I believe that a man can only be useful to his country when he can look at it clearly.
ADAM MICHNIKToday we reject the notion of equality between a regime that belongs to the democratic world – even if it is conservative and disagreeable – and a totalitarian dictatorship, whether its colors are black, red, or green.
More Adam Michnik Quotes
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This is why we will never again say that Chamberlain is no better than Hitler, Roosevelt no better than Stalin, and Nixon no better than Mao Zedong, even if we do condemn Roosevelt for Yalta, Chamberlain for Munich, and Nixon for Watergate.
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Sometimes the type of person from the old machine, who is everything but an appealing figure, happens to win an election. But democracy applies to everyone, not just the noble and the clever.
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The real struggle for us is for the citizen to cease to be the property of the state.
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Poland is an ally of the United States of America. It was our duty to show that we are a reliable, loyal, and predictable ally.
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Kaczynski appointed a judge to the position of deputy justice minister who had once sentenced current President Bronislaw Komorowski to a prison term.
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Do you believe in an open society? Then act in the open. Do you believe in a decent and humane society? Then behave decently and humanely.
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I can’t remember any text of mine where I said that one should fight Hitler without violence; I’m not an idiot.
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As a rule, dictatorships guarantee safe streets and terror of the doorbell. In democracy the streets may be unsafe after dark, but the most likely visitor in the early hours will be the milkman.
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Although there is a strong desire for freedom in the countries of Eastern Europe, there is no democratic tradition, so that the risk of anarchy and chaos continues to exist.
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Today we reject the notion of equality between a regime that belongs to the democratic world – even if it is conservative and disagreeable – and a totalitarian dictatorship, whether its colors are black, red, or green.
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If you’re powerful, you are much more likely to be blind and deaf to signals from outside.
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Politics and ethics belong to different worlds.
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The call to finally clean house is a propaganda tool of the right, which tolerates the leftists who it condemns.
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After the French Revolution, it was not the treason of the king that was in question; it was the existence of the king. You have to be very careful when you judge and execute somebody for being a symbol.
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Start doing the things you think should be done, and start being what you think society should become.
ADAM MICHNIK






