This article was written by IWP alumnus S. Eugene Poteat, and originally appeared in the Charleston Mercury.
The American media, as well as that of the European Union, are awash in articles critical of the election of Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PIS) and the new Polish government formed after that landslide victory, calling the new leaders “right-wing” radicals and dictators that crossed the line with their “disturbing tilt” to the right. In 2015, the PIS won both presidential and parliamentary elections and, for the first time since the Second World War, removed entrenched pro-communist, pro-Russian stooges from power in Poland.
Poland was stunned at America’s reaction to their new government. What so traumatized America’s sensibilities? First, they removed the pro-Russian officials and judges. Then, they had the audacity to declare, independently, they would not abide by the EU’s policy of open borders accepting uncontrolled Muslim immigrants flooding Western Europe — going against American and EU open borders and multi-cultural, one-world policies — which has led to uncontrolled Muslim immigration into already unstable, shifting countries facing their own economic problems. To America, it was: “How dare Poland go behind our back thinking independently and taking actions different from the position of the United States, which, by the way, had been dutifully supporting the previous Polish government.” I suspect we were doing so without realizing it was pro-Russian.
Interestingly, all these critical articles were alike. They all used the same words and phrases: right-wing, radicals, disturbing tilt to the right, violation of democracy and “Putinization” of Poland. And they all appeared about the same time, apparently emanating from a single source, indicating there is no such thing as independent press, only a dependent press. Or one that is skillfully manipulated and fed leads from groups with hidden objectives. Not a single American journalist or reporter appears to have taken time to look into what was behind the Polish election that brought to power these so-called ‘right-wing radicals.’ Our simplistic view that the world is either left or right — left being good, right bad — indicates we have little idea what Poland’s election was about.