Quote by Vaclav Havel

My dear fellow citizens: For forty years you have heard from my predecessors on this day different variations of the same theme: how our country flourished, how many millions of tons of steel we produced, how happy we all were, how we trusted our government, and what bright perspectives were unfolding in front of us. I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, would lie to you. . . We live in a contaminated moral environment. We have fallen morally ill because we became used to saying one thing and thinking another. We have learned not to believe in anything, to ignore each other, to care only about ourselves. Notions such as love, friendship, compassion, humility, or forgiveness have lost their depth and dimensions. . . The previous regime . . . reduced man to a means of production and nature to a tool of production. Thus it attacked both their very essence and their mutual relationship. It reduced gifted and autonomous people to nuts and bolts in some monstrously huge, noisy, and stinking machine.

Summary

The quote reflects a speech given by the speaker, who is assumed to be a newly elected leader addressing the citizens. The speaker acknowledges the past rhetoric of false prosperity and trust while emphasizing their commitment to honesty. They express concern over the nation's deteriorating moral environment, emphasizing the prevailing hypocrisy and lack of genuine connections among people. The previous regime is criticized for dehumanizing individuals and exploiting nature for production. Overall, the quote highlights the need for a change in mindset and values to restore a sense of integrity, compassion, and respect for both humanity and the environment.