Just hours after the Egyptians toppled their dictator, Lech Walesa who led the most successful revolution for freedom in Poland compared the Egyptian revolution. “To make the situation in Egypt more analogous to that in Poland [in 1989], the Egyptians would have to endure at least two years of communist-style socialism, to even things out [between the rich and the poor], but they would not like that,” he said when asked a question from the audience on the Miami campus of Florida International University (FIU).
He good-naturedly lectured the United States on its duties as a superpower, “we [the nations of the world] need your leadership and ideas, you should not have to run around the world to clean up after other people’s mistakes.” In addition he mentioned that lessons learned during the Solidarity period in Poland could be a valuable resource in facing challenges of the future. His underlying thesis was that nations must carry on a continuing conversation based on shared universal values and implement reforms within the rule of law. The world economy in the 21st century is more and more based on the exchange of intellectual property and ideas, not merely on the sale and exchange of products and commodities, he stated.
Photo: After the lecture Lech Walesa spoke with Jack Pinkowski, president of the Poles in America Foundation, Inc., Fulbright Scholar and professor at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.
When asked about the future of Cuba, Lech replied that, “the United States now has the world’s largest museum of Marxist-socialism off its shores … things cannot remain this way.”
On the conclusion of his presentation the former president of Poland received a tumultuous ovation from the crowd of over-five hundred that packed the auditorium. Theevening lecture, given on Feb. 11, entitled “Poland and the World in the Era of Globalization: Values and Challenges,” initiated the Ruth K. and Shepard Broad Distinguished Lecture Series at FIU. President Walesa’s appearance was arranged by Lady Blanka Rosenstiel, president of the American Institute of Polish Culture and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Miami.
—