Konkurs

[henrykkreuz]

April 15, 2003
This monthly column for a few independent publications keeps me on my toes
and is always a challenge. My readers expect each text to be better than
the one before. It is only three pages long but to do it well is not an
easy task. Each subject needs to be researched and presented well so
readers will appreciate the quality. Like music or poetry writing is an art
but it has not been easy for me to "paint" a vision of "Poland we want,
Poland we fight for".

I have noticed that most columnists (including myself) concentrate only on
criticism of the Polish post-communist regime but no one has ever presented
a concise vision of a Poland that we dream of and carry in our hearts. It
has occurred to me that unless we put this vision to paper our beloved
country will never be. At the same time by criticizing the current regime
we acknowledge their oligarchy, as we have not presented any alternative.

If I write these three pages of text myself, they will describe only my
vision of Poland, which would be a singular point of view. But for such a
challenging subject it would be more beneficial to present many works. So I
decided to declare a national competition for the best three pages of text
so others can also participate in a creation of a common vision of Poland
we want, the Poland we fight for. Poland of our dreams!

This competition for the "Poland to be", will end on June 15 with prizes
awarded 1st of July, 2003. It is now being advertised (5 million copies of
the ad) in several national papers in Poland and a few publications in
Canada and the USA. My goal is to publish a collection of 50 winning texts
in a book so that readers can see various points of view. This way a common
vision of Poland will be born that represents diversity and the dynamics of
our complex society.

Now that this competition is being advertised I can hardly wait to see the
results. I am curious to see what vision of Poland will predominate in the
received texts. Is this going to be a vision of Poland compatible with the
beliefs and directives of Miller, Kwasniewski, Michnik, Lepper, Urban,
Kulczyk, Schroeder or Bush? Or is this going to be a vision of the regular
working man: abused, underpaid and scared of being laid off? Is this going
to be a vision of the under privileged farmer, not able to break out from
the cycle of extreme poverty? Is this going to be a vision of Poland
absorbed by the EU, which has tempted Poles with an illusion of employment
in well paying jobs? Ultimately will the vision of great Poland provide a
peaceful life for all and will it be worth fighting for it?

Our ancestors had their own vision of Poland in their hearts and many of
our writers and poets have contained it in written form. But during the
turmoil at the beginning of this new century we need to update and document
our values, wishes, dreams and desires. We need to question in our minds
and hearts what we want. Unless we are able to contain these feelings,
emotions and thoughts on paper our Poland will never exist - globalists
will take it all. They want Poland for the values that we are blind to see
for we have forgotten our principles during 50 years of brutal communist
indoctrination.

During the times of past turmoil, during the German occupation or when
Poland was re-parted for almost 150 years, the vision of our Motherland
survived among the families in our Polish homes. It was preserved secretly
but with a great love and expressed itself in the taste of the meals cooked
at home, songs, poems, books and stories told by our grandmothers. Many
Poles who could not fight for their own country emigrated to join forces in
other lands, to defend and uphold values of democracy and freedom. Today
when Poland is saddled with a proportional election law, only a few are
willing to fight for the right to elect their true and direct
representatives.

Many efforts to fight the ruling caste of post-communists have not resulted
in a strong parliamentary opposition but have stopped at the level of
revindication of meager wages. But it is the valiant and courageous
opposition driven by a strong vision that makes the ruling party a hero
through competition and suggestions of new ideas. Are we willing to fight
for this to happen in our own land? We needed a strong vision of Poland on
the day that Lech Walesa knocked off the government of Jan Olszewski for
divulgence of the list of former communist agents in key political posts.
Premier Jan Olszewski in the last hour of his government cried out loud on
national TV: "whose Poland will that be?" He could only cry because instead
of a vision of great Poland he published this list of former communist
agents. The sad truth is there was no vision then and there is no vision of
a protective and providing Poland now.

Are we capable of painting a picture of beautiful Poland that will stop
Poles from leaving their country and draw Poles who have emigrated in the
past back to their Motherland? How can our great potential - human
resources be tapped to build the Poland of our dreams? So far the
post-communists have valued money but not experience. Can we reverse these
values to the proper order? Can we stop the destruction of our own land or
will our carelessness let it go down in the sea of poverty with no bottom
to reach? Or like biblical Jews blinded by the belief in golden cows, will
we be scattered around the world longing for our old ways?

Possibly the picture that will come out of this competition will be one of
Poland that seeks leadership from foreigners as the local leaders have
already shown that builders they are not. In my home in Poland I have an
album of pre-war photos given to my uncle Tolek Lewandowski, who was a
President of Polish Teachers Association. This impressive, leather bound
album on the top cover has a silver plate engraved with the words of the
famous Polish leader Marshall Jozef Pilsudski: (XXX) Has anyone in Poland
today ever thought of engraving any statement of the recent Polish
presidents such as Aleksander Kwasniewski or Lech Walesa? If we are ashamed
to cite any statements of our current leaders, do we have any leaders at
all?

So I will impatiently wait until this competition ends on June 15 this year
so I can read the replies. This will give all of us the opportunity to get
a good feeling for the Poland that comes out of the hearts of Poles - a
group vision contained in words. A vision that I hope will be a loud
contradiction to the demeaning idea promoted by gray eminence numero uno
Adam Michnik and his daily "Gazeta Wyborcza", who claims that the Poland of
today is overwhelmed by "generation nada", a generation not capable of any
fight or any dream. For the Jew Michnik already had his days of glory and
has outlived his purpose as a self-proclaimed spokesman of the Polish
dreams. The real future of Poland is in the minds and hearts of Poles and I
hope that I will have the privilege to publish this vision soon. A vision
to die for, a vision to live.

Stanislaw Tyminski

====================
KONKURS na najlepsze 3 strony maszynopisu
Temat: "POLSKA JAKIEJ CHCEMY, O JAKĄ WALCZYMY"
 nagroda 3000 zł
 nagroda 2000 zł
 3 nagrody po 1000 zł
Stanisław Tymiński
Wyślij pracę konkursową na adres:05-806 Komorów, ul. Leśna 7
e-mail: [e-mail]

Termin: 15 czerwca 2003 r.
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