> i have a very low opinion of slovakia personally
What a beautiful display of primitive nationalism. Man, did you even read it after yourself?
This election campaign in the little country of yours is really very interesting to observe from far outside. Thanks to these primitive polarising factors one gets to observe what is "under the surface" of even many intelligent and otherwise accomplished people. It's nothing different than elsewhere: primitive atavistic emotions rooted in "us good, them bad" 🤦♂️ That's no surprise. But it's fun to observe the society discovering this about themselves - because they thought that "we are better than that" - no, you are not.
@pony "Not liking" and "having a very low opinion" are two different things. One is a statement of subjective emotional attitude, the other expresses a subjective qualitative judgement. I might not like broccoli, but I certainly do not have a low opinion of its vegetable qualities. But no worries, it could have been worse, such as an attempt at a negative objective qualitative judgement.
@pony I am not going to argue about what you think or not, it's not necessary, nor do I think me or you care that deeply.
My comment was in a broader context of me observing this election campaign from far away and seeing that many respectful people suddenly have no problem to publicly express their open dislike for their neighbouring country and its society, or use either open, or veiled nationalistic rhetoric just because it's easy and convenient - as you also pointed out in your original post. As I said, that's nothing new or weird in the current European context, but I find it somewhat amusing for a society where a significant portion of intellectual elites prides (prided?) themselves with strong humanist and democratic heritage from Masaryk to Havel. Such statements, even if we agree that they are not exactly harmful, are still in a strong contrast with those national myths. I guess we agree that besides being useless, such statements certainly do not improve relations with the other side - rather the contrary. And that is what I putting my finger on.
