Lech Walesa Quotes

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.

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.

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.

I don't like to look a man in the eye.

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.

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.

Words are plentiful; deeds are precious.

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.

Now is the era of intellect, information and the Internet.

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.

I made the right decisions, I set everything on the right course, the reforms are going in the right direction.

I have always been and will be an enemy of communism, but I love all people.

I must tell you that the supply of words on the world market is plentiful, but the demand is falling.

We need a global parliament, a global government and possibly a global ministry for security.

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.

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.

"It all came from there," Lech Walesa said, pointing to a TV when a reporter asked him why communism fell.

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.

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.

The people in Poland had to deal with painful reforms.

There is something of the warrior in me.

Freedom may be the soul of humanity, but often you have to struggle to prove it.

Everyone wants a voice in human freedom. There's a fire burning inside all of us.

The world needs leaders of vision instead of leaders on television.

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.

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.

We hold our heads high, despite the price we have paid, because freedom is priceless.

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.

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.

When he saw injustice, he wanted to do away with it. He saw communism, and he wanted to put an end to it.

It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail.

I had my own battle tactics.

I will talk and act, not on my knees, but with prudence.

I use many different gadgets connected with computers; I use PCs, laptops and a Palm Pilot. I also use the Internet to visit websites, especially within Polish-language Internet. I usually go to political discussion groups and sites - of course, as I use my real name, people never believe that they are chatting with me!

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.

I can't imagine the right wing trying to unite without my participation.

Freedom must be gained step by step, slowly. Freedom is a food which must be carefully administered when people are too hungry for it.

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.

I only fear God, and my wife - sometimes.

Dictators and oppressors should continue to fear me because I will be here for a long time.

There should be a left leg and a right leg. And I'll be in between

I hope to work harder than ever to help people around the world.

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.

In myself I am nothing. It all comes from God and the Virgin Mary.

I am happy that Poland is returning to the road of pluralism and democracy.

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.

Building democracy as an imposition from abroad is a form of imperialism.

I believe that any violation of privacy is nothing good.