Even the Creator did not build a perfect work; hence our editorial openness to constructive criticism, and hence, in me personally, more humility toward the immeasurable areas of knowledge that I eagerly absorb to this day, in accordance with the principle of lifelong education, than arrogance and self-confidence, or self-admiration ("I know best"). Thank you, Mr Andrzej, for your lengthy and learned argument, with which I partly agree. Please forgive me for saying that it does not constitute a "discovery," since you repeat truths that are rather commonly known; and since I have been writing for various newspapers for quite a long time (well over a quarter of a century...), it is difficult to expect surprises or particular revelations that I would have to accept a priori. I do not question your belief that "one man can change the world" (Wilson); I understand the psychological need to establish oneself as an "all-knowing" person, which is, after all, required by a councillor’s mandate. I do not object to your different view of the world and hierarchy of problems—including local ones—because that is your personal right, resulting from the sum of your knowledge and life experience. Like you, I come from the opposition electoral list opposing the existing power structures (the Electoral Forum for the Benefit of the City and Its Residents); I take pride in belonging to the Independent Councillors’ Club; I have the courage to speak on public matters, yet I avoid like the plague cheap pontificating, demagoguery, quarrels, disputes, bickering, insulting the dignity of opponents, destruction, and pursuing narrow interests through the offices held. Progress is not created by destruction, but by painstaking construction, the difficult creation of new values, and grassroots organic work. In my modest understanding, that is also the role of the press: highlighting what unites us, bridging chasms, seeking the truth, but also not shying away from criticism, suggesting specific solutions to the "authorities," and many other things—functions and roles that I will not develop for lack of space.
You hold it against us that we prefer to write about positive phenomena, that we treat problems selectively, and that there is bias in the presentation of facts. Despite my already long life and having crossed Conrad’s "shadow line," I have not yet encountered a universally objective newspaper that writes the truth and nothing but the truth, is truly independent, and avoids all options and views, because that is pure utopia. Today, the prevailing convention is that of aggressive, malicious, almost revolutionary-Bolshevik press and journalists, whose achievements are measured by the number of blows delivered around them and their effectiveness. Saying "but he really laid into him, kicked him while he was down, destroyed him..." has become a virtue. Please forgive me, but we will not use such a model or example in our editorial work. And not because we lack courage: such conduct simply does not fit the philosophical position represented by the team. We resolved the dilemma long ago: should we go for the authorities’ throats, or communicate, reach agreements, cooperate, and seek consensus? Please note that even the "brilliant destroyer" left power, and something nevertheless changed in the contemporary life of Poles; therefore Bolesławiec cannot be an enclave of separateness modeled on the pattern of struggle, a battlefield, skirmishes, and ambushes. We value acting pro publico bono more highly than short-lived fireworks and narrow interests.
I have no personal obligations toward the local executive self-government authorities, expect no benefits from them, and have no professional or social dependence on them. I do not always agree with opinions and decisions, but that is what the City Board forum and the even higher forum of the City Council are for. What idyll are you writing about? We had our own "Drawsko dinner" and a dispute over the delegation sent to Hobro in a composition different from the one wanted, for example, by the Education Committee, my councillors’ club, or some members of the City Board; but is that a reason to tear one’s clothes, dramatize, shout across all of Poland, dig up the hatchet, and resort to aggression? This is how Bolesławiec differs from at least several nearby towns: we quickly forget temporary grievances and failures, with full respect for the culture of speech. This is not a defect but, on the contrary, a huge advantage in the complicated structures of social life. If such inflammatory details (because they are not problems) were dragged into the light of day, we would probably have cheap circuses and increased newspaper readership, but the broadly understood benefit would be negligible. We try—though not always with the best results, agreed—to rank the value and importance of problems, leaving aside animosities, resentments, dislikes, and malice. This is a requirement of civilizational tolerance for distinctiveness, pluralism, and democracy. And these are not merely platitudes, as you so smoothly and skillfully put it.
I continue to believe that one must know how to differ beautifully—with no grudges or taking offense, without hatred and vindictiveness, which are traits of primitive and bad people. We prefer the principles of Christian and universal human ethics, in which there is no room for blocks of bad feelings, and no talk of destruction, devastation, or revolution. You place too much emphasis on the law of dialectics: "The struggle of opposites is the essence of development." Let us counter this with the harmony of cooperation, creative thinking, and shared concern and responsibility for the fate of the self-government community—without straddling the barricade, without divisions into "us" and "them," good and bad, right and wrong, those with an ethos and those without one. Should one watch the authorities closely? Of course—this is a fundamental civic right of modern times, and part of the press’s role. But as long as the city develops—as it does—as long as we jointly carry out globally important projects with good results, and as long as no one has been proven guilty of dishonesty, we as a publication will support the City Council, the Board, and the Mayor. It is irrelevant here that I come from the opposition. Let us build together, not destroy one another—this is the guiding motto of Głos Bolesławca.
We do not aspire to an active role as the "fourth estate," because that would expose us to ridicule. To the extent of our modest abilities, we want to be the voice of public opinion, a forum for exchanging views, an information source recording the course of local events in the form of journalistic records and notes, chroniclers of the city’s history without becoming involved in "great politics." We want to be a self-government publication, an advocate of tolerance, joint action, and cooperation pro publico bono. There is room in Bolesławiec for other titles; local daily newspapers such as Gazeta Robotnicza or Słowo Polskie have the advantage of speed in delivering current information. Alongside information, we are closer to reflection and generalizations than to aggressive or behind-the-scenes journalism. This is a publication by lovers of the Bolesławiec Land, not a propaganda mouthpiece carrying out someone’s orders: no one can "order" us to do anything; in this sense, we remain free and independent. We should not be destroyed; on the contrary, we deserve support, because we are part of this city, one of its constituent elements.
There are towns, such as Syców, that publish a self-government bulletin in which only the municipal authorities’ point of view is reflected. We represent a different option. And why is there so much information from the City Board? It is the basic source for access to objective data, without distortions, omissions, and so on. Who prevents you, as a councillor, from writing about shortcomings and imperfections you have noticed and criticizing misguided decisions by the authorities? The role of reviewer may be convenient, but it is not enough. Please actively and concretely help the city "make good press." I believe in your abilities and talent; I do not evade responsibility for the publication’s imperfections, as I took it over in that form and changed little in it. I respect your point of view, although I disagree with many of your opinions. Thus, it is possible to differ beautifully, something you do not want to believe...
Yours sincerely, Paweł Śliwko—City Councillor.
P.S. I will resign without regret from the honorary position of Press Spokesperson for the City Board if, for example, the publication ceases to exist as a forum for expressing opinions and views or conveying information. The position is a source of irritation and brings no benefits. Is that what you want?