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 MICHNIKSometimes 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.
More Adam Michnik Quotes
-
-
I can’t remember any text of mine where I said that one should fight Hitler without violence; I’m not an idiot.
ADAM MICHNIK -
France can never accept that it is no longer a dominating power in the world of culture. This is true both of the French right and the French left. They keep thinking that Americans are primitive cowboys or farmers who do not understand anything.
ADAM MICHNIK -
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.
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 -
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 -
Start doing the things you think should be done, and start being what you think society should become.
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 -
Both men have an authoritarian idea of government; democracy is merely a façade.
ADAM MICHNIK -
America needed our help, and we had to give it.
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 -
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.
ADAM MICHNIK -
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.
ADAM MICHNIK -
Politics and ethics belong to different worlds.
ADAM MICHNIK -
We still have politicians who strive for a different type of country: Kaczynski as well as Orbán in Hungary.
ADAM MICHNIK -
Demagoguery and populism are rampant. We are the illegitimate children, the bastards of communism. It shaped our mentality.
ADAM MICHNIK






