Stand For What You Believe In

In 1976, the Czech psychedelic rock band, the Plastic People of the Universe, were arrested and tried by the Czech Communist government. The government convicted the band for disturbing the peace, with the band members serving 8 to 18 month sentences. In response to the arrest of the band, a group of Czech artists, writers, and musicians, including Vaclav Havel, circulated a petition for their freedom, known as the Manifesto of Charter 77. Charter 77 was not a formal political party, but instead functioned as an advocacy group for human rights. In 1975, the Czech government had signed the Helsinki Declaration, which included guarantees of human rights and individual freedoms. However, the Charter states that these basic human rights exist on paper only. The Czechoslovak government condemned all of the signers of Charter 77, several of whom were tried and imprisoned. However, Charter 77 can be seen as the first public action of a move from communist regime to democratic rule.

The audience for Charter 77 can be seen as everyone in Czechoslovakia during that particular time. It was mainly to get the Government’s attention of what the people felt was happening with current rule, but also to inform the people themselves. The audience today can be anyone who feels they should stand up for what they believe in. It gives us hope that courage to express your views exists and can be successful.

The group of people who wrote/backed Charter 77 were blaming the current government system for not backing up their words with actions. This is evidence of vituperation. For example, in Article 13 of the Helsinki Declaration, it states that everyone has the right to education. But numerous times, children would be prevented from studying because of their views or their parents views. Lots of emotion was put into this document. It was technically illegal, but Vaclav and lots of others felt strongly about “freeing” themselves from this Government who would not allow the people the rights they deserved. Repetition is used throughout this document in the form of these kinds of examples that all point out these basic rights, and why the people deserve better.

I could see Vaclav reading this document as a firm, direct speech to whoever was willing to listen, which I would assume would be a lot. It is a call to change, and that is what he did. This document would eventually lead to an overthrow of communism at the end of 1989 and the election of Vaclav Havel as President of the new Czech Republic in 1990.