On the third day of the MCC Fest in Esztergom, one of the big stars of the event, Tucker Carlson, took the stage. The crowd gave the Fox News star a standing ovation.
Despite the crowd and the heat, the audience listened with rapt attention to Carlson's presentation, who began by acknowledging the Hungarian government's response to the migration crisis - he found the government's strategy downright impressive. Hungary defended its national borders, and although according to other narratives this is a cause for shame, according to the speaker, only
the government did what any person would do if it were their own home.
"Whoever you allow can sleep in your own house," he emphasized. This is no different in relation to migration.
He also drew attention to the fact that, as negative as Hungary is in the American press, the accusations against our country are just as ridiculous. He read out a tweet from one of the Washington Post's regular writers, which described the influence of the Hungarian media by the government, the manipulation of the elections, and the inexplicable wealth of government members. Carlson simply said:
This situation is familiar! I live in that country!”
– implying that this description would not apply to Hungary, but rather to America.
America is not only hypocritical, but increasingly Orwellian, according to Carlson. In a country that considers itself to be exemplary free, it seems that nothing is forbidden, the freedom of speech and expression of thought is intact as long as one does not oppose the illiberal narrative. According to Carlson, if you are "single-minded enough to put a sign in your business window criticizing the Biden administration on any issue, as an American entrepreneur,
they break your window, they make it impossible".
Another sign of being Orwellian is a lack of perspective. Humor gives perspective, and when you have to think about what you're joking about, it's a big problem.
When humor is banned, you know something dark is coming”
said the American presenter. Every authoritarian movement has two main goals: one is to control speech, and the other is to prevent laughter. "If speech is controlled, the mind is controlled. For words determine the way of thinking; if you lose the words, you lose the ability to think.” According to Carlson, humor is nothing more than the ability to rise above the given situation to consider and come to a conclusion. What is left if this is lost? A country where you can't talk about your family, your country, and you have to be ashamed of what your ancestors did - concludes Carlson, reflecting on the current American situation.
On the other hand, the well-known media personality finds Hungary exemplary. Although we are small and the GDP of our country is lower than that of New York, we do not have an ocean, our relations with neighboring countries are not cloudless, and throughout our history we have suffered more than once from the oppression of foreign powers,
however, we can protect ourselves, we can represent the interests of our own citizens, said the presenter.
America is in dire need of historical retrospection, constantly reminding itself of what is at stake. According to Carlson, the sight of bullet holes on the walls of buildings, which can be found in many places in Hungary, is perfect for this purpose, as they allow us to recall every day what happened in the not-so-distant past - and what we want to avoid in the future. On the other hand, America isolates itself and learns the lessons of history, and tries to move towards the future without looking back at the past.
People are not interested in how big the country's GDP is, or what ideological battles are going on, they just want to be able to live undisturbed, to practice their culture and traditions undisturbed - Tucker Carlson concluded his speech.
Photos: Márton Ficsor
