{"id":1020,"date":"2008-10-11T03:48:11","date_gmt":"2008-10-11T07:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s265039441.onlinehome.us\/philpaine\/?p=1020"},"modified":"2018-08-11T19:47:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-11T23:47:43","slug":"16632-%c2%a0%c2%a0-nancy-m-wingfield-flag-wars-and-stone-saints-how-the-bohemian-lands-became-czech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=1020","title":{"rendered":"16632. (Nancy M. Wingfield) Flag Wars and Stone Saints: How the Bohemian Lands Became Czech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eth\u00adnic nation\u00adal\u00adism is one of the most dis\u00adeased and obnox\u00adious ideas con\u00adtrived by human beings, rivaled only by Marx\u00adism and reli\u00adgious fanati\u00adcism in its poten\u00adtial for cre\u00adat\u00ading human suf\u00adfer\u00ading. The stage was set for the hor\u00adrors of the twen\u00adti\u00adeth cen\u00adtu\u00adry by the pas\u00adsion\u00adate eth\u00adnic hatreds of the 19th cen\u00adtu\u00adry. It was in this era that col\u00adlec\u00adtive loy\u00adal\u00adties among Euro\u00adpeans shift\u00aded from obses\u00adsions with God to obses\u00adsions with Race and Nation. And it was in this era that most of the \u201cnation\u00adal iden\u00adti\u00adties\u201d, which now seem so fixed, were concocted.<\/span>
\n
\nThis book deals with the process of man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00ading \u201cnation\u00adal iden\u00adti\u00adty\u201d in Bohemia, a process which involved the co-opt\u00ading and polar\u00adiz\u00ading of peo\u00adple who pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly felt no spe\u00adcial col\u00adlec\u00adtive \u201cone\u00adness\u201d. For exam\u00adple, lan\u00adguage seems to have been regard\u00aded as noth\u00ading more than a con\u00adve\u00adnient medi\u00adum of com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion in most of Bohemia, until the Aus\u00adtro-Hun\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adan bureau\u00adcra\u00adcy turned it into a crit\u00adi\u00adcal qual\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion for polit\u00adi\u00adcal and social sta\u00adtus. In 1880, the Haps\u00adburgs\u2019 impe\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal cen\u00adsus demand\u00aded that every\u00adone in the empire iden\u00adti\u00adfy them\u00adselves by lan\u00adguage, of which they could only choose one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mil\u00adlions of peo\u00adple who were bilin\u00adgual or mul\u00adti\u00adlin\u00adgual, who might use Czech to gos\u00adsip with a neigh\u00adbour, Ger\u00adman at work, Hun\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adan to talk to a broth\u00ader-in-law, and Slo\u00advak in bed with their spouse, sud\u00adden\u00adly had to define them\u00adselves like a species of insect by one, and only one of these lan\u00adguages. A Jew\u00adish shop\u00adkeep\u00ader might speak Yid\u00addish at home, Mora\u00advian with his Cus\u00adtomers, and read Ger\u00adman news\u00adpa\u00adpers and books. Czech nation\u00adal\u00adists insist\u00aded that he be con\u00adsid\u00adered a Ger\u00adman, and Ger\u00adman nation\u00adal\u00adists insist\u00aded that he was not. His rab\u00adbi claimed him as nei\u00adther. The only opin\u00adion that car\u00adried no weight was his own. Up until then, in most of rur\u00adal Bohemia, a giv\u00aden per\u00adson would have said, \u201cI am from such-and-such a vil\u00adlage\u201d, not \u201cI am Czech\u201d or \u201cI am Ger\u00adman\u201d. Most Bohemi\u00adans lived in this mul\u00adti-cul\u00adtur\u00adal and mul\u00adti-lin\u00adgual real\u00adi\u00adty, and had done so for cen\u00adturies, but the cen\u00adsus demand\u00aded that every\u00adone be labeled eth\u00adni\u00adcal\u00adly under a sin\u00adgle lan\u00adguage, assumed to be iden\u00adti\u00adcal with some inher\u00adent bio\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal species.<\/span><\/p>\n

To intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adals and polit\u00adi\u00adcal activists, the result\u00ading sta\u00adtis\u00adtics and man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtured eth\u00adnic\u00adi\u00adties became the tools for pow\u00ader strug\u00adgles. Nation\u00adal Defense Leagues, and par\u00adlia\u00admen\u00adtary pow\u00ader-blocks used them in the pur\u00adsuit of advance\u00adment, usu\u00adal\u00adly with bla\u00adtant eco\u00adnom\u00adic motives. The Nation\u00adal\u00adist men\u00adtal\u00adi\u00adty demand\u00aded not only the advance\u00adment of one\u2019s \u201cown\u201d schools, cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtions, stat\u00adues, and job oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties, but the exter\u00admi\u00adna\u00adtion of every\u00adone else\u2019s. Infan\u00adtile van\u00addal\u00adism, vio\u00adlence, and riots over stat\u00adues, beer brands, and songs char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adized life in late 19th Cen\u00adtu\u00adry Bohemia. Mobs attacked the\u00adatres that dared to per\u00adform a play in the Oth\u00ader lan\u00adguage. The found\u00ading of a Czech-lan\u00adguage uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty in Brno met vio\u00adlent oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion. Mobs of Czechs destroyed stores with Ger\u00adman signs in their win\u00addows. Ger\u00admans demand\u00aded boy\u00adcotts of beers brewed by Czechs. His\u00adto\u00adry was rewrit\u00adten into absurd fan\u00adtasies of heroes and vil\u00adlains exem\u00adpli\u00adfy\u00ading the \u201csupe\u00adri\u00ador\u201d cul\u00adture of Us and the per\u00adfidy and bar\u00adbar\u00adi\u00adty of Them. The old reli\u00adgious issues were not for\u00adgot\u00adten \u2014 they were mere\u00adly re-shaped and twist\u00aded to ampli\u00adfy eth\u00adnic ide\u00adolo\u00adgies. And, of course, the age-old hatred of Jews thrived in such an atmos\u00adphere, and was used as strate\u00adgic leverage.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it was that when the Repub\u00adlic of Czecho\u00adslo\u00adva\u00adkia emerged from the col\u00adlapse of the Aus\u00adtro-Hun\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adan Empire, after World War I, eth\u00adnic nation\u00adal\u00adism act\u00aded as a slow poi\u00adson to weak\u00aden and cor\u00adrupt a soci\u00adety that ini\u00adtial\u00adly offered con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable hope. Between the two wars, Czecho\u00adslo\u00adva\u00adkia was Europe\u2019s \u201cmod\u00adel democ\u00adra\u00adcy\u201d, at least in struc\u00adtur\u00adal and con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal terms. But in ret\u00adro\u00adspect, it is clear that as long a the eth\u00adnic idea sat\u00adu\u00adrat\u00aded the intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adal zeit\u00adgeist, the promise of that democ\u00adra\u00adcy could nev\u00ader be ful\u00adfilled. The ever-grow\u00ading pow\u00ader of the Nazis and the Com\u00admu\u00adnists could rely on this child\u00adish notion to sub\u00advert the demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic process, and cor\u00adrupt its moral\u00adi\u00adty, paving the way for the vic\u00adto\u00adry of total\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan\u00adism. Today, after two total\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan regimes gave way to a sec\u00adond repub\u00adlic, the same old non\u00adsense man\u00adi\u00adfests itself in prej\u00adu\u00addice against the Roma and immi\u00adgrant Asians. The slow poi\u00adson is still there.<\/span><\/p>\n

None of the con\u00adtend\u00ading groups come off well in this sto\u00adry. It\u2019s a sad one for me to con\u00adtem\u00adplate, because I have a deep affec\u00adtion for that region of Europe. Nobody who has wan\u00addered through the mead\u00adows and forests of Bohemia, delight\u00aded in its artis\u00adtic and archi\u00adtec\u00adtur\u00adal her\u00aditage, or lis\u00adtened to Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s music with atten\u00adtion could fail to form that affec\u00adtion. But it seems to me that eth\u00adnic nation\u00adal\u00adism is a pathet\u00adic trav\u00ades\u00adty of real love for a coun\u00adtry. There is no love of any\u00adthing in eth\u00adnic nation\u00adal\u00adism, only blind\u00adness and stupidity.<\/span><\/p>\n

This study is unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly writ\u00adten to a pedan\u00adtic \u201cpost-mod\u00adern\u201d for\u00admu\u00adla. But the facts are there, even if rather bland\u00adly recit\u00aded. It pro\u00advides a cau\u00adtion for Cana\u00addi\u00adans, whose own democ\u00adra\u00adcy devel\u00adoped on the premise that eth\u00adnic\u00adi\u00adty was irrel\u00ade\u00advant to nation\u00adhood, and is defined instead by shared geog\u00adra\u00adphy. There are always intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adals who wish to infect us with the old virus of eth\u00adnic nation\u00adal\u00adism, and they should be scorned by thought\u00adful Cana\u00addi\u00adans. Read\u00ading this book will help them to under\u00adstand why.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eth\u00adnic nation\u00adal\u00adism is one of the most dis\u00adeased and obnox\u00adious ideas con\u00adtrived by human beings, rivaled only by Marx\u00adism and reli\u00adgious fanati\u00adcism in its poten\u00adtial for cre\u00adat\u00ading human suf\u00adfer\u00ading. The stage was set for the hor\u00adrors of the twen\u00adti\u00adeth century \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[946,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b-reading","category-bs-reading-2008"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1020"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8286,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020\/revisions\/8286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}