In the last several days, Lech Wałęsa has been in the United States. He spoke at the Reagan Library on the occasion of Reagan’s birthday, February 6. Let me recall what Reagan said in 1983, when the Nobel committee in Oslo announced that Wałęsa would receive the peace prize.
The committee’s decision, said Reagan, was “a triumph of moral force over brute force” and “a victory for those who seek to enlarge the human spirit over those who seek to crush it.”
Pope John Paul II also had a comment. He was the laureate’s fellow Pole. That year’s prize, he said, spoke with a “special eloquence.”
What was the importance of the Nobel Peace Prize to Wałęsa — and to the Solidarity cause in Poland? In an interview with me about 15 years ago, Wałęsa said, “There was no wind blowing into Poland’s sail. It’s hard to say what would have happened if I had not won the prize. The Nobel prize blew a strong wind into our sail. Without that prize, it would have been very difficult to continue struggling.”
Those interested in more on this subject may consult my history of the peace prize, Peace, They Say.
At the Reagan Library a few days ago, Wałęsa noted that he had turned 80 in September. “My life is almost ending,” he said. He wanted to talk about some things he regarded as especially important.
He said that he had not had many advantages in life. “I was not prepared to do the job that I was given in this world.” He did not have much education or money. But he had determination. “If you try hard enough, victory will be yours.”
He spoke of capitalism and communism — those two great competing systems. (Communism does not believe in competition, except in this sense.) People, especially the young, are seduced by communism, Wałęsa said. They hear talk of “justice” and “equality.” In practice, communism is a foe of those things.
About contemporary political parties, Wałęsa was very interesting. “Today, some of the left-wing parties have more right-wing programs than the right-wing parties,” he said, “but the most interesting parties are the Christian ones. They are yelling that they are Christian, but there is not a man of faith in there.”
An old story.
Wałęsa stressed the importance of American leadership — American leadership in the global arena. “Because if you don’t lead,” he told the audience, “then I do not see a good solution for the world.”
In Washington, Wałęsa appeared at CSIS, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. I will quote a report from RFE/RL, i.e., our combination of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty:
Walesa stressed during a rare public appearance that while Ukrainians are fighting “courageously” and Western countries are stepping up to help, the struggle to seize the narrative through what he called “peaceful propaganda” is the real key to victory.
The 80-year-old labor leader turned politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner said he came to Washington mainly to stress the importance of commanding the information space and to encourage the country not to retreat from its leadership role.
Interesting, about the “information space.” Last week, I podcasted with Phillips O’Brien, the American professor of strategic studies who teaches at St Andrews University. We were talking about the myths concerning Russia and Ukraine that are widely believed in the West. O’Brien said, “The Russians have gained far more geopolitical leverage out of the millions they’ve spent on information warfare than the billions they have spent on the military.”
Many years ago, as the Soviet Union was expiring and Eastern Europe was shaking free, Lech Wałęsa was asked what the “radios” — Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty — had meant to Poland. He answered, “Would there be an earth without the sun?”
In Washington this week, Wałęsa said, “Numerous civilizations in the past have crumbled because somewhere along the way they forgot about leadership, and we are heading in this direction. We will destroy our civilization unless the United States retakes its leadership role.”
Incidentally, Wałęsa was wearing a Ukrainian lapel pin. He did so both in California (at the Reagan Library) and in Washington. There are a lot of U.S. Republicans who flip out at such a thing. But Lech Wałęsa is a very patriotic Pole — who understands the importance of solidarity with peoples under siege, and who holds freedom to be indivisible.
Presenting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, the committee’s chairman said that “the future will recognize” Wałęsa as one of those “who contributed to humanity’s legacy of freedom.” He has done his part, yes.