strich
6 Sep 2010 / #1
I am very new to Polishness. Growing up a child of the sixties in America it was natural for me to abandon my ethnic roots in an attempt to fit in with the cultural and sexual revolution. For forty years now I have watched my fathers predictions concerning the de-moralization of America and the Western world come to pass. As our nation proceeds toward revolution I try hard to understand what events and attitudes have precipitated our demise. Ironically, I look back to the sixties and recognize there that the seeds planted have sprouted into a jungle of corruption and vices against which I was warned as a child.
Earlier this Spring I visited Poland for only a week. It was a whirlwind visit overshadowed by the Smolensk disaster, yet it was by far the most significant journey of my life. Inasmuch as I have read the entries of some very mean spirited and critical people on this forum, I feel compelled to express my conviction and fear that Poland is, despite its horrible history of occupation and persecution, a very strong and powerful nation morally and spiritually. At the same time I recognized that Poland is very likely the last bastion of that same morality and spirituality on Earth.
As Western nations are beginning to realize, there is a very strong and concerted effort on the part of Islam to conquer their nations by attrition. We are seeing this in the U.S. as an unstoppable wave of immigration and fertility. My concern is not so much with what to do as it is with understanding why they hate us so much. And, as I reflect upon the deterioration of our moral fiber I believe I understand better their motives. Politics and economics aside (no remarks concerning western imperialism are necessary) it is plainly apparent that behavior we have come to accept as expression of freedom, and our right, is an absolute affront to an Islamic sense of moral rightness. Our sexual liberation, illegitimacy, prnography, adultery, divorce rate, etc., compounded upon our greed, selfishness, arrogance, laziness, lewdness and gluttony make the ideals of Western freedom odious to their religious identity.
What has gripped me since my visit to Poland is the awareness that I find those same values as repulsive as I once did. I was privileged to live during the golden days of America during which goodness and prosperity blossomed in the post war years. Despite the cold war there was a general and undisputed foundation of propriety and moral expectation that permeated the city in which I grew up. Moral behavior was the norm and challenges to that foundation were openly condemned. The consequences of that environment were only good. Divorce was unheard of, as were cases of abuse, addiction, abandonment, theft, violence, etc. It was a wonderful time during which it was rarely necessary to lock your doors, even if you were leaving for the day. It was also a time in which Christian values and morality were held in high esteem. Churches has significant impact and contribution to values development and enforcement. As those values have been eroded so has the foundation of our country.
In Poland I felt as if I had returned to my childhood. There was evidence of an influential church everywhere I went. From seeing priests and nuns walking down the street to rosaries hanging next to the bus driver, evidence of a vibrant faith were indisputable. To me those were some of the most comforting experiences of the past decades of my life. Yet, I am not ignorant, I realize that in Poland, just as in every nation, there are those whose hatred toward the Church, and toward Christian faith is relentless as is their determination to destroy both. As I toured Poland I realized just how important a part the Church has played in the development of that nation, and every Western country, including the U.S. From education to agriculture and trades, the Church has been the hub around which civilized nations found themselves revolving. The liturgy of the Church has provided order and rhythm to our lives. In Poland the Church still holds influence. I hope and pray it continues and grows for good and not for evil.
Now I open myself up to all your cynicism, criticism, attacks and abuses. I have said my peace.
Earlier this Spring I visited Poland for only a week. It was a whirlwind visit overshadowed by the Smolensk disaster, yet it was by far the most significant journey of my life. Inasmuch as I have read the entries of some very mean spirited and critical people on this forum, I feel compelled to express my conviction and fear that Poland is, despite its horrible history of occupation and persecution, a very strong and powerful nation morally and spiritually. At the same time I recognized that Poland is very likely the last bastion of that same morality and spirituality on Earth.
As Western nations are beginning to realize, there is a very strong and concerted effort on the part of Islam to conquer their nations by attrition. We are seeing this in the U.S. as an unstoppable wave of immigration and fertility. My concern is not so much with what to do as it is with understanding why they hate us so much. And, as I reflect upon the deterioration of our moral fiber I believe I understand better their motives. Politics and economics aside (no remarks concerning western imperialism are necessary) it is plainly apparent that behavior we have come to accept as expression of freedom, and our right, is an absolute affront to an Islamic sense of moral rightness. Our sexual liberation, illegitimacy, prnography, adultery, divorce rate, etc., compounded upon our greed, selfishness, arrogance, laziness, lewdness and gluttony make the ideals of Western freedom odious to their religious identity.
What has gripped me since my visit to Poland is the awareness that I find those same values as repulsive as I once did. I was privileged to live during the golden days of America during which goodness and prosperity blossomed in the post war years. Despite the cold war there was a general and undisputed foundation of propriety and moral expectation that permeated the city in which I grew up. Moral behavior was the norm and challenges to that foundation were openly condemned. The consequences of that environment were only good. Divorce was unheard of, as were cases of abuse, addiction, abandonment, theft, violence, etc. It was a wonderful time during which it was rarely necessary to lock your doors, even if you were leaving for the day. It was also a time in which Christian values and morality were held in high esteem. Churches has significant impact and contribution to values development and enforcement. As those values have been eroded so has the foundation of our country.
In Poland I felt as if I had returned to my childhood. There was evidence of an influential church everywhere I went. From seeing priests and nuns walking down the street to rosaries hanging next to the bus driver, evidence of a vibrant faith were indisputable. To me those were some of the most comforting experiences of the past decades of my life. Yet, I am not ignorant, I realize that in Poland, just as in every nation, there are those whose hatred toward the Church, and toward Christian faith is relentless as is their determination to destroy both. As I toured Poland I realized just how important a part the Church has played in the development of that nation, and every Western country, including the U.S. From education to agriculture and trades, the Church has been the hub around which civilized nations found themselves revolving. The liturgy of the Church has provided order and rhythm to our lives. In Poland the Church still holds influence. I hope and pray it continues and grows for good and not for evil.
Now I open myself up to all your cynicism, criticism, attacks and abuses. I have said my peace.