Poland after 10 April
Marek Jurek
We are wondering what to do in order not to lose the moral awakening we experienced during the national mourning; so that this big wave of solidarity become a creative power of responsibility for Poland before God and faith in Poland’s strength, her importance in Europe and her future.
The question is open because we seem to have the simplest answer; the thing is not the choice of values, responsibility for matters that will shape the future of our country but it is a simple choice of the party. Since the moral dimension of politics is not the matter of party competition but of politics that actively supports good life of people.
The future of our country first of all depends on families, whether they have children and how they bring them up – next generations of Poles. 70% of children are born to 30% of (clearly poor) families and so the Polish state must decisively support them. And it means a consistent decrease of the tax burden for families having children and support of parenthood by prolonging maternity leaves as well as granting retirement entitlements for mothers for every year of their work at home and upbringing children. Supporting families means supporting the ethics of family life and courageously opposing public demoralisation. Especially pornography. One cannot speak about family values and silently accept anti-family propaganda of promiscuity.
This work for Poland’s future involves something more than popularity of principles. One cannot speak about the results when we have pro-family majority in the Parliament but one can speak about it when we increase the birth rate, when half a million of children a year will be born in Poland again.
Poland’s future in Europe depends on her decisive involvement for the cause of the values of Christian civilisation. We should not return to the situation when the Parliament together with the government and opposition passively watched the attacks against the Pope in Europe. Instead of proposing to include the family rights in the catalogue of the fundamental values of the European Union our authorities passively agreed to include ‘non-discrimination’ of the so-called sexual minorities. We should not return to the situation when being able to build the authority of our country by defending the freedom of religion in the world we remain silent even when other European countries defend the persecuted Christians.
Poland, being the spokesman of Christian opinion in Europe, will still have opponents but will begin gaining understanding and appreciation on which one can build the European position of our country.
The state needs a decisive transformation of its political institutions (election in one-mandate constituencies and abolishing the unfair system of financing the political headquarters). Without that we will not build any area needed for honest and courageous politics.
The measure of our faith in the sense of the Polish independence is also to preserve our national currency when Poland does not constitute an optimal currency area with Western Europe.
Will we be ready for this involvement in Poland’s future: in active realisation of our Christian identity in Europe, in preserving the instruments of independent national politics, in restoring principles, convictions and responsibility in politics?
This is another challenge we are facing. May we cope with it well but first of all may we take up this challenge.
"Niedziela" 20/2010