Foam is actually existing deception—the non-entity as an entity nonetheless, or a feigner of being, a symbol of the First False, an emblem for the undermining of the solid by the untenable—a ghost light, a superfluity, a mood, a swamp gas, inhabited by a dubious subjectivity.
Foam begets nothing, it has no consequences. With no life expectancy or next generation, all it knows is running ahead into its own bursting.
Hegel’s new logic, a positivization of the negative came into view, and with it a possible rehabilitation of foam: “Out of the ferment of finitude, before its transformation into foam, spirit rises up fragrantly.
Does spirit itself, the medium in which substance develops into the subject, even now owe something to foam? Does this bastard that could not be trusted transpire as the long-sought middle element in which the spiritual and the material join to form that concreteness which we call existence?
Is it the third factor through which binary idiocy could be overcome? Did Aristotle foresee such amalgams when, in Problemata physica, he classed the illness of brilliant men—melancholy—among the “air-filled ailments,” whose features include an affinity for foamable substances: black gall, which the doctors of antiquity believed to appear as an aerated mixture?
December 26th, 2024, Lodz
"It does not pass on outpourings of immediate truth; if Einstein lived next door, I would not know any more about the universe as a result. If the son of God and I had lived on the same floor for years, I would only learn afterwards—if at all—who my neighbor was.
Every point in the foam offers glimpses of the bordering ones, but comprehensive views are not available—in the most advanced case, exaggerations are formulated inside one bubble and can be used in many neighboring ones. Messages are selectively transferable, and there are no exits into the whole. For theory that accepts being-in-foam as the primary definition of our situation, final super-visions of the One World are not only unattainable, but impossible—and, correctly understood, also undesirable.
Whoever speaks of foams in this tone has abandoned the central symbol of classical metaphysics, of the all-gathering monosphere, namely the orb-shaped One and its projection into panoptic central constructions."
January 1st, 2025, Dębina
The translation of the previous post (text by Stanisław Brejdygant I published here) (translation with an AI aid):
This may well be my last reflection on the unfortunate nation to which I belong.
At the end of my life, I find myself once again witnessing something in our history that reveals a tendency—a readiness—for self-destruction, for a desire for self-annihilation.
I cannot—truly cannot—understand why half the nation, my nation, my fellow countrymen, seems to have gone blind.
Poland—our homeland—after over a century of nonexistence (save for a brief twenty-year episode of independence between the two world wars), has at last—fulfilling the dreams of generations—become truly free.
And safe.
By a stroke of luck, it found itself a member of the great defensive alliance of Western nations—NATO—and of a vast, coherent, supranational structure, ready to compete and confront the rest of the world—the European Union.
And yet, on May 18th, 2025, following the first round of the presidential election, I discovered that at least half of the nation holds these gifts of fortune—especially EU membership—in utter disregard.
Half of my fellow citizens have allowed themselves to be duped by demagogues—some of whom may well be agents of a hostile power, and others perhaps unconsciously serving that power’s interests, the so-called “useful idiots.”
Nearly a third of voters are willing to entrust the presidency of the Republic of Poland to a man who promotes views deeply harmful to the interests of the homeland.
Karol Nawrocki seeks to ignore the European Union. Instead of solidifying Poland’s standing—to be among the top three decision-makers—he fuels toxic, harmful, anti-German phobias.
He also agitates—against Ukraine, in direct opposition to our most vital national interest.
And yet—for God’s sake—how can one not see that with such strong individuals at the helm of our state—like the current Prime Minister, who once led the EU, Donald Tusk, and the widely respected Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, and finally (I hope he wins, because otherwise our international standing collapses), President Rafał Trzaskowski, known among world leaders—we could have real influence on the fate of Europe. And thus—understand this, people!—on our own fate, the fate of Poland.
This applies equally to the voters of Konfederacja.
These are mostly young people—incomprehensibly so to me—who don’t seem to realize that if Konfederacja's program were implemented, free travel around the world would come to an end, and they, young enthusiasts of Konfederacja, would once again face the nightmare of waiting in line at embassies for visas.
There would be no more Erasmus programs, no more studies at foreign universities.
So, boys and girls—wake up!
Do you really want paid university tuition?
Do you really want to persecute gays and Jews, as your idol Mentzen wishes?
And do you—like him—believe that rape is just a bit of an inconvenience, but the woman must give birth anyway?
My young, deluded, confused—perhaps even intoxicated—friends…
Do you really want the kind of Poland that Mentzen or Nawrocki would create for you?
I hope not.
So please, wake up, focus, think—and go vote for the still young in spirit, yet highly experienced Rafał Trzaskowski.
I admire and value your rebelliousness.
Not long ago, I was young too.
And I want to believe that your generation will make this country better, more justly governed.
But believe me: it’s one thing to rebel in a free, democratic country—which is what you currently live in—and quite another in a state shaped by your idol, and especially (watch out not to accidentally vote for him!) Karol Nawrocki.
As for those who voted for Grzegorz Braun—I’m not even sure if I should address you.
It’s horrifying to think about.
He received over 6% of the vote.
Those who voted for him cast their ballots for a fascist. Yes, I’m not afraid to say it. This man’s program is far bolder than that of the Blackshirts who marched on Rome under their leader, Benito Mussolini.
We all know the saying, “Poles are wise only after the damage is done.”
It fits the current moment perfectly.
Because I do know how our history will unfold if—God forbid—Karol Nawrocki becomes president.
He will block every attempt at healing and cleansing the state.
Should we finally see long-awaited trials, and those guilty of large-scale corruption and theft under the PiS regime (that is, the mafia state) be sentenced, it’s a given that this president would pardon them all.
He will do everything possible to sabotage any reform aimed at restoring integrity.
The PiS-constructed traps and structures—left to ensnare their successors—will continue to function under a PiS president.
