CRUSADE TO THE WEST
WIESŁAWA LEWANDOWSKA
Today’s so-called average Pole hardly understands or knows what is happening in the world – despite or maybe because of having TV or internet on all the time – about its geopolitical, economic and social processes. And what is certain, he does not analyze destructive cultural-civilisation phenomena anymore which overwhelmed the world of the West. Neither relativism nor gender ideology or despotic political correctness are overwhelming (yet!) the conditions of life somewhere far away from the Bug, Pilica, San…
Although people in Poland are enjoying belonging to the western civilization, they understand it as the supreme form of organizing human life, using all possibilities which it provides, but, interestingly, they do not make any effort to take over its spiritual possessions. They still go to church, and respect traditions. Poland remains culturally different from Europe, which does not make us look bad, despite some opinions.
It is in modern Europe, not in ‘narrow-minded’ Poland where there are growing difficulties with the freedom of speech resulting from overwhelming political correctness, from the dictate of one right ideology. We have already experienced it and have some knowledge on it. But is it really so?
Generally, we accept everything coming to us from the West with the good of inventory and we do not oppose to it, but rather ignore, for example, the fact that in Hyde Park in London, considered as a place of the freedom of speech, it is not allowed to speak freely anymore; when a retired policeman from the USA, a protestant fundamentalist, was trying to proclaim the Good News there – he was simply reading out a Bible on the issue of homosexuality – was arrested and only thanks to the influences of American diplomacy he was not sentenced to imprisonment but expelled from Great Britain. That symptomatic event was reminded by prof. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz at one of his lectures for Poles during his last holiday.
Heresy overwhelmed the West
Prof. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz is an American historian of the Polish origin, a graduate from Colombia University, a professor at Washington Institute of World Politics, a representative of conservative thought, an explorer and expert of Polish-Jewish relations, Holocaust issue, history of Central and Eastern Europe of the 19th and 20th century and fascist and communist movements. He has been maintaining relationship with Poland since the 90s of the last century, sharing his knowledge through his cooperation with numerous publishing offices and lectures and meetings in various groups, during his opportunities of being in Poland. He treats his activity as a mission and a necessary work from the basis, because – as he notes –in Poland knowledge about historic and contemporary mechanisms, especially the ones governing the world of the West, is still very poor, even among elites. Hence there is too often confusion and powerlessness towards attacks, especially from the West. At the meeting in the building of PAST, organized by the Foundation to Those in a Fight for Independence, the Expelled, the Aggrieved, Interned, the Imprisoned – which was attended to a special wish of his father Witold Chodakiewicz, an anticommunist opposition activist – the professor used a very picturesque way to describe the state of the western civilization failure and the state of helplessness of those who want to return to its real roots.
Terminology confusion, that is, brainwash
Today’s leftist ideology of the West – prof. Chodakiewicz explains – is not its essence at all: this is not the West but heresy. However, it is a fact that at the moment the West is overwhelmed by it and is suffering a lot, when being possessed by this heresy, under the harassment of the generation 1968, which has taken over the authority. We are dealing with malicious counter-culture, based on destructive dictatorship of pleasure which dissolves all social relations like an acid.
However, what is comforting, is the fact that the American professor was trying to cheer up independence fighters, depressed by Polish problems – that normal people in the United States, like in Poland, treat these leftist activists as a situation permitted by God. I often hear people complaining there that the United States are under occupation of Hollywood and Madison Avenue, that our children are not our children anymore, as we sent them to universities. It is worth reflecting on how it concerns our children in Poland, whether they are not pushed into the occupation of pop culture, and also what our universities are like….
What we are dealing with in the sphere of culture now does not deserve to be named the western civilization. At the moment everything is getting lost in the post-modernism – prof. Chodakiewicz explains – which does not develop the civilization of the West but leads it to a failure in a complicated way. Today we are dealing with terminology confusion, blurring and changing the meaning of words.
The Bible says that in the beginning there was a word, Logos. But a word must mean something – a girl is a girl, a boy is a boy, not a giraffe! If one is a transsexual prostitute today , but a kite tomorrow – prof. Chodakiewicz uses absurd associations, without which the description of culture and customs of the West would be impossible – so, can I think about what is really important to me?! Or maybe I am not a human, maybe people should die out so that there would not be global warming?!This is not a joke at all, this is the reality of the West and the United States now.
One of the surveys carried out in the United States recently proved that 39 percent young people at the age of 14 – 19, so those who were born in the 21st century, are not able to define themselves sexually. Because their minds are attacked by propaganda from their birth: a little boy, maybe you will wear a dress…
All this is abnormal. The so-called normal people do not want to agree to it but it is getting more and more difficult, as a made up trap of tolerance was made. – What is the most destructive for the civilization of the West – prof. Chodakiewicz says – is the fact that it is completely impossible to express one’s objection to the ‘tolerant ones’, as they are fundamentally intolerant towards those who think differently from them!
