WE, THE SOCIETY
There may not be a phrase used in media more frequently than 'civic society'. Strengthening self-organization and understanding people's will are to be the main purpose of ministries and EU agenda. Regarding successes in these spheres, Jerzy Owsiak is being created into a secular deity, whereas the extremely leftist 'Political Critics' receives grants in millions.
However, the trouble appears when the social self-organization is taking a different direction than the one required by the authorities and leftist-liberal media. Then, suddenly, the descriptive language changes. Groups of fans of Radio Maryja become old-fashioned and narrow-minded warriors for media, protests in defence of the Television Trwam – become examples of illegal pressure on state bodies, hundreds of thousand signatures against sending 6-year-olds to schools - voices of non-professionals, and social act drafts in defence of life – documents without any significance.
Similar examples of neglecting social will in the recent years could be registered in a thick book. However, if somebody tried to do it, the summary should be optimistic. Because, despite that, this real civil society has got great successes. Despite the seven year of the government, for which Polishness is a burden, our national community was able to defend and strengthen the most important values. Teaching history at school was not allowed to be removed, the church was not allowed to be pushed away into the margin, granting places only to favoured TV stations on the multiplex was not allowed. Instead, active fight against historic lies was enforced, memory about the tragedy at Smolesk and its victims was not allowed to be removed. There are more and more positive initiatives, organized groups, media serving to the truth. We often tried to make people believe that this bottom-up pressure makes sense. It is necessary when the government is unwise and brings harm to the country, but it would be wrong to say that together with the change of the authority, which seems to be approaching, one could do nothing out of it. No. Fight for education, culture, historical truth, sovereignty and right to express one's faith will never end. None government will be able to stop homosexual lobby or people depraving the youth. It can be done only through the common effort. So, we get organized as well as possible, within the already existing structures or the new ones. Let's reach back to tradition from before the Second World War and the earlier one, when the social self-organization was preparing the nation being under the national partitions for independence. It was the time when there was an opinion that we did not have any chances, that the course of history would not be reversible. It was possible. Moreover, today there will be as much Poland as its defenders will be strong.
AA
„Niedziela” 39/2014