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There is a fundamental difference between the Polish experience of the state and the Russian experience. In the Polish experience, the state was always a foreign power. So, to hate the state was a patriotic act.
Ryszard Kapuscinski
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the contrasting perspectives of Polish and Russian interactions with their state authorities, emphasizing patriotic dissent in Poland.

Ryszard Kapuscinski points out a crucial distinction in how Poles and Russians perceive their respective states. For Poles, the state has historically been viewed as an alien force, leading to a sense of patriotism that embraces opposition to the state, whereas Russian citizens may experience a more integrated relationship with their government, complicating feelings of dissent and loyalty.

Themes

PatriotismStateForeign PowerExperienceNational Identity

In practice

Example use cases

In a political debate about nationalism and its implications.

More from Ryszard Kapuscinski

Photographing expresses human desire to preserve passing time. It is like a man struggling with time that elapses, and in general - a desire to preserve oneself.
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A journey, after all, neither begins in the instant we set out, nor ends when we have reached our door step once again. It starts much earlier and is really never over, because the film of memory continues running on inside of us long after we have come to a physical standstill. Indeed, there exists something like a contagion of travel, and the disease is essentially incurable.
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There aren't many such enthusiasts born. The average person is not especially curious about the world. He is alive, and being somehow obliged to deal with this condition, feels the less effort it requires, the better. Whereas learning about the world is labor, and a great all-consuming one at that. Most people develop quite antithetical talents, in fact - to look without seeing, to listen without hearing, mainly to preserve onself within oneself.
Ryszard KapuscinskiRead
There is a lack of critical assessment of the past. But you have to understand that the current ruling elite is actually the old ruling elite. So they are incapable of a self-critical approach to the past.
Ryszard KapuscinskiRead
The Cold War in Africa is one of the darkest, most disgraceful pages in contemporary history, and everybody ought to be ashamed.
Ryszard KapuscinskiRead
A population weakened and exhausted by battling against so many obstacles - whose needs are never satisfied and desires never fulfilled - is vulnerable to manipulation and regimentation. The struggle for survival is, above all, an exercise that is hugely time-consuming, absorbing and debilitating. If you create these ''anti-conditions,'' your rule is guaranteed for a hundred years.
Ryszard KapuscinskiRead

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