Deaths recall the fragility of freedom

The Gazette Editorial Board

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The deaths of democratic icon Vaclav Havel and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il mark, in striking contrast, the power of an individual to change the course of a country's history.

On one hand, there's Havel: A tireless advocate for democracy and human rights who survived imprisonment by a totalitarian Czechoslovakian government to lead the transformation of his country to a freer, more democratic place.

On the other, Kim: An unpredictable dictator who inherited his power and maintained it by spreading discord and suspicion, preying on the fears of his neighbors, enemies and fellow countrymen.

It won't take long for history to judge these two men for the indelible marks they made on the world stage.

In fact, the accident of their proximate deaths is a clear reminder that while freedom and representation may be near-universal human longings, they are far from guaranteed

Havel, 75, was a fierce defender of his country's fledgling democracy.

As the country's first post-communist president, Havel called on his fellow Czechs to shed the “moral illness” they'd contracted living under the former “monstrous, ramshackle, stinking” communist regime.

He helped keep the country steady during the transition to a free-market economy. He was an influential champion of his country abroad, never straying from the activist ideals that had led to his repeated incarceration before the transition to democracy.

In contrast, Kim, 69, used his authority to continue his father's work, building the world's fifth-largest military on the backs of his own starving citizens, terrorizing his neighbors and stymying international efforts to establish peace and stability in his region.

It's easy to forget the roots of North Korea's despotic regime were planted in the country's bitter struggle for independence from the colonial rule of Japan.

Difficult to believe that the North Korea we know today - such a stifled, twisted, fear-goverened state - sprouted from the same desire for liberty and self-governance.

When Havel came to Eastern Iowa to attend the dedication of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in 1995, he remarked that Czech Republic and the United States were united by common ideals.

“We believe in the same values,” he said. “And we share the desire to cherish and protect them.”

But the desire for freedom and democracy aren't just the purview of a few thinkers or select countries - they are innate human aspirations that grow wherever they are allowed to take root.

Like any tender shoot, if it is to flourish, democracy must be tended, protected, given plenty of light and air.

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