THE HUMANITIES ANI) CULTURE H EltOES
741
which is a littlc diffcrcnt from thc others. For thc most part, the rela–
tively stable economy and the politics of the Commun ist Party corruptcd
the working class and discouraged its members from engagi ng in political
struggle . Thus, most of the oppositi o n came from th e humanist intclli–
gentsia, which was pcrsecuted morc than any other group. The cu ltural
tradition in Czechoslovakia has had a long history, and I can say it was
the humanist intelligcntsia in particular which took responsibility for the
sustaining the faith of th e country in the most crucial momcnts of its
history. Although a few workers were mcmbcrs of thc main opposition
group, Charter 77, it mainly consisted of members of the intelligcntsia,
writcrs, pricsts, educated human ists, and last but not least, many former
mcmbers of the reformist wing of the Commun ist Party which had been
purged following the Soviet occupation . The intellectual capacity of the
Charter 77 movement was thercfore considerable, even though in num–
bers it did no t cxceed a thousand members. During its lifetime, Charter
77 published more than two hundred documents which touched on al–
most all the fundamental programs of the ai ling society. On the other
hand , it ca nn ot be denied that the isolation of this group, the fact that it
was consciously kept apart from all social structures with the exception
of the policc, created a closed society and a ghetto mcntality rich in
origina l thought and dizzy ideas, but distinctly lacking in a sense of real–
ity.
Than ks to many Western media sources, such as Voice of Amcrica,
Radio Free Europe, and the BBC, the activities of thc small Charter 77
organizatio n became familiar to the broad mass of the Czech and Slovak
population. Ironi ca ll y, this persecuted and silenced group increasingly
came to be regarded as the voice of the nation. The silent majority , that
made up ninety-nine percent, re gularly voted and quietly tolerated the
regime , but nevertheless despised it and yearned for its demise. They felt
that Charter 77 expresscd their disagreement with totalitarianism, their
hidden desires, their suppressed protests against injustice and lack of free–
dom. They believed that C harter 77 arti cul ated their critical opinions
about the declining economy, the desperate state of the environmel1t,
education, and health care. Vaclav Havel, as the most significant, capable,
and most persecuted member of this group, became a true national hero.
Along with many of his closest friends, when the crucial moment for the
ruling system finally came, Havel and the reprcsentatives from the sma ll
opposition group were able to establish very quickly a widely supported
revolutionary staff. After a few days, they appointed delegates for the first
talks with the representatives of power. The oppos iti on leaders became
the leaders of the nation overnight.
Ironica lly, the same people who so recently had not been all owed to
address even the smallest group of citizens now addressed thousands of
