On opening ceremony of the Polish Presidency Prime Minister Donald Tusk, president of the European Council António Costa, members of the government, erstwhile president Bronisław Komorowski and candidates for president of the future was present at the European Council held at the Teatr Wielki on 3 January: Rafał Trzaskowski, Magdalena Biejat and Szymon Hołownia.
Another candidate – Karol Nawrocki – protested on the streets of Warsaw together with farmers against trade agreement with Mercosur countries, but besides straight against the European Union. The current president went skiing. Everyone represented a different Poland: aspiring, protesting and ostentatically indifferent to public affairs.
The audience listened to the performance “Powol. Povidoki” by Radzimir Dębski, who intended to “tell about Polish identity” and “come to a wide audience”, “to translate into the language of the contemporary generation the music of Szymanowski, Penderecki or Bacewiczów” – as we read on the Polish Presidency website.
In my ear, the identity came out to be highly complicated, and only 1 passage was brushed with popularity – the 1 referring to a folk song sung under a Christmas tree, telling about a pregnant immigrant who was not welcome in the town and was born in a stable. The variation about the carol, with the folk singing of the choir and the deaf echo was most understandable and moving to me due to the fact that it revealed a real, deep crisis of values and politics.
The offer is completely different from the 1 the erstwhile government popularized. The gap between the 2 musical representations is interesting, where between the proposal it is expected to be "people" and boring, and highly sophisticated and incomprehensible, whose arrangement into 160 individual orchestra even the composer considered to be highly hard – there is nothing. And since we don't even have a carol anymore, compassion for parent and child, what do we have in common?
At the end of the gala, it sounded lucky. Ode to Joy Beethoven, joyful, community. This desire to be in Europe for decades has put Poland above divisions. Now the opponents of the Union are on the street, in the Polish and EU Parliaments.
Tusk recalled that we are strong both in Poland and Europe erstwhile we are solidarity, that for European freedom, Solidarity and culture Ukrainians shed blood today. He declared that Poland is ready to "go on the road of European greatness, strength and sovereignty" and is ready to lead others. “Safety, Europo!” is the motto of the Polish Presidency.
"There the man in the dress dances with the painting"
At the time of the inauguration, the Prime Minister besides recalled that this year is the thousandth anniversary of the coronation of Bolesław Chrobry, the minute of Poland's entry into the political community of Christian Europe. It took Europe a 1000 years to learn from wars, including spiritual ones. Nor did the Prime Minister mention that the cost was a 2 hundred-year interior war, the demolition of earlier culture and beliefs, the introduction of Christianity with fire and sword, the social rupture and the construction of feudalism.
Within the feudal framework, 10 percent of them managed to make a noble democracy that did not defend political existence. Then we had a folk democracy, now a liberal 1 that the PiS wanted to change to authoritarian, utilizing social disappointment with liberalism. No 1 always had any interest in building a truly equal society and an adjective-free democracy in Poland.
How deep the crack of Polish society is, the exhibition tells Tomáš RafaYou can see it in incentive. The 4 screens show films from the monthly, ONR demonstrations, the anniversary of 1 August and 11 November, women's protests, equality marches, "LGBT-free zones". It is hard to get distant from these images and leave the gallery, even harder to get free of these images from memory – so strong is the emotional charge contained in them.
We see tulips taken by police, laid on the sidewalk under the presidential palace in 2010, in tribute to the “murdered” president. Why would the police take these flowers? Not their presence, but their lack, the unceremoniousness of carrying them, the disregard of the feelings of bringing them there brought even more outraged people. So what if the screamer shouted lies? The police's extorting him didn't make people halt listening to Macerewicz.
In a moment, we see the military assisting in laying a wreath under the cross, then the police taking a woman, trying to stand in the way of the marching ONR-owers, who in symbolism, gestures and clothing openly mention to Nazism, yet – as police stand with bottles of teardrop gas against defenseless, protesting women. On the cardboard board there is simply a sign “now we want everything”. I remember that sign.