In fact, they will be reactivated.
Thus, it will be impossible to heal the state or restore the rule of law.
The current government would be doomed to lose the upcoming parliamentary elections.
And then we would fully transition into an autocratic state—which, according to the dreams of the PiS chairman, will have “achieved sovereignty.”
Even if we don’t formally exit the EU, we will in practice cease to exist within it.
Following the Hungarian or Slovak model, our unfortunate country may not become Belarus—but very nearly so.
Finally, just as PiS’s “patriots” desire—we would become, in their eyes, a truly sovereign state.
And so, in desperation and hopelessness, I cry out:
Is this what you want, my fellow Poles, who plan to vote for Karol Nawrocki on June 1st?
Think! Is this really what you want?
But then again… I cry out in vain.
You won’t hear me.
You don’t read Gazeta Wyborcza.
Unless someone shows you this text. But even then, if you read it, your denial mechanism will kick in.
You’ll reject it.
Because “Poles are wise only—after—the damage is done.”
Just like with the Constitution of May 3rd.
Magnificent. Necessary.
But it came too late—after the damage was done…
So in closing, a final appeal to those who, I believe, want to be wise before the damage is done—to the left-wing presidential candidates, Magdalena Biejat and Adrian Zandberg.
My dear ones, whose views are close to mine—because, as I often say, my heart is on the left.
And in a stable democracy, I would most likely vote for social democrats.
Though I’ve never joined any party.
I admire your programs. I feel aligned with them. But sadly, I must confess—you have disappointed me a bit, Ms. Magdalena. Though I hold you in high regard.
I deeply believe in your integrity and honesty.
I wish you a successful political career. But you should not have said, when asked whether you would urge your voters to support Trzaskowski, that you need to speak with him first.
Of course, you should speak with him.
But when THE HOMELAND IS IN DANGER, it is not right—not morally acceptable—to set conditions.
You are, after all, on the same side.
And both of you—hopefully along with the majority of the nation—fear the worst, which, unfortunately, could still come.
And now a word to Mr. Zandberg.
I respect your unyielding stance.
Though, if you’ll forgive me, you somewhat remind me of those meticulous Marxist cell members from the early 20th century, zealously guarding doctrinal purity.
Still, I don’t doubt your honesty and good intentions.
And your dedication to serving working people. But I would like to gently point out that your stance—“opposing all authority”—makes sense and can be effective only in a democratic regime.
Under a PiS regime sliding toward authoritarianism—especially under President Nawrocki—your chances of making any impact will be negligible.
Believe me, it’s better to rebel against the "libs."
And I appeal to you: urge people to vote for Trzaskowski.
Stanisław Brejdygant, Pole, 89 years old
Chyba to już moja ostatnia refleksja na temat nieszczęsnego narodu, do którego należę.
Oto dane mi jest, pod koniec życia, być świadkiem , po raz kolejny w naszej historii zaistniałego aktu, świadczącego o skłonności (gotowości) do autodestrukcji, do chęci samozagłady.
Nie mogę, w żaden sposób nie mogę pojąć dlaczego połowa narodu, mego narodu, moi współrodacy, jakby oślepła.
Polska, nasza ojczyzna, po stu kilkudziesięciu latach nieistnienia – z krótkim , zaledwie dwudziestoletnim epizodem niepodległości, pomiędzy dwoma światowymi wojnami – nareszcie, co było marzeniem pokoleń, naprawdę stała się wolna.
I bezpieczna.
No bo, co było darem losu, znalazła się w wielkim obronnym sojuszu państw Zachodu, w NATO, i w wielkim spójnym, gotowym na rywalizację i konfrontację z resztą świata błogosławionym organizmie ponadnarodowym, w Unii Europejskiej.
I oto 18 maja 2025 roku, za sprawą pierwszej tury wyborów prezydenckich, dowiedziałem się, że co najmniej połowa narodu, owe wymienione wyżej dary losu, a zwłaszcza członkostwo w Unii Europejskiej, ma za nic.
Połowa mych rodaków dała się otumanić demagogom, po części być może agentom wrogiego nam mocarstwa, a po części nieświadomie interesom tego mocarstwa służącym, tak zwanym „użytecznym idiotom”.
Oto blisko jedna trzecia wyborców skłonna była powierzyć urząd prezydenta Najjaśniejszej Rzeczypospolitej człowiekowi głoszącemu poglądy skrajnie szkodzące interesom ojczyzny.
Wszak Karol Nawrocki chce ignorować Unię Europejską i miast umacniania w niej naszą pozycji, bycia w pierwszej trójce decydujących, podsyca, ze wszech miar szkodliwe, antyniemieckie fobie.
Judzi też, wbrew najbardziej żywotnej naszej racji stanu, przeciw Ukraińcom.
A przecież, na miłość boską, nie można tego nie widzieć, że mając u steru państwa tak mocne indywidualności jak obecny premier, który przewodził Unii, Donald Tusk, podziwiany za swe zdolności i dokonania dyplomatyczne minister spraw zagranicznych, Radosław Sikorski i wreszcie (oby wybrany, bo jeśli nie, to cała nasza pozycja upada) znany w gronie przywódców, prezydent Rafał Trzaskowski.
Że mając takich ludzi w kierownictwie Unii, moglibyśmy mieć rzeczywisty wpływ na los Europy, a zatem na nasz – zrozumcie ludzie wreszcie! – na nasz los, Polski.
To co wyżej, tyczy także wyborców Konfederacji.
Tych, co dla mnie niepojęte, młodych ludzi, którzy, jakby nie biorą pod uwagę, że gdyby wprowadzić program tejże Konfederacji w życie, to skończyłyby się swobodne podróże po świecie, zaznalibyście, młodzi entuzjaści Konfy, upiornych doświadczeń wystawania przed ambasadami po wizy.
