Vaclav Havel and Image of Moral Leadership - Essay Example

? no. Vaclav Havel an Image of Moral Leadership The capa of man to have a sense of morality is a characteristic that distinguishes man from other apes. Morality generally is the ability of a person to be concerned about the significance of their actions on others. The ability of a person to set apart right and immoral implies that they have a moral sense (Ayala, pp. 1918). Such a person will endeavor to act in ways that do not cause inconvenience to other people. Morality, however, differs from one character to another, and among cultures. What one person or culture regards as immoral could be moral in a different setting. The subject of morality has received a lot of attention over a long period of time. Theologians and philosophers alike have been at work explain the determinants of morality in man. Vaclav Havel will be the main focus of this essay as we seek to establish the fundamentals of moral leadership. Description Vaclav Havel, may he rest in peace, was born in 1936 in Prague. He came from a prominent entrepreneurial family who owned an entertainment company and numerous housing complexes. Havel was a celebrated playwright in Czechoslovakia, way before the country became the Czech Republic. He became a prominent writer in the 1960s, with a majority of his works focusing on absurd political regime of the time. His articles focused on the rampant violations of human rights in Czechoslovakia. He openly criticized the authoritarian rule of the time which included such acts as censorship and human rights infringement. In addition to being a playwright, Havel was also a nonconformist to the authoritarian rule, which he explicitly defied. He was a man of great courage amidst all the terror, violence and human rights abuses of the 20th century, in his country and beyond. His involvement in politics came in 1989 after the fall of the communist system, when he became the informal leader of government opposition. Havel’s concern for morality in the way Czechoslovakia was governed ultimately led his election as the president Czechoslovakia in 1990. Following the split of Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Havel became the first president-elect of the Czech Republic. By the time Havel left office in 2003, he had made an everlasting mark on true democracy. Throughout his theatre and dissidence life and reign as president, Havel exhibited exemplary moral leadership qualities that earned him international recognition. Analysis Even before joining politics, Havel was a strong advocate for fair treatment of the people of Czechoslovakia. During his days as a playwright, he wrote articles and one time wrote a letter addressed to a top government official, to relent on the contravention of human rights. As a dissident he, in collaboration with others such as Jan Patocka founded Charter 77, a human rights movement. Seeing the way the powerful subjugated the ordinary citizens made Havel write one of his greatest works “the Power of the Powerless”. Here, he was telling the leaders of the time that the people had power to dislodge them from office, without resorting to violence. He claimed that Czechoslovakia had become a country governed by morally bankrupt people out to subjugate the citizens. He urged the citizens to do what is morally right; instead of turning violent against the regime, they should continue with their activities like nothing was wrong. Knowing very well that Czechoslovakians were “living within a lie”, he did not advise them to use violence against the oppressive regime. Havel saw violence as an unethical resolve that would only rationalize the tyrannical government’s actions. For example, any foreigner in Czechoslovakia was required by law to register with the police on where they were living. The enforcement of this law however, was not easy for the authorities. The law was finally repealed after Czechoslovakians refused to abide by the ridiculous law, and would not register their guests. This was the power of the powerless that Havel was writing about. By “living in truth”, the citizens could get the government to act with decency, without the former resorting to violent immoral methods of resistance. In one of his letters while in prison, Havel wrote to his wife Olga that he never intended to become a dissident. He and others of his reasoning simply did what they thought was decent and fair, and their actions landed them in prison. Havel, therefore, urged citizens of Czechoslovakia to engage in constructive activities such as forming clubs that would foster development in Czechoslovakia, as opposed to civil disobedience. Throughout his life, Havel believed in reconstruction as opposed to destruction. He led his people in believing that Czechoslovakia was in dire need of reconstruction and that that was the moral obligation of every citizen. After being elected as the president Havel had a total makeover. He did away with the blue jeans and t-shirts and instead opted for suits. He no longer went out for late night parties. He gave government headquarters at Prague a whole new look and established the new Czechoslovakia. This only goes to show that Havel had the moral sense to realize that he now was the image of Czechoslovakia and that his activities and look had to represent the new generation of Czechoslovakians and a new regime. Havel displayed his moral leadership qualities in various ways as a president. One of Havel’s immediate actions after election to presidency was to grant amnesty to all prisoners wrongfully jailed by the previous regime. Havel believed that just