A Mad Biker's Ongoing Tale

Monday, May 26, 2003

OK guys, this one's important to me. On June 7th and 8th the Polish voters are invited to descend upon the polling booths en masse and vote on whether or not they want to join the European Union. Let's not mince words here: we need this. But mere days away from the big event, there are still a whole lot of citizens who believe anything but. For those of you who are avid, unapologetic readers (Hi, Mom!), you know what I think of Poles: Honest, straightforward people, they are terrific friends, comprised of grit and integrity. But lacking a bit in the ol' "pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps" department. More willing to walk away and give up on whatever idea they have when they encounter an obstacle than to actually try to surmount it. So when I hear talk that the EU will be Poland's salvation, I tend to scoff. Many folks in these here parts are waiting... waiting for EU ascension, the next generation, the next crop of politicians, for time and somebody to make it right. Pinning all their hopes on the Magical World of Brussels is a fool's errand, unless they are willing to contribute heartily to the solution of everything that ails this fine country.

But ignoring the EU is more than foolish, it is perilous. Put simply, Poland will fall into the Middle Ages if they don't join the Family. It would be inevitable. The EU rivals the States in terms of political clout, culture, and standard of living. On the economic front, the Euro has gained mightily on the dollar and picking up speed every day. To the west of Poland lies the seemingly horizon-less EU Zone, to the east lay lands that are hopelessly enmeshed in the quagmire of Communism. Sure, the Wall fell, but Belarus and Ukraine authorities actually woe that fateful day. They want the old order back, and trudging uphill in this damnable vacuum has left them bereft of bread (the edible kind), bread (the convertible kind), will, law, and common sense.

After these two, what else is there? Moldova? Russia??? Please! No doubt Russia would like to have Poland as a willing ally (for once); Poland’s geographical position in Europe renders it as the Israel of Europe, which is why so many nations had invaded over the centuries. But Russia is no shape to provide assistance, to be a stable friend to anyone. What I'm saying is Russia is not trustworthy. Now Poles say that about... well, everyone, actually. But Russia and its enigmatic leader, Vladimir Putin, remain forever shrouded in mystery and unknown motivations. Yes, their economy is recovering. When you've hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up. But they could lose it all again tomorrow.

Interestingly enough, there's a large vocal enclave of Poles who think the same about Germany: That they are not trustworthy. And that they are the big power in the EU, masterminding a Fourth Reich which will dominate Poland anew without firing a shot. The enclave thinks even less of the French, but... well, they think even less of the French. That France's position in the EU is deteriorating, and Germany is coming into ascendancy. That France is openly bickering with just about everybody in Europe right now, to them only proves their point.

These Chicken Littles not only sound like crabby old men (they often are, though they have enlisted an alarming number of crabby young men to their ranks), they're dangerous. No one country will dominate the EU in setting policy for all member nations, no matter how much France may bellow, and certainly the European Parliament will not allow any member state to control another. (Not to oversimplify in this short essay, but does Texas rule the States? Is New Jersey or Nevada indentured to California?)

The state of the state here in Poland is rather dismal, no matter what the optimists and the apologists may say. Nobody trusts the established guard, nobody. Nobody likes our current crop of leaders, precious few trust the political establishment - and Brussels, my friends, is simply another political establishment. A vote against Brussels is, in many minds, a vote against our President Aleksander Kwas’niewski (Kvash-Neyh-skee) and Prime Minister Lesyck (LE-shik) Miller and the whole of Parliament. Worse, since so many of our politicos are lobbying heavily for EU ascension, a vote against the EU is a vote for the common man - or so the thinking goes.

But the common man will inexorably be crushed by the wheels of the 21st Century if they let this opportunity slip them by. The European Community is a juggernaut; Poland, as I have so elegantly put it many times on this page, is desperately poor. Sometimes I wonder what the common folk are waiting for to start the revolution? We need the influx of money the EU will provide, we need powerful friends in high places. Simply put, we cannot go it alone. At best, we would wither into nothing, a marginal country best ignored and avoided by everyone. At worst and far more likely, we will lay ourselves open once again to invasion - be it economically, culturally, or militarily (yeah sure, we're a peaceful "Global Village" now). We will lose whatever power we are gaining and we will fade into the history books.

Some argue that we should join NAFTA, strengthen our ties with the U.S. Certainly our government is doing just that. What with our commitment to troops to Iraq and our purchase of a fleet of American F-16 fighter planes. The windfalls of fat corporate contracts both here and in Iraq for Polish enterprises has commanded respect. But I emphasize that Poland is part of Europe, and one of the most strategic pieces of land in the Northern Hemisphere. An ally so many thousands of miles across the ocean, even a strong one, will leave us open to vicious attacks of all sorts from all sides. To extend my Israel metaphor, we will never gain the prestige Israel enjoys with American administrations and we will forever be marginalized. Nothing more than a pawn, ragged and threadbare, for the rest of the Powers.

