Speech of Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek on 17th March, on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the foundation of Sokol*

Nazdar! This traditional greeting exchanged by Sokol members has become popular in the course of time – and unfortunately lost its appeal, too. Few people are aware today of its original meaning: its root is “zdar”, meaning success, or good luck. Therefore I am using it, in all seriousness and with all respect, because success and good luck is what I wish you and your actions.
Sokol could just as well be called Phoenix, because just as the mythical bird, it has proved its ability to rose from ashes. In 1990 it resumed its activities for the fourth time in its history, and once again stood up for its original values with remarkable – and I would say conservative faithfulness.
It was precisely this faithfulness to its original values which caused Sokol to be prohibited with iron regularity by all totalitarian governments. It is quite clear what they held against it. Sokol represents our culture, our identity, in the broadest sense of the words. And the first thing every totalitarian regime does is to attack the spirit of the nation.
We no longer have a totalitarian regime. Nevertheless, sometimes we have difficulty finding our identity – our positive national identity. Some regard it as a relic of past times, others even mistake it for nationalism.
I believe that the opposite is true. That it is exactly the awareness of our uniqueness, awareness of tradition and sensitive perception of our own culture which will make us a European nation in the best sense. Only if we hold ourselves in esteem can we truly esteem others.
Therefore I consider the nearly two thousand members which Sokol has today – eight-times as many as my party – to be a worthy community of people who sustain the work of our forefathers. They do so in order to remind themselves who they are. To remind themselves what the Czech nation is. To do something for their bodies and souls. To do something for the body and the soul of the civic society.
I would be really happy if the words of Miroslav Tyrš, one of Sokol’s founders, applied not only to Sokol members but to all citizens: “The reason for human existence is to resolve to do something and to stand by the resolution. Mere existence is like sea without water, a book without contents, life without life.” Once again – all success and good luck to your actions.