The Sekyra Foundation held an international conference on the power of parties, money and influence at the KVH (19.6.2023). Danuše Nerudová, who has already launched her campaign to be elected as an MEP, served as the "opening speaker". After the debate, she quickly left. You can listen to the audio recording and make up your own mind. Only "two or three questions" were allowed, I spoke from the front row, I did not get a chance to speak. I would argue the same point on Ms. Neruda's views as below. The event started 75 min late with no one apologizing. The public also had to wait while the organizers said goodbye to Ms. Neruda backstage. Of the scheduled 6 hours, the conference lasted, I estimate, about 3 hours.
This was followed by the Sekyra Foundation event - an introduction (in English) and a subsequent debate by the participants (three from the public and three from the organizers). The public participants did not respect the moderator's instructions for a structured debate. As soon as they were given the microphone, instead of the required short introduction, they started straight into a lengthy lecture. My warning was silenced, but the "lectures" had already been cut short by the participants themselves. By the end, basically only the organizers were debating, the others had left, the hall was empty. My short contribution (from 1:05:35) was evaluated by the words of the organizer: "Well, I hope you will leave already". I was thus unable to finish my disrupted contribution on the need to change the electoral system, including a demonstration of the functionality of democracy in Switzerland.
I felt like I was in a modern totalitarianism where only one opinion, or one school of thought, if you like, one ideology, is allowed. I have had enough of that. I was happy to leave and do something more useful, with thanks for the invitation and the treat. This is also to thank you for the pencil (no logo, cheap design). I believe the surplus from the treat was given to the food bank. Money for useless projects has to be spent somehow...
However, thank you for allowing me to sit among the panelists at KVH for the first time and to voice some of my opinions. I believe that even President Václav Havel would agree with them. We knew each other personally.
Today's life, the unhealthy excess of wealth and its style, leads to individualism, selfishness and lack of empathy. Only those who get paid well want to "work" for others. Only when the responsible positions in society are replaced by people who truly want to serve the country and not themselves, will there be hope for the necessary changes. Those at the top do not want that. They must be forced by those at the bottom. Otherwise, they will get what they deserve. It is not surprising that the salaries of the management of the Czech Post and Czech Railways are the highest in the country - the worse the job, the bigger the rewards. Let us not be surprised then that we are second in the world in clientelism, i.e. stealing taxpayers' money, just behind Russia.
We are always dealing with the effects, not the causes. The Istanbul Treaty goes against human nature, against nature and its unchanging laws. The solution is education, education, personal example. Not wanting perfection, which no law or regulation can guarantee. The violation of nature always begins the moral and ethical decay and disintegration of society. Logically, economic collapse follows. The kingdom of Sodom and Gomorrah was also destroyed by rampant vice and homosexuality as a consequence of uncontrolled prosperity. Those who want a perfect world will create its opposite. The recipe was invented long ago, verified and put into practice by Jan Amos Komenský and Tomas Bata. JŠ
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All governments lie. That's why checks on power are the most important part of democracy
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