I nie byłoby już żadnych Erazmusów, żadnych studiów na zagranicznych uczelniach.
Zatem chłopcy i dziewczęta, opamiętajcie się!
No bo czy pragniecie studiów płatnych?
I czy chcecie tępić pedałów i Żydów, jak tego sobie życzy wasz idol, Mentzen?
I czy – jak on – uważacie, wy, dziewczyny i kobiety i wy, ich partnerzy i mężowie, że gwałt to taka trochę nieprzyjemność, ale rodzić trzeba?
Moi młodzi, otumanieni, zaczadzeni – no bo chyba tak – przyjaciele.
Czy chcecie, naprawdę, takiej Polski jaką mogą wam urządzić panowie Mentzen czy Nawrocki.
Chyba jednak nie.
Zatem, proszę, opamiętajcie się, skupcie się, pomyślcie – i idźcie zagłosować na wciąż nie starego, a, co się czuje, młodego duchem, a przy tym bardzo doświadczonego, Rafała Trzaskowskiego.
Cenię i podziwiam wasz bunt.
Nie tak dawno byłem przecież młody.
I chcę wierzyć, że wasze pokolenie uczyni ten kraj lepszym, doskonałej rządzonym.
Ale uwierzcie mi, co innego buntować się w państwie demokratycznym, wolnym, w jakim żyjecie w tej chwili, a zupełnie co innego w takim, który chcą wam zafundować, wasz idol, a już zwłaszcza (uwaga, żebyście przez pomyłkę nie oddali na niego głosu!) Karol Nawrocki.
Do tych, którzy oddali swój głos na Grzegorza Brauna, nie jestem pewien czy powinienem się zwracać.
Zgroza, gdy pomyślę.
Otrzymał przecież ponad sześć procent .
Ci, którzy oddali na niego swój głos, zagłosowali przecież na faszystę. Tak, tak, nie muszę się obawiać procesu. Program tego pana jest dużo „śmielszy” niż Czarnych Koszul prowadzonych w marszu na Rzym przez ich wodza, duce, Benito Mussoliniego.
Powszechnie znane jest powiedzenie , że „Polak mądry po szkodzie”.
Pasuje jak ulał do obecnej sytuacji.
Bo ja wiem jak potoczy się nasza historia, jeśli – co nie daj Boże – urząd prezydenta obejmie Karol Nawrocki. Wiadomo, że będzie on blokował wszelkie próby ozdrowienia, oczyszczenia państwa.
Jeśli dojdzie do tak oczekiwanych procesów i do , prawdopodobnie, skazań winnych nadużyć (korupcji, złodziejstwa na wielka skalę) funkcjonariuszy pisowskiego reżimu, czyli „mafijnego państwa”, to przecież z góry wiadomo, że prezydent ten wszystkich, choćby najbardziej winnych, uniewinni.
I zrobi wszystko aby udaremnić rządowi jakiekolwiek ozdrowieńcze reformy.
Pozostawione przez rządy PiSu struktury pomyślane jako swego rodzaju pułapki dla następców, przy pisowskim prezydencie na urzędzie, będą nadal działać.
Ba, uaktywnią się.
Nie da się przeto uzdrowić państwa i przywrócić praworządności.
Obecna ekipa skazana będzie na przegraną w nadchodzących wyborach parlamentarnych.
No i wtedy na dobre już znajdziemy się w autokratycznym państwie, które (zgodnie z marzeniami prezesa) wywalczy sobie „suwerenność”.
Jeśli nawet oficjalnie nie wyjdziemy z Unii, to faktycznie przestaniemy w niej istnieć.
Przechodząc etapy węgierski czy słowacki, skończy to nieszczęsne państwo może nie jak Białoruś, ale bardzo podobnie.
Nareszcie, zgodnie z oczekiwaniami pisowskich „patriotów”, jako – ich zdaniem – państwo suwerenne.
A zatem w desperacji i poczuciu beznadziei chciałbym zapytać, wołając wielkim głosem: Czy tego chcecie moi rodacy, którzy zamierzacie 1 czerwca oddać swój głos na Karola Nawrockiego???Zastanówcie się, czy tego właśnie chcecie?
Tylko cóż…mogę sobie wołać.
I tak mnie nie usłyszą.
Nie czytają przecież Gazety Wyborczej.
Chyba, że ktoś im ten tekst pokaże. Tylko, że wówczas, jeśli nawet przeczytają, to mechanizm wyparcia sam się włączy.
Zaprzeczą.
Bo „Polak mądry - dopiero - po szkodzie”.
Tak było, na przykład, z Konstytucją 3 Maja.
Wspaniała. Potrzebna.
Tylko , że powstała za późno-„po szkodzie”….
No to na koniec apel do tych, którzy, jak sadzę, chcą być mądrzy „przed szkodą”, do kandydatów Lewicy na urząd Prezydenta, do Magdaleny Biejat i Adriana Zandberga.
Drodzy Moi, bliscy mi w poglądach, bo, wyznam, zwykłem mówić o sobie, że serce mam po lewej stronie.
I pewno w kraju o ustabilizowanej demokracji, głosowałbym na socjaldemokratów.
Choć do partii, żadnej, nie zapisałbym się.
Cenię Wasze programy. Są mi bliskie. Ale, niestety, muszę wyznać, że jakoś zawiodła mnie Pani, Pani Magdaleno. A bardzo Panią cenię.
Głęboko wierzę w Pani prawość i uczciwość.
I życzę Pani udanej kariery w polityce. Ale nie należało – gdy była Pani zapytana o to czy wezwie Pani swych wyborców, by głosowali na Rafała Trzaskowskiego – odpowiadać, że najpierw musi Pani z nim porozmawiać.
Bo słusznie, powinna Pani z nim rozmawiać.
