Final Word from Monday, August 31, 2015
Humor is the only relief for the anxieties of a Western civilization on its last breath. Talk-show host Jan Kraus told his TV audience last week that the good news about immigrants is that the CR is much better protected from the refugee wave than some nearby countries. The best weapon the Czechs have, he said, is the difficulty of their language: They can speak openly about the migrants without being understood, and no immigrant will be able to learn the language, so they'll move on. Plus, he said, Czechs don't understand English, so the immigrants are doubly screwed. What would a French or German comic say to this? "Those Czechs think they're so damn smart, but refugees have rights too. After having escaped near-death at home, they can't be subjected to the torture of an arcane national language. It's a humanitarian issue. See how smart the Czechs are once we issue an EU directive on mandatory second official languages." [Czech Republic television migration immigration asylum]
Glossary of difficult words
relief - a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress;
last breath - the last moment of one's life;
doubly screwed - cheated, swindled or disadvantaged in two ways or from two directions;
arcane - understood by few; mysterious or secret.