Poland is a country again! It had been and it had not been, for numerous cycles over the several centuries of modern Europe. It contracted and disappeared. Then, in Cold War years, it was controlled from without.. But now it’s on the map, and the Poles are IN it! Many of them, at least (a good portion of Poles live in the U.S. and have also found work in other Western nations). It seems permanent this time. After all… who wants it? Just kidding. The reason that things seem Different this time is: war is rare, if not impossible, in Europe nowadays.
The Poles had the misfortune of being really bad at warfare, in a time and place where combat was the most popular and influential force. You couldn’t really call them ‘victim’ much more than you would label a bad dancer in a 1978 disco a ‘victim.’ Lousy is the word. They just couldn’t patch together enough battlefield victories to maintain territorial integrity. Sometimes it was the fault of being in the wrong ‘alliance.’ Sometimes it was the weather, or a surprise attack.. Excuses, excuses. Whichever possible way there was to lose, Poland found it. The map shifted and shifted, making the Poles guests in different nations. But no nation of Poland! At a time when nationalism was driving the expansion of countries and conflicts among them, Poland, which was 100% Polish, was a nation no more.
But in our liberated, enlightened Europe (this new one, not to be mistaken with the Enlightened Age aka Napoleonic Wars..) combat doesn’t pay. And so Poland seems safe for a long while. But are there enemies within? The same weakness that manifested in battlefield disasters, could it be inherent, and cause damage to Polish society? Could it also create calamity throughout Europe, now that the nations are, to an extent, united? A study of two Polish-led projects would be instructive on these matters. The projects are related to the popular European activities of soccer and politics. Oh yes. Politics is the new warfare. And soccer.. Well, soccer is also the new warfare.
Poland is right in the thick of it. It has been awarded the honor of hosting (along with Austria) a soccer tournament next year. And… did you know that the European Union has a revolving "Presidency" which is a member country? (this makes the U.S. electoral system appear sensible). Well, guess who / what country has the privilege of the current 6-month term (begun in late June 2011)? Poland, that’s who!
The soccer-hosting construction has been in full-swing for a couple years. The EU Presidency began in July. How are things going? And will other countries, via the EU, have to step-in and "right the ship?" Let’s see… And let us examine everyday civil life in Poland. I was there in June, and I can reconstruct some of my experiences–my memory was impaired after having some things fall on me in Warsaw and Poznan. Oh yes. Being in a middling nation on the rise is dangerous business.
NEXT INSTALLMENT: First Impressions of Warsaw