Ale wobec tego, że OJCZYZNA W NIEBEZPIECZEŃSTWIE, nie należy, ba, nawet nie godzi się, stawiać warunków.
Jesteście wszak po jednej stronie.
I obydwoje, mam nadzieje, że wraz z większością narodu, obawiacie się najgorszego, które niestety, może nadejść.
A teraz słowo do Pana Zandberga. Szanuję Pana nieprzejednaną postawę.
Choć, proszę mi darować, nieco przypomina mi Pan takich skrupulatnych uczestników kółek marksistowskich konspiratorów z początków dwudziestego wieku, niesłychanie dbałych o wierność doktrynie.
Ale nie wątpię w Pańską uczciwość i dobre intencje.
I potrzebę służenia ludziom pracy. Tylko pozwalam sobie zwrócić pańską uwagę, że pańskie „bycie w opozycji wobec każdej władzy” ma sens i może być skuteczne, gdy władza ta jest, może nieudolna, ale demokratyczna. W reżimie pisowskim, który zmierza ku temu by być czysto autorytarnym, pod prezydenturą Nawrockiego, słabe są szanse aby Pan coś zdziałał. Zapewniam, lepiej buntować się przeciw „libkom”.
I apeluję, by Pan namawiał do głosowanie na Trzaskowskiego.
Stanisław Brejdygant, Polak, lat 89.
“’What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?’
‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’
‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’
‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.’
‘I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only smiled.
‘Someone made me Real,’ he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.’
---------------------------------------------------
— Co to znaczy być PRAWDZIWYM?” — zapytał pewnego dnia Królik, gdy leżeli obok siebie przy kominku w pokoju dziecinnym, zanim przyszła niania, by posprzątać. — Czy to znaczy, że ma się w środku jakieś brzęczące mechanizmy i wystający uchwyt?
— Prawdziwość — odparł Stary Koń z Aksamitu — nie zależy od tego, jak jesteś zrobiony. To coś, co ci się przydarza. Gdy dziecko kocha cię bardzo, bardzo długo — nie tylko do zabawy, ale tak naprawdę — wtedy stajesz się Prawdziwy.
— Czy to boli? — spytał Królik.
— Czasami — powiedział Stary Koń, bo zawsze mówił prawdę. — Ale jeśli jesteś Prawdziwy, to ból już ci nie przeszkadza.
— Czy to dzieje się nagle, jak nakręcanie zabawki, czy stopniowo? — dopytywał Królik.
— To nie dzieje się od razu — odpowiedział Stary Koń. — Ty się stajesz. To trwa bardzo długo. Dlatego nie zdarza się tym, którzy łatwo się łamią, mają ostre krawędzie albo których trzeba trzymać pod kloszem. Zazwyczaj, kiedy już jesteś Prawdziwy, większość twojego futerka została wykochana, oczy mogą wypaść, a stawy się rozluźnią i będziesz bardzo sfatygowany. Ale to nie ma znaczenia, bo kiedy jesteś Prawdziwy, nie możesz być brzydki — chyba że dla tych, którzy nie rozumieją.
— Czy ty jesteś Prawdziwy? — spytał Królik. A potem pożałował, że to powiedział, bo Stary Koń tylko się uśmiechnął.
— Ktoś uczynił mnie Prawdziwym — rzekł. — To było wiele lat temu. Ale kiedy już staniesz się Prawdziwy, nie możesz znów przestać nim być. To trwa na zawsze.”
Europa stoi na
rozdrożu swojej historii. Amerykańska tarcza kruszy się, Ukraina ryzykuje
pozostanie bez wsparcia, a Rosja – rośnie w siłę. Waszyngton zamienił się w
dwór Nerona: cesarz-podpalacz, służalczy dworzanie i błazen, odurzony ketaminą,
odpowiedzialny za czystki w aparacie państwowym.
To tragedia dla
wolnego świata, ale przede wszystkim – dla samych Stanów Zjednoczonych. Przekaz
Trumpa jest jednoznaczny: bycie sojusznikiem Ameryki nie ma sensu, bo nie
zapewni ci ochrony, nałoży cła przewyższające sankcje wobec wrogów i zagrozi
zajęciem twojego terytorium, wspierając dyktatorów, którzy cię atakują. „Król
układów” w rzeczywistości demonstruje sztukę kapitulacji.
Sądzi, że
zastraszy Chiny, płaszcząc się przed Putinem, ale Xi Jinping, obserwując ten
upadek, z pewnością przyspiesza przygotowania do inwazji na Tajwan. Nigdy w
historii USA prezydent nie skapitulował przed wrogiem. Nigdy wcześniej lokator
Białego Domu nie wspierał agresora przeciwko sojusznikowi.
Nigdy wcześniej
prezydent tak bezczelnie nie deptał Konstytucji: nielegalne dekrety, dymisja
sędziów, którzy mogliby mu się sprzeciwić, błyskawiczne czystki w kierownictwie
armii, podważanie wszelkich mechanizmów kontroli i równowagi, uzurpacja nadzoru
nad mediami społecznościowymi. To nie tylko „zwrot w stronę illiberalizmu” – to
próba uzurpacji demokracji. Wystarczy przypomnieć: zniszczenie Republiki
Weimarskiej zajęło miesiąc, trzy tygodnie i dwa dni.
Wierzę w
odporność amerykańskiej demokracji, a protesty w kraju już się rozpoczęły. Ale
w zaledwie miesiąc Trump wyrządził Ameryce więcej szkód niż przez całe cztery
lata swojej poprzedniej kadencji. Walczyliśmy z dyktatorem – teraz walczymy z
dyktatorem, któremu pomaga zdrajca.