Demonstrations are about everything sacred. but for any it will be democracy, equality, human rights, God, honor and homeland, necessarily white. For the first time in this exhibition, I learned that there is simply a "marine blue" that is especially intended to infuriate the "lefts" and so is not among the colours of the LGBT rainbow flag.
On the equality march in Częstochowa next to the marching young people, colored and joyful, though a bit tense, go the angry nationalists, trying to replace the march road. 1 of them shouts, "There's a guy in a dress dancing with a painting, I can't stand it." And it shows the truth. But “the man in the dress” does not want to quit the symbol, he does not want to be excluded from the Catholic community due to the fact that he is gay. Therefore, Our woman Częstochowa has a rainbow halo.
For breaking up adhesives with “Rab Mary” activists were dragged to court. On the 1 side of the cordon you can hear various offensive words, on the another side you were chanting: e-du-ka-cia! E-du-ka-cia! A young ONR-person gets into a discussion at a pedestrian crossing, claims LGBT is simply a pedophile, hears pedophile are there, in the church. Are you a pedophile? Kill him! – he answers without thinking.
The exhibition does not give easy answers, it does not give answers at all. Not who's right or what to do with it. But it moves, sometimes it laughs, sometimes it scares.
Kafkovsky nightmare
There is no indication that 1 of the politicians truly wants to bury this division. All—and the wingmen, and those who They effort to stand in the middleThey see political gold in divisions. 5 months before the presidential election, courses are tightened, and the full political scene is clearly tilting to the right, by taking over populist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic and anti-climate slogans by the ruling camp.
Politicians are already ready to say anything, like Krzysztof Bosak, leader of the libertarian, highly free marketplace Confederation, who (in the morning of Tok Fm) talks about the advantages of a centrally regulated communist economy. With specified stunning emotions, a pervaded endless stream of information, advertisements, slogans and meaningless content, society can number on them to be taken seriously.
Shock — ilinx – this is simply a category of culture utilized by Roger Callois, describing the fun of limiting perception: by movement, dance, swing, carousel, music, drugs and any another methods. These games frequently appear as a reaction to stress or as a carnival reversal of order. It seems that ilinx it became the dominant category in our culture not only in fun, but besides in everyday life, just through constant immersion in social media and large emotions.
These emotions are born erstwhile the rules of the game are destroyed, erstwhile the limits of what is acceptable and unacceptable are exceeded. The PiS exaggerated and paid the price, but the method inactive has its supporters. And it's hard to be surprised. Anyone who is amused on a swing of companionship tells to get off it will not gain popularity. In addition, erstwhile people let go of their nerves, the easiest thing to do is to put them in a corner, take their credibility, and their demands seriously, yet – if individual resists physically – limit their freedom in the name of public order.
When the crowd is emotional and stunned, a cool politician wins. He's the 1 who, calmly commenting, calling reality, takes advantage. And the more emotions there will be, the easier it will be for him to get free of the weight of the meanings of the moments used. He won't win by right, but by self-control.
It will besides be easier for him to keep political will above the law erstwhile social emotions are shaken. For there must be individual who will “with all this” order; who will act erstwhile the prices of butter are besides high, will take care not of GDP, but of citizens' portfolios, will overcome the chaos of complex democratic procedures.
It is hard to number on the fact that in a short time we will be able to appear from a culture affected by the fear of war and climate disaster, in which stunningness dominates. In addition to this, Mark Zuckerberg announced that FB and Instagram reduce moderation, let controversial content and will not verify facts.
All in the name of “free speech”, the slogans of right-wing populists who want to free the word As president Nixon dollars. Orwell wrote in 1946: “The discussion about freedom of expression and freedom of the press actually concerns whether lies are acceptable.”
The strategy of politicians who want to benefit from this state is understandable. Nothing new: divide and rule, and do not let besides many people to know the truth, these are methods that have long been known to warrant power to those who have access to the truth. Therefore: sobriety, Europo.
