Leading from the Front—words for today from yesterday
Amidst the cacophony, word from an old ‘friend’ who symbolizes the power of leading from the front when the danger mounts. Or, as Nelson Mandela said, “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger.” And, Ukraine’s Zelensky when offered escape in the face of Russian attack, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.” https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/26/europe/ukraine-zelensky-evacuation-intl/index.html
Below appears a letter from Lech Walesa.
I remember President Walesa scrambling over the wall to join the striking shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland. Then, subsequently and consistently, putting himself at grave personal risk by standing at the front of the fight for the freedom of Poland’s people from Russia (Soviet Union). Lech Walesa knows of personal risk taken for one's people. He led with his person. He came to symbolize the Polish fight for national independence and against the Soviet Union. He knows whereof he speaks. So good to hear from him again in our troubled times! So very good.
LinkedIn post by Roman Sheremela
“Former President of Poland Lech Wałęsa wrote the following letter to Trump.
‘Your Excellency, Mr. President,
We watched your conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky with fear and distaste. It is insulting that you expect Ukraine to show gratitude for U.S. material aid in its fight against russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who have been shedding their blood for over 11 years to defend the free world’s values and their homeland, attacked by Putin’s russia.
How can the leader of a country symbolizing the free world fail to recognize this?
The Oval Office atmosphere during this conversation reminded us of interrogations by the Security Services and Communist court debates. Back then, prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the communist political police, told us they held all the power while we had none. They demanded we stop our activities, arguing that innocent people suffered because of us. They stripped us of our freedoms for refusing to cooperate or express gratitude for our oppression. We are shocked that President Zelensky was treated similarly.
History shows that when the U.S. distanced itself from democratic values and its European allies, it ultimately endangered itself. President Wilson understood this in 1917 when the U.S. joined World War I. President Roosevelt knew it after Pearl Harbor in 1941, realizing that defending America meant fighting in both the Pacific and Europe alongside nations attacked by the Third Reich.
Without President Reagan and U.S. financial support, the Soviet empire’s collapse would not have been possible. Reagan recognized the suffering of millions in Soviet russia and its conquered nations, including thousands of political prisoners. His greatness lay in his unwavering stance, calling the USSR an “Empire of Evil” and confronting it decisively. We won, and today, his statue stands in Warsaw, facing the U.S. Embassy.
Mr. President, military and financial aid cannot be equated with the blood shed for Ukraine’s independence and the freedom of Europe and the world. Human life is priceless. Gratitude is due to those who sacrifice their blood and freedom—something self-evident to us, former political prisoners of the communist regime under Soviet Russia.
We urge the U.S. to uphold the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which established a direct obligation to defend Ukraine’s borders in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons. These guarantees are unconditional—nowhere do they suggest such aid is a mere economic transaction.
Signed,
Lech Wałęsa, former political prisoner, President of Poland.' "
President Walesa, thank you for then (again), thank you for now, and thank you for connecting the two—by word and by deed.
Keep Paddlin’,