Osiem dni temu,
gdy Trump poklepywał Macrona po plecach w Białym Domu, USA głosowały w ONZ
razem z Rosją i Koreą Północną – przeciw Europie, domagając się wycofania
rosyjskich wojsk. Dwa dni później w Gabinecie Owalnym „dezerter z wojska” Trump
pouczał moralnie i strategicznie bohatera wojennego Zełenskiego, a następnie
odprawił go jak nieposłusznego lokaja, oświadczając: „Słuchaj albo odejdź”.
Dziś poszedł jeszcze dalej – wstrzymał dostawy uzbrojenia, które już były
obiecane.
Jak odpowiedzieć
na tę zdradę? Odpowiedź jest prosta: stawić opór. Przede wszystkim – nie
popełniać błędów. Klęska Ukrainy będzie klęską Europy.
Na liście Kremla
są już kraje bałtyckie, Gruzja, Mołdawia. Celem Putina jest powrót do Jałty,
gdzie połowę Europy oddano Stalinowi. A kraje Globalnego Południa czekają na
wynik tej wojny, by zdecydować: czy nadal szanować Europę, czy już można ją
zdeptać.
Putin dąży do
zniszczenia porządku ustanowionego 80 lat temu przez USA i ich sojuszników,
którego główną zasadą jest zakaz zdobywania terytoriów siłą. Ta zasada jest
fundamentem ONZ, a dziś Ameryka głosuje za agresorem i przeciwko ofierze,
ponieważ „trumpizm” pokrywa się ze światopoglądem Putina. Powrót do stref
wpływów, gdzie wielkie mocarstwa decydują o losach małych państw.
„Dajcie mi
Grenlandię, Panamę i Kanadę, wam – Ukrainę, Bałtyk i Europę Wschodnią, jemu –
Tajwan i Morze Południowochińskie”. W kręgach oligarchów z Mar-a-Lago nazywa
się to „realizmem dyplomatycznym”. W rzeczywistości oznacza jedno: zostaliśmy
sami.
Ale twierdzenie,
że Putina nie można powstrzymać, to kłamstwo. Wręcz przeciwnie – mimo
kremlowskiej propagandy Rosja słabnie. W ciągu trzech lat jej „druga armia
świata” zdobyła zaledwie okruchy terytorium kraju trzykrotnie mniejszego pod
względem ludności.
Stopy procentowe
na poziomie 25%, wyczerpane rezerwy walutowe i złota, zapaść demograficzna –
Rosja stoi nad przepaścią. Wsparcie Putina przez USA to największy strategiczny
błąd w historii wojen. Ale ten cios otrzeźwił Europę.
Jednego dnia w
Monachium Europejczycy zrozumieli: los Ukrainy i przyszłość Europy leżą w ich
rękach. Mamy teraz trzy najważniejsze priorytety:
Friedrich Merz
stwierdził, że Europa potrzebuje własnej koalicji militarnej – co oznacza, że
Francja miała rację przez dziesięciolecia, broniąc autonomii strategicznej. Teraz
trzeba ją zbudować.
Potrzebne są
wielkie inwestycje, europejski fundusz obronny wyłączony spod limitów długu z
Maastricht, unifikacja systemów uzbrojenia, przyspieszone przyjęcie Ukrainy do
UE – pierwszej armii Europy. Nowa strategia nuklearna oparta na siłach francuskich i brytyjskich.
Rozwój systemów obrony przeciwrakietowej i satelitarnych. Plan Ursuli von der
Leyen to dobry początek, ale potrzeba więcej.
Europa znów
stanie się potęgą militarną tylko wtedy, gdy odzyska status supermocarstwa
przemysłowego. To oznacza, że konieczny jest plan Mario Draghiego – i tym razem
trzeba go wdrożyć.
Ale kluczowym
czynnikiem europejskiego dozbrojenia jest mobilizacja moralna. Musimy
przekonać społeczeństwo, pokonać zmęczenie, strach przed wojną i opór
sojuszników Putina – skrajnej prawicy i lewicy.
Koniec sojuszu
atlantyckiego? Ryzyko jest ogromne. Ale w ostatnich dniach upokorzenie Zełenskiego i seria szaleńczych decyzji
wywołały oburzenie także w samych Stanach Zjednoczonych.
Los Ukrainy
waży się w okopach. Ale zależy także od nas – czy zjednoczymy Europę, stworzymy
jej tarczę obronną i przywrócimy jej status wielkiego mocarstwa.
Chwała wolnej
Ukrainie! Niech żyje demokratyczna Europa!
This is a tragedy for the free world, but above all – for
the USA itself. Trump's message is unambiguous: being an ally of America is
pointless, because it will not protect you, will impose tariffs exceeding
sanctions against its enemies, and will threaten the seizure of your
territories, supporting dictators who attack you. The "King of Deals"
in fact demonstrates the art of capitulation.
He thinks he will intimidate China by groveling before
Putin, but Xi Jinping, observing this collapse, is surely accelerating
preparations for an invasion of Taiwan. Never in US history has a president
capitulated to an enemy. Never before has a head of the White House supported
an aggressor against an ally.
Never before has a president trampled on the Constitution so
brazenly: illegal decrees, dismissal of judges who could oppose him, instant
purge of military leadership, undermining all checks and balances, usurpation
of control over social networks. This is not just an "illiberal tilt"
– it is an attempt to usurp democracy. Suffice it to recall: the destruction of
the Weimar Republic took only a month, three weeks and two days.
I believe in the resilience of American democracy, and
protests in the country have already begun. But in just one month, Trump has
done more harm to America than in all four years of his previous presidency. We
were fighting against a dictator – now we are fighting against a dictator who
is helped by a traitor.
