Stages of grief
###############

:date: 2016-11-11T22:00:00
:category: faith
:tags: politics, blogComment, UnitedStates, cultureWar

I am just reading an interesting blog post_ by my Melinda Selmys
reflecting on her reaction to the Mr. Trump’s victory in the US
elections.

I am Czech, so I have a little experience with the similar
situation, which I would like to share. Since 2013, `Mr. Miloš
Zeman`_ has been the president of Czechia. The election, which he
won were in many aspects similar to the US elections 2016. The
second round was between him and `Mr. Karel Schwarzenberg`_. Two
personalities couldn’t be more different. Mr. Zeman was the
chairman of the Social Democratic Party (major left part in
Czechia), but his separation from the party was under
circumstances far from friendly, and he in meantime found (quite
unsuccessful) party of his own (which was for some time called
“Party of friends of Miloš Zeman” ;)). He is ambiguously leftish
and populist, now supporting quite xenophobic. His campaign was
to large extent indirectly paid by the Russian company Lukoil,
and Mr. President did not bother to disclose his accounts, where
he seemingly actually did break the law.

Mr. Schwarzenberg is just an opposite. He is actually a prince
from the old noble family (and yes, it sounds as weird in this
plebeian society as it would sound in USA, and of course all
titles of nobility are void under the Czech law), which used to
own half of the Southern Bohemia until the Communist took it from
them by the special act tailored just on them. Of course, he is
super-educated, and during and after the Communist times he was
for many years a diplomat in all levels of diplomacy (for couple
of years he was absolutely awesome minister of foreign affairs of
Czechia). 

Campaign was also absolutely awful and Mr. Zeman won partially
based on lies throwing the worst suspicions of the past of Mr.
Schwarzenberg’s suggesting his German relatives were Nazis (which
actually was just the opposite of truth, the head of the family
gave a huge contribution for building of the system of the
Czechoslovak fortifications before the Second World War).

OK, so this is just a long introduction, which is not that
important, but hopefully helps to explain I have at least some
knowledge what I am talking about and there is reason I think
I know what is the most important task for everybody who were
hoping somebody else is the 45th US president than Mr. Trump.

I meet here in Czechia plenty of people who are still furious
with Mr. Zeman and quite obviously did not get over the fact
their candidate lost. They are quite easy to recognize. Usually
they are absolutely indifferent to the reality and just
automatically hate any word or deed is done by anybody who is not
sufficiently on their side. They are not willing to even consider
that anything THEM do or say would deserve any consideration.

Of course, it is absolutely perfect to criticize deeds or words
of our Mr. President, he deserves it richly (and his spokesman
achieves levels so far known only from the `Iraqi Information
Minister`_), but it is absolutely devastating for anybody
criticizing undemocratic practices of our president, when they
obviously didn’t get over the fact that good citizens of Czechia
voted in other way they thought they should.

Not only it looks bad, but what is even worse, crazy bigotry
makes bigots blind to anything else than perceived proofs of them
being right.

.. _post:
    http://www.patheos.com/blogs/catholicauthenticity/2016/11/should-we-fear-trump/

.. _`Mr. Miloš Zeman`:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo%C5%A1_Zeman

.. _`Mr. Karel Schwarzenberg`:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Schwarzenberg

.. _`Iraqi Information Minister`:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Saeed_al-Sahhaf