crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes
What makes flirts with populism disconcerting is not simply that violent masses take to the streets.
The lasting problem is that in the course of these developments, the public discourse environment
becomes incapable of hosting a rational, informed exchange on matters of public concern. Narratives
on the wrongs of the communist past are replaced by empty rhetoric ornamented by canonized stock
phrases – flashing the imagery of friend and foe in ahistoricized emblems of good and evil. Attempts at
drawing alternatives and introducing distinctions are silenced as detrimental and malicious.
Such developments may be overcome by realizing the importance of coming to terms with the past
and recognizing the utility of generating incentives for reconciliation. Although such attempts might
take public figures’ sincere admission concerning their past dealings and affiliations, this is not too high
a price to pay for living not only in a post-Communist (and post-modern) constitutional democracy –
but in a decent society. To quote Avishai Margalit from The Ethics of Memory:
“A constitution is a constitutive part of a community’s shared memory. /.../ (I)t is not true that the
only emotions which fit the democratic spirit are the those directed at the future, like hope. Democracy
can and should include backward-looking emotions and attitudes as well, such as forgiveness and
gratitude. The reason is that democracy, too, is a systematically ambiguous term. It means, minimally,
a technique for changing the government without violence, but it also means a full-fledged way of life.
And as a way of life, it needs to build among citizens a tradition of loyalty to their shared constitution,
institutions, and fair procedures.” 26
26
Avishai Margalit, The Ethics of Memory, Harvard University Press, Boston 2002, p. 12.
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