Eight days ago, when Trump patted Macron on the back in the
White House, the US voted in the UN together with Russia and North Korea –
against Europe, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops. Two days later in
the Oval Office, the "army dodger" Trump lectured the war hero
Zelensky morally and strategically, and then sent him away like a negligent
lackey, declaring: "Obey or leave". Tonight he went even further – he
stopped the arms supplies that had already been promised.
How to respond to this betrayal? The answer is simple: fight
back. First of all – do not make mistakes. The defeat of Ukraine will be the
defeat of Europe.
The Kremlin's list already includes the Baltic countries,
Georgia, Moldova. Putin's goal is a return to Yalta, where half of Europe was
given to Stalin. And the countries of the Global South are waiting for the
outcome of this conflict to decide: whether to still respect Europe or whether
it can already be trampled upon.
Putin seeks to destroy the order established 80 years ago by
the US and its allies, the main principle of which is the prohibition of the
seizure of territories by force. This principle underlies the UN, and today
America votes for the aggressor and against the victim, because
"Trumpism" coincides with Putin's worldview. The return to spheres of
influence, where great powers decide the fate of small countries.
"Give me Greenland, Panama and Canada, you – Ukraine,
the Baltics and Eastern Europe, him – Taiwan and the South China Sea". In
the circles of Mar-a-Lago oligarchs this is called "diplomatic
realism". And in reality it means one thing: we are left alone.
But the assertion that Putin cannot be resisted is a lie. On
the contrary, despite Kremlin propaganda, Russia is weakening. In three years,
its "second army in the world" managed to conquer only crumbs from a
country three times smaller in population.
Interest rates at 25%, depletion of currency and gold
reserves, demographic collapse – Russia is on the brink of an abyss. US support
for Putin is the biggest strategic mistake in the history of wars. However,
this blow sobered Europe.
In one day in Munich, Europeans realized: the fate of
Ukraine and the future of Europe are in their hands. Now we have three top
priorities:
Friedrich Merz stated that Europe needs its own military
coalition – which means France has been right all these decades, defending
strategic autonomy. Now it needs to be built.
Large-scale investments, a European defense fund outside the
Maastricht debt limits, unification of weapons systems, accelerated admission
of Ukraine to the EU – the first army of Europe. A new nuclear strategy based
on French and British forces. Development of missile defense and satellite
systems. Ursula von der Leyen's plan is a good start, but more will be needed.
Europe will become a military power again only if it regains
its status as an industrial superpower. This means that Mario Draghi's plan is
needed – and this time it will have to be implemented.
But the main factor in European rearmament is moral
mobilization. We must convince society, overcome fatigue, fear of war and
resistance from Putin's allies – the far-right and far-left. Yesterday they
again spoke in the National Assembly, Mr. Prime Minister, against European
unity, against European defense.
They say they want peace. But what they are really striving
for is capitulation. Their "peace" is defeat. This is the replacement
of de Gaulle-Zelensky with a Ukrainian Pétain, obedient to Putin. This is the
"peace" of collaborators who have been sabotaging any aid to Ukraine
for three years.
The end of the Atlantic alliance? The risk is great. But in
recent days, the humiliation of Zelensky and a series of insane decisions have
caused outrage in the US itself.
Trump's ratings are falling, Republicans in their districts
are met by hostile crowds, even Fox News has begun to criticize the president.
Trumpists still control the executive branch, Congress, the Supreme Court and
social networks, but in American history those who fought for freedom always
won. And they are already raising their heads.
The fate of Ukraine is decided in the trenches. But it also
depends on those in the US who are fighting for democracy, and on us – whether
we can unite Europe, create its defense shield and restore its status as a
great power.
Our ancestors defeated fascism and communism at the cost of
the greatest sacrifices. Our task is to defeat the totalitarianism of the 21st
century.
Glory to free Ukraine! Long live democratic Europe!
Dear Mr. President,
We watched your conversation with the President of Ukraine,
Volodymyr Zelensky, with horror and disgust. We find your expectations
regarding the demonstration of respect and gratitude for the material aid
provided by the United States to Ukraine—currently fighting Russia—to be
offensive. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who are shedding
their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on
the front lines for over 11 years now, in the name of these values and the independence
of their homeland attacked by Putin’s Russia.
We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolizes the free world
could fail to see this.
We were also horrified by the atmosphere in the Oval Office
during that conversation, which reminded us of the interrogations by the
Security Service and the courtroom trials in communist courts that we vividly
remember. The prosecutors and judges, acting on orders from the all-powerful
communist political police, also used to explain to us that they had all the
cards in their hands, while we had none. They demanded that we cease our
activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people were suffering because of
us. They deprived us of our freedom and civil rights because we refused to
cooperate with the authorities and did not show gratitude to them. We are
shocked that you treated President Volodymyr Zelensky in a similar way.
The history of the 20th century shows that whenever the
United States tried to keep its distance from democratic values and its
European allies, it ultimately resulted in a threat to the United States
itself. President Woodrow Wilson understood this when he decided in 1917 that
the United States would enter World War I. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
understood this when, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he
decided that the war in defense of America would be fought not only in the Pacific
but also in Europe, in alliance with the countries attacked by the Third Reich.
We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and
American financial involvement, it would not have been possible to bring about
the collapse of the Soviet Union’s empire. President Reagan was aware that in
Soviet Russia and in the countries it had conquered, millions of enslaved
people were suffering, including thousands of political prisoners who paid with
their freedom for their commitment to democratic values. His greatness lay,
among other things, in the fact that he did not hesitate to call the USSR an
“Evil Empire” and waged a decisive struggle against it. We won, and today in
Warsaw, opposite the U.S. embassy, stands a monument to President Ronald
Reagan.
Mr. President, material aid—both military and
financial—cannot be a substitute for the blood shed in the name of Ukraine’s
independence and freedom, and that of Europe and the entire free world. Human
life is priceless; its value cannot be measured in money. Gratitude is owed to
those who bear the sacrifice of blood and freedom. For us, people of
“Solidarity” and former political prisoners of the communist regime serving
Soviet Russia, this is self-evident.
