

The Czechs are an industrious lot and are rebuilding their country after a disastrous experiment with socialism.  The Czech economy is based on the European free market model but is encumbered by large value added taxes and extensive social programs.  The Czech “tax free day” occurs in late June and like America gets later by the year.

Health insurance, whether provided by an employer or individually, costs about $100 per month and appears to be based on an HMO model.  Nurses, despite requiring a university education, make 70% of the average national salary, while doctors earn 130%.  Our guide was quick to offer, “They must really love what they do.  That’s a lot of work and study for what they make.  They often threaten to leave the country for better opportunities, but seldom do.  Few want to leave their families behind.”    

The conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism complicate Czech history.  In 1425 the reformer John Huss was burned at the stake for challenging Catholic doctrine.  Later, the Thirty Years War was a particularly difficult time.  The Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperors, who were ruled by a line of kings who for generations preferred to mate with close relatives, overwhelmed the local Protestant nobles and built the architectural treasures found in Prague’s Old Town, Mala Strana, and Hradcany sections.  One of these, the Charles Bridge, begun in 1357 at the behest of the country’s greatest king, Charles IV, was the site of one of the first documented labor strikes.  The stonemasons and other skilled artisans were upset for being forced to eat salmon everyday. Today’s Czech culture is secular–60% either atheist or agnostic, 25% Catholic, and 15% Protestant.  The gorgeous cathedrals are empty except Christmas Eve and Easter, when they are filled to capacity.

St. Vitas Cathedral - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Pilsen located in the western part of the Czech Republic is the home of lager beer, and Czechs lead the world in per capita beer consumption.  Both men and women partake, but their physiques are noticeably less ample than their American counterparts.  Pilsen Urquell is a smooth beverage, I might add, and goes down all too easily. 

With democracy comes good and bad leaders, along with times of prosperity and recession, so the words of our last guide, a man in his late 20s who never experienced Communism first hand, raised a few eyebrows.  An unconvincing but self acknowledged capitalist, he attempted to discuss the pros and cons of the Communist era by pointing out that Communism guaranteed full employment, free education, free health care, and inexpensive lodging.  It was his understanding the Czech economy functioned well under the Communists, as opposed to other regimes behind the Iron Curtain, which were plagued by corruption, inefficiency, and inept leadership.  True there were few personal freedoms, but for those who towed the line, particularly the less educated and skilled, life was not all that bad.  The system was problematic only for those who had a mind of their own and preferred not be just like everybody else.  With student loans to repay and being unable financially to afford a home or start a family, the bad old days didn’t seem so bad. 

The wounds of Communism take years to heal, and impatience can lead those who do not appreciate the ultimate benefits of free market capitalism to conveniently forget what it means to live in a police state.  One can see why idealists, non risk takers, and sloths are drawn to systems where freedom readily is traded for security.  There is only one hitch: It never works in the long run, a historical lesson often forgotten.