Well, well, well.... old Commie Poland.... who'd a thunk? [View All]

Here is one of the posts in response to the article in the Guardian by Adam Michnik, linked below it.

Irresistance

I left Poland when I was just about 7, although I came back many times and have lived there recently again. For me, when I was younger, the commie times were for a very long time something I very much loved, perhaps childishly, as a time of harmony, of social cohesion, of a place where you help each other out. I still remember the nights I used to cry and yearn to go back there, to live there, to leave this orderly, seemingly cold Holland behind and go back. To this day I still dont fully understand why this feeling was so intense, so deep, perhaps, also, idealized, I am sure...

Then the wall fell, and I still longed for that time. Yes, we all drove shitty cars, yes, I remember waiting for a bit of meat in the lines, but it felt good, no matter what you said, it was the place I felt best, now being adult perhaps I can realize with some rational thinking it was all really an illusion, but I still remember it as the best time of my life.

Until one day I had the chance to put my elusive dream into practice - at the age of 16 I left Holland and decided to go back to Poland to live there. This was around 1995 or so, a few years down the track after the big transformation began to a fully capitalistic, democratic, grab-what-you-can, be better than your neighbour, own a better car, flash your goodies Poland. Only then did I realize that the time I was longing for was long gone, and people had changed beyond recogition to me. This was not the Poland I knew, this was not the Poland I wanted to come back to.

Even now, being 30 years old and at least believing I have somewhat of an understanding of societies and political systems and an idea of why things are right or wrong, I still am unable to decide what truly was the better system for my country, or perhaps even for people in general - share a mild misery but be roughly equal, or in theory be able to grab every opportunity but live in a world where no one gives a damn about anyone but himself...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/09/solidarity-poland-berlin-wall-1989