We call upon the United States to fulfill the guarantees it
provided, along with the United Kingdom, in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. In
this document, it was explicitly stated there would be an obligation to defend
Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for Ukraine relinquishing its
nuclear weapons arsenal. These guarantees are unconditional: there is not a
single word in there about treating such assistance as a matter of commercial
exchange.
Below is a list of 40 signatories, political prisoners from
the time of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL). Apart from the former
Presidents Lech Wałęsa and Bronisław Komorowski, these include Bogdan
Borusewicz, Zbigniew Bujak, Władysław Frasyniuk, Bogdan Lis, Adam Michnik, and
Andrzej Seweryn.
This is automated translation of Tomasz Lis article which appeared in NaTemat online journal:
https://natemat.pl/blogi/tomaszlis/589934,felieton-tomasza-lisa-pozegnanie-z-ameryka
transformation is nothing short of shocking. The former leader of the free world is now evidently becoming its adversary. For decades, America inspired admiration and hope. Today, it evokes outrage or pity. A great power that elicits pity—this does not bode well.
The Roman Empire was attacked by barbarians. The American Empire has been assaulted by internal barbarians. The chief barbarian turned out to be the Caesar.
An America that not only tolerates but even rewards an approach to international relations exemplified by Vladimir Putin is becoming a parody of itself and a negation of everything it stood for over two centuries. Despite its flaws, shortcomings, and mistakes, America appeared to millions around the world as a beacon of hope.
America was the world’s first empire of good—willing to confront and pay the price of confronting successive incarnations of the empire of evil, from Hitler’s Germany to Stalin’s and Brezhnev’s Soviet Union, to bin Laden’s network of Islamic terrorism.
Over sixty years ago, a young American president, taking his oath, addressed the world: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, support any friend, and oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
Three years later, in Soviet-threatened West Berlin, he reassured its citizens, declaring, "Ich bin ein Berliner." A quarter of a century later, one of his successors stood by the Berlin Wall and called upon the Soviet leader to tear it down. America spoke in the voice of freedom, dignity, and human rights.
In 1989, the leader of Poland’s victorious Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, spoke with deep emotion before a joint session of the U.S. Congress, highlighting America’s generosity: "This Congress," he emphasized, "appears to many oppressed and disenfranchised people around the world as a light of freedom and a bastion of human rights."
Today, that generosity is being rapidly replaced by pettiness, wickedness, and vileness. Instead of a free America, there is lawlessness. To paraphrase Churchill: Never before have so few, in such a short time, destroyed so much of the legacy of so many. The Statue of Liberty shrinks and collapses in shame.
An America that scorns its most loyal allies while openly rewarding its greatest adversary—a brutal aggressor and war criminal—is systematically erasing what has been the essence of its spirit and identity for two centuries. An America that favors and appeases tyranny is destroying itself.
Before our very eyes, Donald Trump is obliterating the principle of national self-determination, which, since the signing of the Atlantic Charter by Roosevelt and Churchill, has been the foundation of the Western political community. Along the way, he is dismantling America's soft power and the extraordinary legacy of talent and hard work contributed by remarkable individuals—from Michael Jordan to Steven Spielberg, from Einstein to Chaplin, from Martin Luther King to Whitney Houston, from Mark Twain to Stephen King, from Meryl Streep to Tom Hanks, from Walt Disney to Ralph Lauren.
All of this is being sacrificed to appease the man despised by the free world—Putin. Roosevelt sought to defeat Hitler, not to gratify him. American presidents, from Truman onward, aimed to overcome the Soviets, not to appease them. America’s entire soft power is being swiftly buried. Instead of America the Beautiful, we now have America the Terrible.
It is not only America that needs the world’s sympathy. The world, for its own good, needs an America that is liked and respected. Today, at breakneck speed, it is turning into an amoral outcast—both ethically and in terms of global perception—a toxic and radioactive state. Instead of leading the free world, it is becoming a pariah. This could be the greatest public relations catastrophe in world history.
Bin Laden and the Iranian ayatollahs could never have dreamed of such an outcome. Instead of MAGA, we are witnessing MASAcre. A world in which America becomes a laughingstock is a dangerous world. An America that disregards values loses its own value. America’s strength and prestige have never been just military power, but rather the power of its ideas and spirit. This was its historical uniqueness. Strength without virtue inevitably becomes a tool of evil.
Power without values is a colossus that, in the end, must collapse—a tragedy not only for America but for the world. The fall and disgrace of America is good news only for its enemies. For its allies and friends, like the Polish people, it is disheartening. It is deeply unsettling to realize that a nation once destined to protect the world may now become its greatest threat. And all of this within just a few weeks.
The worst is likely yet to come.
Original text in Polish: Felieton Tomasza Lisa. Pożegnanie z Ameryką | naTemat.pl
This is an op-ed written originally in Polish (https://natemat.pl/blogi/tomaszlis/586808,felieton-tomasza-lisa-o-trumpie-i-musku) by Tomasz Lis, Polish journalist.
Donald Trump may be the cause of countless misfortunes, but at their core, Trump and Trumpism—and likewise Musk and Muskism—are inevitable consequences. Consequences of our mistakes, our negligence, our foolishness, and our lack of imagination.
We live in an era where the main values are convenience, comfort, freedom from stress, and peace of mind. It’s somewhat understandable. After millennia of wars, murders, violence, and two horrific world wars, humanity had every right to want to ease off, catch its breath, and dock in a safe harbor.
The problem is that life never stands still; the world is never motionless. Just because we take a breather doesn’t mean the Earth stops spinning or that ancient forces stop roiling beneath us. Any sense of peace is merely an illusion, stagnation is a façade, and stillness is illusory.
