FIRSTLY AND THE ONLY: DO NOT LIE
ELŻBIETA MORAWIEC
The second anniversary of the funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczyńscy in Wawel on 18 April 2012 also included a panel on 'How to be steadfast in today's Poland' in its program, apart from the evening celebrations with the Holy Mass and a march from the Wawel hill to the Katyń cross and then to Cracow Market. The panel in the Philharmonic society was organised by the Club of Lech Kaczyński. This event should be reflected in media with a loud echo but - as we already know - it wasn't.
Steadfast people
The panel was moderated by dr Barbara Fedyszak-Radziejowska. The participants were people really steadfast who had already paid the price of their steadfastness in the Third Polish Republic of Tusk and Komorowski: Ewa Stankiewicz, Sławomir Cenckiewicz, Fr. Władysław Palmowski, prof. Andrzej Nowak and prof. Zdzisław Krasnodębski.
In his introductory pronouncement, prof. Krasnodębski reminded the main streams of the policy of the late Lech Kaczyński, quoting a historical interview of the later president for 'Rzeczpospolita newspaper, just after the conflict in Georgia on 18 August 2008. Why did he go to Georgia? Why did he organise the participation for leader of the Eastern Europe? - Because this was an interest of Poland. In the matter of the unity among nations of the Eastern Europe, the late president of the Polish Republic was not a thoughtless continuator of the federal idea of Piłsudski, he knew the realities of time and supported a close cooperation. And, first of all, he did not allow to be inscribed in the tradition of subordination to the power of neighbouring empires, choosing the greatest Polish tradition of a fight for freedom. Because - as prof. Krasnodębski said - Lech Kaczyński was a steadfast president of independent Poles. Other voices in the panel added new styles in the range of 'steadfastness'. Fr. Władysław Palmowski, a protector and guardian of 'Solidarity' in the years of the Martial Law reminded about this revolution of consciences which was done by John Paul II in his historical: 'May your Spirit come down and renew the face of the land. This land!' And he pointed to those who are the most steadfast, faithful to that message of the combatants of 'Solidarity', today the old people, faithful to friendship and to another man.
Do not lie or give consent to a lie
Ewa Stankiewicz, a great and brave documentary writer (the author of 'Three mates' and testimonies from Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw), concentrated on the sins of media. She reminded keeping silent about the solidary trip of Poles to Hungary, consequent omitting multi-thousand manifestations in the defence of the freedom of speech and the Television Trwam by media. She made an accusation directly to cameras: Why are you telling a lie?
The panel was finished by an unusual pronouncement of prof. Andrzej Nowak. This most prominent Polish historian today, a great politics expert reminded how the lines of intellectual divisions are happening in Europe today: in the West a full relativism of values - among the variety of truths, an important truth is that somebody was an oppressor as well as the truth that he was not an oppressor. And towards this European washing off values - there is a cold consequent policy of Putin's Russia. Prof. Nowak put an unusual hypothesis here. He inscribed it in the evangelical story about an unfaithful Thomas. Putin and his team did everything to show not only the strength of their lie but they revealed their lie openly - and doing the devastation of the wreckage Tu-154M and polishing it in the eyes of the world. It was a challenge for Poles: put your fingers into the wounds and say that they are not. Prof. Nowak did not say it, so I say it: the Polish government put its fingers into these wounds and stated that there were not any wounds. So we mustn't put our fingers into the wounds and state that there are no wounds, so that the unreality would not flood us. - Because 2+2 is always 4 and it cannot be once 6 and once 8, according to the existing relativism - concluded prof. Nowak. And our general steadfastness is the simplest of the simplest - simply not to tell a lie and not give consent to a lie, so that we would not become accomplices of this disgrace which is taken on by each member of the present government. The first and the only, evangelical: do not lie.
There were thousands of us
And the people disrespected by the government, the people of mohair - the old and the young, numbering over 10 thousands people - gathered for the Holy Mass in Wawel in the evening, which was celebrated by Bishop Jan Szkodoń. The chairman of the Law and Justice Party Jarosław Kaczyński and Marta Kaczyńska were present. The participants of the march arrived from Podhale and Podbeskidy, from Piotrków Trybunalski and other places and they marched with flags to the Cracow Market. And the attempts of counter-manifestation and disgraceful mottos were useless. There were thousands of us and only a small group of them; completely different than in the so-called surveys.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 18/2012