Lech Walesa Quotes & Sayings
Enjoy the top 100 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Lech Walesa.
Famous Quotes By Lech Walesa
The United States is only one superpower. Today they lead the world. Nobody has doubts about it. Militarily. They also lead economically but they're getting weak. But they don't lead morally and politically anymore. The world has no leadership. The United States was always the last resort and hope for all other nations. There was the hope, whenever something was going wrong, one could count on the United States. Today, we lost that hope. — Lech Walesa
The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards. — Lech Walesa
Life creates new heroes, and new heroes always find it easiest to beat up on the previous heroes. — Lech Walesa
For now, capitalism is working to produce more money but does not see the people. This problem is getting worse across the world. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
I must tell you that the supply of words on the world market is plentiful, but the demand is falling. — Lech Walesa
This is the moment of your defeat; you have just put in the last nails in the coffin of communism. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
Our national history has so often filled us with bitterness and the feeling of helplessness. — Lech Walesa
I belong to the generation of workers who, born in the villages and hamlets of rural Poland, had the opportunity to acquire education and find employment in industry, becoming in the course conscious of their rights and importance in society. — Lech Walesa
I represent the concept that pluralism is essential, union pluralism. I made an oath about this. — Lech Walesa
I don't have regrets I didn't spend more time with my family because I've lived my life to the full, and you can't look back in regret. — Lech Walesa
Freedom may be the soul of humanity, but often you have to struggle to prove it. — Lech Walesa
I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son. — Lech Walesa
I cannot stand for more than half an hour in one place. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
You should go to the polls, organize yourself. But once lawmakers are chosen, they must be respected. — Lech Walesa
Authority must be respected and chosen wisely. — Lech Walesa
I will talk and act, not on my knees, but with prudence. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
Freedom must be gained step by step, slowly. Freedom is a food which must be carefully administered when people are too hungry for it. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
I believe that any violation of privacy is nothing good. — Lech Walesa
Capitalism is in crisis. — Lech Walesa
I decided to get to know my opponents and their arguments. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
One could always do more, faster and cleverer, but democracy has its own rhythm. — Lech Walesa
We have travelled so far in our technical advancements that we are no longer located in our own countries. — Lech Walesa
People are most important. — Lech Walesa
My youth passed at the time of the country's reconstruction from the ruins and ashes of the war in which my nation never bowed to the enemy paying the highest price in the struggle. — Lech Walesa
I made the right decisions, I set everything on the right course, the reforms are going in the right direction. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
Everyone wants a voice in human freedom. There's a fire burning inside all of us. — Lech Walesa
Technology helped end communism by bringing in information from the outside. — Lech Walesa
There is something of the warrior in me. — Lech Walesa
The hope of the nation which throughout the nineteenth century had not for a moment reconciled itself with the loss of independence, and fighting for its own freedom, fought at the same time for the freedom of other nations. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
Now is the era of intellect, information and the Internet. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
My character and personality is today and tomorrow; I do not work well remembering further back. — Lech Walesa
I am happy that Poland is returning to the road of pluralism and democracy. — Lech Walesa
I allowed myself to be taken in by the intellectuals. I believed too much in the Polish intellectuals and followed their advice. — Lech Walesa
I realize that the strivings of the Polish people gave rise, and still do so, to the feelings of understanding and solidarity all over the world. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
I had my own battle tactics. — Lech Walesa
The supply of words in the world market is plentiful but the demand is falling. Let deeds follow words now. — Lech Walesa
I got politics and economics moving and then others took over. — Lech Walesa
Building democracy as an imposition from abroad is a form of imperialism. — Lech Walesa
We need a global parliament, a global government and possibly a global ministry for security. — Lech Walesa
Democracy is made up of three elements. One is whether the laws support pluralistic principles. The second is whether the people take advantage of these laws. The third element is whether the peoples' wallets are thick enough to benefit from this democracy. — Lech Walesa
We hold our heads high, despite the price we have paid, because freedom is priceless. — Lech Walesa
The world needs leaders of vision instead of leaders on television. — Lech Walesa
I have a vision, and I know I'm right. — Lech Walesa
I have more than 100 honorary Ph.D.s. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
After the war, Germany fully confessed to all its dirty tricks. It's necessary to is draw a line under the past, even if people did something evil. Until we do, wounds won't heal. — Lech Walesa
Irrespective of todays judgment and the price we had to pay in this generation, we were able to close an epoch of divisions, different blocs and borders, opening the way for an era of globalization. — Lech Walesa
Poles finished communism, and Great Britain profited significantly from this. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
The people in Poland had to deal with painful reforms. — Lech Walesa
I want to light the lights of patriotism. — Lech Walesa
I hope to work harder than ever to help people around the world. — Lech Walesa
There should be a left leg and a right leg. And I'll be in between — Lech Walesa
"It all came from there," Lech Walesa said, pointing to a TV when a reporter asked him why communism fell. — Lech Walesa
We were hoping Obama would reclaim moral leadership for America. That failed. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
Communism in Cuba will collapse sooner or later because you can't control the free flow of information. Communism prevents organizations from developing by stopping the flow of information. The system is based on police and listening devices and triggers the worst characteristics in humans. — Lech Walesa
No minority should climb all over the majority. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
I don't like to look a man in the eye. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
You have riches and freedom here but I feel no sense of faith or direction. You have so many computers, why don't you use them in the search for love? — Lech Walesa
People always ask me, 'Lech, aren't you afraid of being killed?' And as an answer I shrug my shoulders. — Lech Walesa
The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being. — Lech Walesa
I am overjoyed that I do not need a heart transplant at this time. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
If there were fish in the lake, fishing would make no sense. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
[Without Pope John Paul II] there would be no end of Communism or at least much later, and the end would have been bloody. — Lech Walesa
He who once became aware of the power of Solidarity and who breathed the air of freedom will not be crushed. — Lech Walesa
I risked my life. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
When he saw injustice, he wanted to do away with it. He saw communism, and he wanted to put an end to it. — Lech Walesa
It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail. — Lech Walesa
My health is very much improved. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
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. — Lech Walesa
President Lech Kaczynski is not at all active in Poland and his image abroad leaves a lot to be desired. — Lech Walesa
Without a single shot we've managed to liberate the world of communism but now there is a need for a global solidarity. — Lech Walesa
Dictators and oppressors should continue to fear me because I will be here for a long time. — Lech Walesa