I fully understand the desire to escape from all sorts of problems. I myself embrace a rather minimalist notion of happiness, which I call sans souci—“without worries”—just as Voltaire’s friend, King Frederick II of Prussia, named his beautiful palace in Potsdam. If you feel safe at home, the fridge is full, and the roof doesn’t leak, you can already call that happiness. Most of us need little more, and that’s perfectly fine.
On the other hand, despite subscribing to this form of happiness, I’m still drawn to the motto posted at the exit to the US Open’s center court in New York: “Pressure is a privilege.” However, few people share that view. After all, why stress out when our civilization’s top priority is to avoid stress? Even when we give ourselves challenges—running marathons or doing Ironmans—we do it for pleasure. In other words, even enormous effort serves our hedonism.
And that’s okay. Our lives have changed completely over the past 30–40 years. Because the fingers on my left hand aren’t fully functional, I’m typing this text with the thumb of my right hand on a phone. As I do this, I look back with nostalgia and a hint of melancholy on how, 40 years ago, I wrote my first pieces on a typewriter. I hammered those keys, it was incredibly loud, and I loved it because everyone knew a real journalist typed on a machine, surrounded by clouds of smoke, lighting one cigarette off the other and snubbing them out in an overflowing ashtray. That’s how it used to be.
A few days ago, we celebrated Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s Day. Most children passed on their well-wishes by calling from a cell phone. And with just one more button press, they could see grandma or grandpa. Once upon a time, you had to travel across town or place a long-distance call (something kids today don’t even know existed and never will). It’s all quite amazing.
In the past, when I was sending TV reports from Los Angeles or San Diego, I needed satellite links. Today, a phone call is enough. Incredible. The world at your thumb. At your thumb you have access to every library, every book, museum, store, flight ticket, or any information about your favorite actors or athletes—who post this information themselves. Everyone is at your fingertips, the entire world’s knowledge is a tap away. The transformation is so staggering that being intoxicated by it comes naturally. Lightheadedness is inevitable, a nearly narcotic high guaranteed.
So, what does Trump have to do with all this? In a world where comfort is king, and success is measured in clicks, likes, and followers, humanity effectively glorifies and institutionalizes egotism and narcissism. The highway for the Trumps of the world is wide open. Especially since—here’s another paradox—while access to knowledge is easier than ever, ignorance is more widespread than ever. Everyone knows everything, which means no one truly knows anything. Everyone is an expert at everything, which means no one understands a thing. On top of that, it’s an ignorance that’s smug and self-assured. We now have perfectly tilled soil for a Trump—or many Trumps—and for his supporters.
I very much appreciate audacity. It fuels ambition and imagination, drives desires, and forces us to take action and meet challenges head-on. But audacity without humility is a devilish trap. It gives the illusion of omnipotence and omniscience. Over fifty years ago, when humanity landed on the Moon, most people watched that triumph on television. Today, enjoying humanity’s countless triumphs is our everyday routine.
We practically breathe the fruits of human genius. And we devour them from dawn to dusk: touch-screen phones, voice-controlled TV remotes, voice-activated lights—a kind of Edison and Goethe on steroids. Our intellect has proven boundless, our minds untamable, yet behind the brilliance of these creators and inventors, there’s been no parallel revolution of the heart or of empathy.
In 1998, Pope John Paul II wrote the encyclical Fides et Ratio—faith and reason. It was essentially a desperate defense of religion, values, and the embattled human heart, pitted against reason’s triumph and its intoxicating self-congratulation. After all, this extraordinary reason had already decided that faith was passé, religion an anachronism and relic, and talk of moral values just a waste of time. Humanity decided it was smarter than God, no longer needed Him, and considered morality and ethics worthless junk fit for the landfill.
At the very peak of its intellect and the zenith of its absolute power of reason, humanity found itself on a desert of madness and nihilism, more lost than ever before. Cut off from any signal, geolocation, or navigation, it flailed blindly, searching for a way out and following charlatans who offered easy, pleasant, and comfortable solutions—since, after all, convenience is everything.
Pope John Paul II wrote that faith and reason are like wings lifting man toward contemplating truth. Humanity, however, concluded that it either already knows the truth or doesn’t need it. And if it does decide to look for truth, it tries to fly with just one wing. Even without the Smolensk disaster, we know you can’t fly with only one wing.
The greatest triumph in human history thus became the foretaste of the collapse of ideas, the death of ethics and values, and a total defeat for humanity.
Welcome to Trump’s world. Are you happy? Are you fucking happy? Trump is your child and your downfall. Now, to paraphrase Gogol, go ahead and weep for yourselves. And as Scripture says: “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And so it is. Humanity mindlessly believed in a utopia and chased after it. Yet every utopia is merely a foyer to hell.
Huxley knew this when he described his Brave New World, as did Orwell. And so did the millions of victims of Nazism and Communism who fertilized the soil where it grew. A handful of madmen decided they would save humanity—or at least the “master race”—and they set off with great gusto to realize their vision. Every overly pushy and reckless recipe for happiness has been, and will always be, a recipe for disaster. Every rejection of faith and values has been the antechamber and appetizer to a nightmare.
Now we have Musk, who is saving the planet with electric cars and planning a trip to Mars. But he’s so intoxicated with his own power that he’s removed all brakes and safety switches. Audacity made him dream of Mars. Lack of humility will send him to hell first—and us along with him. Musk, like Trump, is our child. We gave him the toys, the opportunities, and the power, forgetting that all power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Reworking Kennedy’s words is in vogue, so here’s my version: Don’t ask how humanity can achieve success and triumph. Ask how to prevent it—before humanity becomes the multi-billion-strong victim of that very success.
A note - I did not get permission from Marcin to do so. I hope I do not make any harm though ...
