Lech Walesa Quotes

Technology helped end communism by bringing in information from the outside.

Life creates new heroes, and new heroes always find it easiest to beat up on the previous heroes.

I allowed myself to be taken in by the intellectuals. I believed too much in the Polish intellectuals and followed their advice.

I most sincerely wish that the world in which we live be free from the threat of a nuclear holocaust and from the ruinous arms race. It is my cherished desire that peace be not separated from freedom which is the right of every nation. This I desire and for this I pray.

What until then seemed impossible to achieve has become a fact of life. We have won the right to association in trade unions independent from the authorities, founded and shaped by the working people themselves.

If once again Germany destabilizes Europe, then Germany will be not be divided again, but wiped off the map. East and West have the necessary technology in order to enforce this verdict. If Germany begins again, there is no other solution.

My struggle led to the reunification of Germany and the creation of the state of Europe. We destroyed the borders; globalisation is on the horizon.

I believed it would succeed. It was Polish Solidarity and its victory that put an end to the old era when what mattered were borders and rival blocs.

Freedom must be gained step by step, slowly. Freedom is a food which must be carefully administered when people are too hungry for it.

I don't like to look a man in the eye.

I believe that any violation of privacy is nothing good.

This is the moment of your defeat; you have just put in the last nails in the coffin of communism.

I use many different gadgets connected with computers; I use PCs, laptops and a Palm Pilot. I also use the Internet to visit websites, especially within Polish-language Internet. I usually go to political discussion groups and sites - of course, as I use my real name, people never believe that they are chatting with me!

I made the right decisions, I set everything on the right course, the reforms are going in the right direction.

Obviously people want social calm, but if you do not let clever and ingenious people to participate, obviously there must be some dormant volcano that will erupt, sooner or later.

The program of our movement stems from the fundamental moral laws and order.

Freedom may be the soul of humanity, but often you have to struggle to prove it.

The politicians always told us that the Cold War stand-off could only change by way of nuclear war. None of them believed that such systemic change was possible.

When I was fighting communism, there was rapid development of satellite television and cell phones, and communism, to survive, would have to block all these information devices.

My country is in the grips of a major economic crisis. This is causing dramatic consequences for the very existence of Polish families. A permanent economic crisis in Poland may also have serious repercussions for Europe. Thus, Poland ought to be helped and deserves help.

I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son.

We hold our heads high, despite the price we have paid, because freedom is priceless.

The defense of our rights and our dignity, as well as efforts never to let ourselves to be overcome by the feeling of hatred - this is the road we have chosen.

You should go to the polls, organize yourself. But once lawmakers are chosen, they must be respected.

Our national history has so often filled us with bitterness and the feeling of helplessness.

No minority should climb all over the majority.

I have more than 100 honorary Ph.D.s.

The world needs leaders of vision instead of leaders on television.

I'm a man of faith. I only fear God, and my wife - sometimes.

The sole and basic source of our strength is the solidarity of workers, peasants and the intelligentsia, the solidarity of the nation, the solidarity of people who seek to live in dignity, truth, and in harmony with their conscience.

My health is very much improved.

We were hoping Obama would reclaim moral leadership for America. That failed.

I represent the concept that pluralism is essential, union pluralism. I made an oath about this.

Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple physical work. That is why there were wars, the movement of frontiers, war over riches.

We need to agree on common values for all religions as soon as possible, a kind of secular Ten Commandments on which we will build the world of tomorrow.

My most ardent desire is that my country will recapture its historic opportunity for a peaceful evolution and that Poland will prove to the world that even the most complex situations can be solved by a dialogue and not by force.

I must tell you that the supply of words on the world market is plentiful, but the demand is falling.

I can't imagine the right wing trying to unite without my participation.

I hope to work harder than ever to help people around the world.

In myself I am nothing. It all comes from God and the Virgin Mary.

The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.

We need a global parliament, a global government and possibly a global ministry for security.

Tomorrow there will be no division to Europe and Asia. These are old concepts that would remain only on maps. Everything will be united. Companies will be united. It is a process of structures growing due to the technological progress.

Let the veil of silence fall presently over what happened afterwards. Silence, too, can speak out.

Building democracy as an imposition from abroad is a form of imperialism.

One could always do more, faster and cleverer, but democracy has its own rhythm.

Communists are great capitalists, so there is no threat anymore.

President Lech Kaczynski is not at all active in Poland and his image abroad leaves a lot to be desired.

I decided to get to know my opponents and their arguments.

People always ask me, 'Lech, aren't you afraid of being killed?' And as an answer I shrug my shoulders.

We respect the dignity and the rights of every man and every nation. The path to a brighter future of the world leads through honest reconciliation of the conflicting interests and not through hatred and bloodshed. To follow that path means to enhance the moral power of the all-embracing idea of human solidarity.

I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force.

The people in Poland had to deal with painful reforms.

Lying at the root of the social agreements of 1980 are the courage, sense of responsibility, and the solidarity of the working people. Both sides have then recognized that an accord must be reached if bloodshed is to be prevented.

I have always been and will be an enemy of communism, but I love all people.

There is something of the warrior in me.

Authority must be respected and chosen wisely.

Communism is a monopolistic system, economically and politically. The system suppresses individual initiative, and the 21st century is all about individualism and freedom. The development of technology supported these directions.

I will talk and act, not on my knees, but with prudence.

He who once became aware of the power of Solidarity and who breathed the air of freedom will not be crushed.

When I recall my own path of life I cannot but speak of the violence, hatred and lies. A lesson drawn from such experiences, however, was that we can effectively oppose violence only if we ourselves do not resort to it.

In many parts of the world the people are searching for a solution which would link the two basic values: peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt for mankind.

When he saw injustice, he wanted to do away with it. He saw communism, and he wanted to put an end to it.

We shall not yield to violence. We shall not be deprived of union freedoms. We shall never agree with sending people to prison for their convictions.

This conviction brought me, in the summer of 1978, to the Free Trade Unions - formed by a group of courageous and dedicated people who came out in the defense of the workers' rights and dignity.

As a nation we have the right to decide our own affairs, to mould our own future. This does not pose any danger to anybody. Our nation is fully aware of the responsibility for its own fate in the complicated situation of the contemporary world.

We must be courageous but also reasonable. The world admires us for walking a tightrope without falling off. It asks us to keep our balance.

I'm lazy. But it's the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn't like walking or carrying things.

I am overjoyed that I do not need a heart transplant at this time.