The EU has money. Poland does not. The EU has physical and political infrastructure. Poland does not. The EU has intelligentsia, I'm very sorry but Poland does not. The EU has ballsy politicians (even the female ones) and is willing to risk and grow, Poland does and is not. The demagogues here like the right-of-right orthodox catholic priest Taduesz Rydzyk (Ta-DOOSH RID-shik) and SDL opposition party leader Andrzej Lepper (AAN-jay LE-per) are promising chaos, domination, homosexuality, abortion, and every other vice know to man if we join. Opinion polls list EU support near 80% but one polling agency admitted that only 5% of those they call even want to talk to the pollsters, and many in Poland's vast outback of poorer-than-poor villages aren't even being asked. As American ex-pat's Preston Smith's Poland Monthly puts it, a two day referendum may backfire on our elite. Those with no jobs and nothing better to do now have two days to make the two or four or ten mile trek to the polling booths. All to make a protest vote against the Establishment, whatever they deem the Establishment to be.

Look, I've gone on too long already. If Poles let this one slip us by, we will regret it for a very long time. Forever, in fact. 50% of Poles have to vote one way or the other in order for this to have any meaning, and if less than 50% vote the question of EU ascension will be kicked into Parliament. Then our ascension is assured. But with two days to do this thing, nobody is going to trust the "Political Elite" to do the right thing. Poles will come out in record numbers. They will vote.

And what they might vote for terrifies me.

posted by mark 5:24 PM

Wednesday, May 07, 2003

Another Long Weekend has passed. This is the confluence of May 1, or International Workers' Day (the European version of Labor Day) and May 3 - Constitution Day, the commemoration of the 1791 signing of the Polish Constitution. Warsaw practically empties as everyone who longs to escape from the city's baleful grasp does, and I was faced with the rising urge to stay put in this lovely town for the duration. After all, aren't holidays about getting away from it all? How is it a welcome break from the same-old-same-old if "it all" comes with you? Just like Summer weekends back in Jersey, when I stared slacked-jawed at the onslaught of bumper-to-bumper traffic that issued from Philly just to "get away from it all." I scoffed aloud, every time.

I was wrong.

We left Warsaw a day later than most so we avoided the crowds; I came to the Polish countryside relaxed and ready to boogie. We spent our days on the outskirts of the Mazury Highland in the northeast corner of the country. Specifically we journeyed to Augustov, again managing to avoid the bulk of the Warsiavians since Mazury's fame is founded mostly on its large aquatic expanse ever westward. But the Augustov region is gorgeous, with deeper lakes and (I heard) clearer. We kayaked the lower third of the Czarna Hancia River, reputedly the prettiest in P-Land. It's narrow and insanely winding and blockaded by numerous fallen trees and dead Russians but more than a little pretty.

I’d been expecting wide, wild waters and sheer cliff walls but I can't say why. Anything "sheer" or granite-like in Poland lies southward, but still I marveled that the "spectacular" river my Lonely Planet guidebook promised measured all of 5 meters from bank to bank. But the subtle hues of the wide farmlands, cascading stalks of weedgrass, and the enormous Augustov Forest finally overwhelmed both Gosia and me. It was magnificent - subtly understated. The kind of country one could blink and miss with scarce memory to refer to in later days, the kind of country that demands pause and reflection.

From southeast on the Czarna we looped west into the Augustov Canal and an endless series of tolled locks until we again approached the city. After the second lock we set camp upon a lush idyllic point. It was everything two weary urbanites longing for the restful excitement of the country could desire. Except.... I was less than prepared. Y'see, I had brought along my one-man tent, no more than a wind tunnel really, because I was fairly convinced I would never have convinced Gosia to camp in this, the coldest region of Poland. The polar bears roam all year, and Gosia had worn a jacket all day to foil their razor-sharp cuspids. The nights, even in May, often approach or reach the freezing mark. But camp she did - which meant I was regulated to the campfire, which I kept ablaze all through the long night. I had no sleeping bag, no mattress, just my second skin. But I was so delighted that she wanted to camp and camp willingly I would have done anything to assure her a night of warm, uninterrupted bliss.

The next day, after two hours of sleep for yours truly, grabbed in somnolent handfuls, it poured. But a pair of young kayakers up from the University of Krakow befriended us and offered us several large, thick bright blue garbage bags to cover our large, swollen blue selves and kayak. The moral of this story is despite the bucketing rain and the lack of sleep, I was in Heaven. Take me home, country roads...

That night and the next day were spent with relaxing walks and relaxing meals. Even the trip back to Warsaw couldn’t ruin my mood. 120 of us headed back for the Big City that Sunday afternoon, and when the state-owned PKP train pulled in it was already full from points further north. In its unassailable wisdom, PKP sent a train that was exactly three cars long - and the first one was the engine. We crammed in toe-to-toe. Later 50 more hardbitten types crowded in and we were butt-to-butt. 50 more and we were elbow-to-kneecap. Two hours later we changed trains and basked in relative luxury. Sure that one was SRO, too. But we beat most of the crowds, tucked in our shoulders, and slid ourselves onto what passes for plush comfort out in these parts.

And here we are. You know, many fleeing Warsiavians’ idea of a vacation is changing the venue of where they chose to get drunk, and certainly the people who shared the guesthouse with us in Augustov were no exception. But many more go to enjoy the natural joys of this country… Poland is sublime, filled with delights to satiate the soul and drive off the demons of despair. Let the train company bureaucracy rot in hell, me and my wife are just fine.

posted by mark 8:14 PM