The Czech lands have undergone two radical upheavals in the last 100 years.
The first occurred in 1948 (more precisely, between 1945 and 1948), when communist coup took place, and the second took place in 1989–1990, when communist regime was replaced by liberal one.
The two events differ in that the first sought to take over as much as possible from the previous social system. This is sometimes described as ‘the Bolsheviks stole everything’. While this is too emotionally charged for my taste, it does express the essence well: we took something that already existed and used it. This is exactly what the communist regime did. It took over factories, technology, education, national history, much of the existing art, customs and routines of everyday life. For the average citizen in an average profession, surprisingly little changed. Some things changed their names, and American films disappeared from cinemas, but nothing groundbreaking.
On the other hand, the changes after 1989 were driven by a mindset focused on destroying everything that had come before. The idea that anything inherited from the communists could function well was considered unbearable. Everything was destroyed, from 150-year-old manufacturing traditions to the civil code, which dated back to imperial times and could have served for another 200 years. The existing education system was dismantled, and even family relationships were attacked. Everything was bad!
After 1989, people constantly said that ‘those marked by communism must die out’ because those who had lived before the liberals came to power were considered to have no human value. The communists, on the other hand, never said anything like that. They valued the knowledge and experience gained under the previous regime.
Today, with further changes on the horizon, it would be a big mistake to repeat the liberals’ mistake. Even in the worst regime, there are many things that work very well (which is why we are usually unaware of them) and are worth preserving.