Final Word from Wednesday, January 15, 2025
According to the New York Post, the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 is resurfacing under incoming U.S. Pres. Donald Trump as the Donroe Doctrine. Similarly, we might add, the Havel Doctrine is resurfacing as the Pavel Doctrine. Michael Žantovský wrote in his biography of Václav Havel that the Havel Doctrine "emphasizes the shared responsibility of people to stand up to evil wherever and whenever it is being committed, and the unacceptable nature of appeasement, inaction or indifference in the face of evil." Petr Pavel invoked this last year on Victory Day when he quoted Havel as saying that, "Indifference to others and indifference to the fate of the whole is precisely what opens the door to evil." Yet Pavel has since spoken of an appeasement arrangement with Russia that would give it temporary control over much of Ukraine's territory. The emerging Pavel Doctrine, which Trump would no doubt sympathize with, is basically this: "Stand up to evil, but if evil proves too powerful, make a deal with it." [ Czech Republic James A Life Greenland Panama Canal Canada Gulf of Mexico America ]
Glossary of difficult words
Monroe Doctrine - a principle of U.S. policy, originated by Pres. James Monroe, that any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the U.S.;
to resurface - to arise or become evident again.