America like Poland
What the cultural wars are about now, is not based on the fact that the West is bad, that there appear some abnormal people who are trying to impose their reactive fascist rubbish….It is the other way round: heresy has overwhelmed the West – prof. Chodakiwewicz is consistent in using this strong term – whereas we are only defending the western civilization.
Some societies in the West are still more faithful to real western civilization than others. The Americans belong to them. Surveys prove that among the so-called advanced societies the Americans are those who pray the most. They go to church a bit less often than Poles. What America is doing – or what it is not doing – causes outrage not only in American elites in America but also elites in Brussels. Because it turns out that it is possible to get modernized and be the most powerful country with God! It does not happen that when somebody goes to church, he gets round Texas by a carriage pulled by a horse. There are rackets, like Internet, everything which is the best, there is the power Pax Americana – always with God!
When the Americans go to Afghanistan or Iraq – prof. Chodakiewicz reminds – they go there always with chaplains. They do not pay attention to the leftist activists shouting about the gap between the Church and the state. This gap is, certainly, the base of the western civilization as the West does not mean theocracy. As St. Augustine taught, the gap must exist so that the Caesar would not intrude into our faith….And we should come out from our Christian ghetto and go towards agora.
This is simply our duty – prof. Chodakiewicz poinst out to negligence of the Christians dur=e to which the current state of the western civilization looks so –as the Christians we are obliged to proclaim the Good News, we should be confident about our knowledge and know that the Caesar (the contemporary governments)does not have a right to intrude into our works. This is a real understanding the gap between the Church and the state. At the moment the post-modernists are trying to convince one another that the Christians should be restricted to ghettos, catacombs, that they should shut up and say nothing. The United States do not allow for it. In serious, moderately conservative newspapers there are open discussions on whether there will be a civil war with the leftist activists, as the situation like that cannot take place…And it is not all about the geographical division into the red and blue states, but about the division in lots of homes where children are stolen from parents who are still trying to maintain patriotism and tradition.
In America young people can choose between schools similar to ours – the professor speaks about his Institute of World Politics which educates staff in a conservative way for serious institutions, diplomatic and special services - and numerous leftist universities - nearly all of them are leftist – he adds – where they will be taught how to become a transsexual, where they will receive academic degrees on the basis of completely useless awkward knowledge. It is unimportant that they will find it difficult to get employed later, as everybody will always tell them that they are great and do not have to work; that they can and rather must live pleasantly, invent further fun, so as not to get bored.
Converting the West
When supporting Poland’s joining the EU, John Paul II expressed his hope that Polish spirituality would enliven and heal this Europe in which after the revolt of the year 1968, there appeared the counter-culture, freedom without responsibility and aiming at total unification of everybody and everything, pointlessly justified that in this way conflicts among people and nations would be prevented.
The pope’s dreams have not been realized till now, but, on contrary, Poland has recently been in the fire of criticism from intellectual and political elites governing Europe. It is hard to see any chances for a good change – that is, restoring the spirit of the western civilization. The spirit which Popes and fathers the founders of the European Union meant. Also some Polish politicians hope that it will be possible to reform the European Union at least, liberate it from the trap of the destructive countercultural ideology. Well, dreams have not been forbidden yet.
Some people in London thought that when brexit appeared, the political correctness would end. Nothing like that. Prof. Chodakiewcz proclaims the most incorrect political statement: it is necessary to change culture, it is necessary to return to faith! That is why – he says – American protestant fundamentalists send loads of missionaries not only to Africa but to Latin America mainly, because in that Catholic Church there are appearing Marxism, lesbianism, theology of liberation. So, Protestants are sending their hunters of souls in order to spread real Christianity.
In Scotland people do not know how to make the sign of the cross, in some churches in France there are posters with instructions how to make the sign of the cross…Evangelization is needed there – prof. Chodakiewicz is very radical in this issue – and it would be the best if it was carried out by the Catholic Church but I am afraid that it will not be able to, that it has already resigned from it…In Poland it is not so bad yet but there is a tragedy in the United States. So if somebody wants to curse inquisition and the today, he should remember that the Dominicans, before getting leftist in the second half of the 20th century, had been dealing with investigating such civilization dangers which are a norm in San Francisco today.
All this – prof. Marek Chodakiewicz concludes – causes such enormous confusion that people who want to live in harmony with one another and God, are confused and cannot say: I am this person, I believe it, I am faithful to it, no matter what trends are…What to do? It is simply necessary to do what one should do, like once people in Poland used to do when fighting for independence - with God on their mouths. And it is still necessary to fight. Today reasonable people should invent a good strategy to survive. My dream is a crusade.
Translated by Aneta Amrozik
Niedziela 34/2018 (26 VIII 2018)