I believe that a man can only be useful to his country when he can look at it clearly.
ADAM MICHNIKThere were free elections in Bulgaria, where the opposition has just won.
More Adam Michnik Quotes
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Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Arabs can be elected to the parliament in a democratic election.
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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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Both men have an authoritarian idea of government; democracy is merely a façade.
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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.
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After the fall of communism in Poland, we had a post-communist as president for two terms: Aleksander Kwasniewski. He was very good. He brought Poland into NATO and the European Union.
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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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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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If you’re powerful, you are much more likely to be blind and deaf to signals from outside.
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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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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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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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America needed our help, and we had to give it.
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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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Do you believe in free speech? Then speak freely. Do you love the truth? Then tell it.
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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.
ADAM MICHNIK