More than a generation ago, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi observed that what we pay attention to shapes who we are. You are what you pay attention to, one might say.
Here in the Czech Republic, we would do well to remember this over the coming hours and days, as moral and intellectual giants compete for our attention, explaining why it is a matter of vital importance that they take money directly from our pockets through the television budget rather than by some other means. More precisely, why public television must be financed through a special tax independent of the state budget. We can expect another orgy of stupidity and embarrassment. But there is no reason to let it clutter our minds. Even negative attention is still attention. You are what you choose to look at.
For those inclined to reflect more deeply, there is another question: Why do we see massive demonstrations in support of a minority position, while demonstrations supporting the majority position are tiny or nonexistent? The answer, of course, is that one side of the conflict has spent more than ten years and hundreds of millions of Czech crowns building a network of pressure groups, developing an organizational structure capable of mobilizing people, shaping media narratives, and cultivating a mass of addicts hooked on attending demonstrations. Had the current prime minister, Andrej Babiš, or one of his discreet supporters made the same investment, he would now be capable of bringing hundreds of thousands of people to Letná Square himself.
On the other hand, there is no need to pay excessive attention to all this shouting. Indeed, one consequence appears to be a slight increase in support for the governing party, which is pursuing precisely the policy the demonstrators oppose.