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.
ADAM MICHNIKBoth men have an authoritarian idea of government; democracy is merely a façade.
More Adam Michnik Quotes
-
-
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.
ADAM MICHNIK -
The main difference between the Prague Spring and the Velvet Revolution was that the former was mostly the work of Communist party members and others who wanted to bring about ‘socialism with a human face.’
ADAM MICHNIK -
America needed our help, and we had to give it.
ADAM MICHNIK -
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.
ADAM MICHNIK -
If you’re powerful, you are much more likely to be blind and deaf to signals from outside.
ADAM MICHNIK -
Even though we are not sure of the links, Iraq was one of the countries that did not lower its flags in mourning on 9/11.
ADAM MICHNIK -
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.
ADAM MICHNIK -
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.
ADAM MICHNIK -
Demagoguery and populism are rampant. We are the illegitimate children, the bastards of communism. It shaped our mentality.
ADAM MICHNIK -
The call to finally clean house is a propaganda tool of the right, which tolerates the leftists who it condemns.
ADAM MICHNIK -
We still have politicians who strive for a different type of country: Kaczynski as well as Orbán in Hungary.
ADAM MICHNIK -
A part of society in our countries would still prefer an authoritarian regime today. These are people with the mentality of Homo sovieticus. But they also exist in France – just think of Le Pen – and even in Finland and Sweden.
ADAM MICHNIK -
They want a gradual coup. If Orbán stayed in power in Hungary or if Kaczynski were to win an election in our country, it would be dangerous.
ADAM MICHNIK -
There were free elections in Bulgaria, where the opposition has just won.
ADAM MICHNIK -
Start doing the things you think should be done, and start being what you think society should become.
ADAM MICHNIK