like him, many of the prisoners had been jailed for failing to conform to the rules of the autocratic government. As a moral leader, the right thing for Havel to do was to order for the release of those prisoners. He also claimed that the release of the prisoners would serve to lessen pressure in the prisons, where prisoners were living in inhumane conditions. Havel’s may have rubbed many Czechoslovakians the wrong way when it came to his stand on the Sudeten population in Czechoslovakia .The latter group wanted to expel the Sudeten Germans from the Czech Republic, but Havel saw this as not only unjust, but also morally irresponsible. He stood for the reconciliation between Germany and Czechoslovakia and thus opposed the expulsion of the Sudeten population. Havel also participated in the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the transformation of NATO. He fought for and accomplished the inclusion of Czechoslovakia in the European Union, one of his greatest achievements. Throughout his political life, Havel urged citizens not to be misled by consumerism and popular party politics. He argued that the modern party politics were led by greedy politicians who wanted to transform the country back to its communism days. These political parties, he argued, were instituted and ran through corrupt dealings. Although he believed and championed for civilization and development, Havel held that modern technology in politics deprived it of civility. He was a firm believer that democracy could only be achieved through morality embodied in a steadfast civil society. Where else in the world has there been a president who does not believe in political parties? Most political leaders ride on the success of political parties for their continued tenure in office. Such leaders lack the moral sense that citizens may be oppressed by the actions of these political parties, especially if they source their funds from corrupt activities. Havel was thus one of a kind, a truly morally upright leader. Evaluation Moral leadership is the capacity of a leader to act in the best interests of people based on fairness and justice. Such a leader does not act according to political or individual reasons; rather decisions are based on ethical guiding principles. In my views expressed in this essay, Vaclav Havel was truly a moral leader. The question, however, remains - what is moral leadership and how can one justify the actions of another as moral or not. Morality, according to Kant is measured by the reasoning behind certain acts. If a person does a good deed, because they fear the consequences of doing otherwise, then the person is not moral. However, if a person does so because they are obligated by their conscience to do so, then such a person is morally upright. Accordingly, when Vaclav Havel decided not to expel the Sudeten people from Czechoslovakia, he did not do it for fear that Germany might retaliate. He had the moral sense to realize that reconciliation between the two states would only be achieved through mutual co-existence. Under liberal individualism, it is the moral obligation for leaders to ensure that individual rights are protected Beauchamp & Childress (pp. 196). The infringement of these rights means that the state has no sense of morality. A case in point is when Havel decided to grant amnesty to prisoners who had not had fair trial during the communist regime. It was both the legal and moral right of those jailed to have a fair trial. As a leader, Havel saw that the prisoners had been indicted unfairly and that he was morally obligated to grant them their right to freedom. However, under the communitarianism approach, critics of Havel’s decision saw that the release of the convicts was risky for the community. They argued that the release of the ex-prisoners would increase crime rates in the community. That the community stood to lose more than it could gain from the freeing the convicts. According to communitarian theorists, therefore, Havel did not act morally, in the sense that he put individual needs before those of the community. Nonetheless, it is yet to be proven that indeed the liberation of the detainees led to an upsurge crime in Czechoslovakia. Conclusion It is my view, in wrapping up that up until his death in December 2011 Vaclav Havel was one of the most decent and morally upright leaders of our time. Not only did he lead the people of Czechoslovakia out of communism, he helped them appreciate morality and ethical behavior, something they are only beginning to appreciate after his demise. After Vaclav Klaus succeeded Havel, the Czech Republic has been thrust into consumerism politics occasioned by corruption among other social evils. The decency of Vaclav Havel was felt the world over. In his post-presidency, Havel continued to advocate for civility, morality and ethical behavior in politics and other spheres of life. He became a statesman renowned for championing for the perpetuation of human rights. During his lifetime, Havel gained numerous accolades for his role in championing for human rights among other worthy courses. After his death, many influential people including Ban Ki-moon and Barrack Obama paid tribute to the fallen hero. The Secretary-General of the United Nations hailed Vaclav Havel as the “the moral voice of his country and his era”. Works cited Ayala, Francisco. The difference of being human: Morality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PNAS May 11, 2010 vol. 107 no. supplement 2 9015-9022. Web. Beauchamp, Tom & Childress, James. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press. 2001. Print. Read More