Trum[ Nails It in Poland

            One of the best trips I’ve ever taken was a two-week visit to Poland a dozen years ago. Two weeks may not be long enough to really get to know a country, but I remember how I came away impressed by the wholesome and friendly attitude of the Polish people.

            Poland is a country with a long history of foreign invasion, occupation, and oppression.  After losing its independence in 1795, it was successively overrun by Prussians, Russians, and Austrians before regaining its independence in 1918. That lasted until 1939, when Germany invaded Poland to launch World War II.  When the Nazis were finally driven out in 1945, it was only to see Russians move in.  

            Poland is also a country of resistance and rebirth. In 1979 Pope John Paul II was allowed to visit his homeland and speak to millions about the spiritual unity of Poland. Without mentioning the Soviet Union, he was telling his people that their faith would deliver them from their Communist oppressors. Twelve years later the Soviet Union collapsed and Poland was free once again.

            My hat’s off to the speechwriter who crafted Trump’s speech in Warsaw last week. When the President recalled the response of the crowd to the pope’s speech 1979, he nailed it. “We want God,” the millions had shouted. When the crowd heard the President speak these magic words once again, they knew they had a friend in Donald Trump.    

            Another word that resonated in the President’s speech was “culture.” Culture is what binds a nation together. Conversely, when culture breaks down, so does the fabric of society. Poland is one of several Eastern European countries that have resisted the invasion of Muslims. For good reason. These countries have seen what can happen when a country opens its doors to people who have no desire to assimilate and to adopt the culture of the country that received them. The Muslim invaders of Germany, France, Great Britain, and Sweden are waging war on the West, not by the sword but by corroding the culture of their hosts, followed by conversion to their own culture and ideology.

            Through the centuries Poland has experienced wars of invasion and subjugation. This is one war they want no part of.