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Is there something like a "Polish culture", or Polish identity/a national identity? (as every culture has their own).
How would you define it? What is typical Polish? (I'm not looking for adjectives such as "Pride", "honor", etc. but more what values and
beliefs that could be identitfied in a Polish culture/society today). What values can be found in the Polish society today?
Before I begin, I would like to say that no matter how general or non-general anyone’s answer is, it is going to be solely based on their own experiences, and where they are from.
As a Polish-Canadian from BC, I know that the way we perceive and do things here (in BC) are very different from say, Alberta or Saskatchewan. Same goes for people from Northern England vs. Southern England, or people from Washington vs. South Dakota for example.
Please defy your idea of culture, what is culture to you?
As for Polish values, I can only say this based where I grew up in Poland, I think that Polish people value family more than anything.
Education and family prosperity were of high importance as well – which should not be interpret as teaching anyone to be a leach, or a gold-digger. People like that were and still are looked down upon; same goes to anyone with poor education. It would be embarrassing to be associated with someone like that.
This may only be my opinion but, I think that’s fairly normal for any large city with good secondary, and post secondary schools. *I guess this would also be dictated by the status of the neighborhood you are in, like anywhere else*
When I went to elementary school back in PL, lazy kids who didn’t apply themselves in class were often ridiculed, but that doesn’t mean that kids with learning disabilities like dyslexia had the same treatment; some of our top students in class were considered to be “gifted with a learning disability” and received proper support in school to counter that.”
What would be the "Polish" public opinion seen in the society today, on matters like abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.? What about gender-equality? Is there any laws in Poland to promote gender-equality?
As a girl, growing up in Poland I never felt like I was treated in any way that indicated that women were not equals by any polish man, and that's true to this day. If anything there were some small biases against boys – mainly due to a weaker performance in school.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/wom1591.doc.htm
Same sex unions.
There are few countries in the world that allow same-sex marriages, as for Poland, it does recognize same-sex relationships as common law,
One should also understand that for any other type of marriage recognition this would be dictated by any official religion/church laws of that country since it would influence the opinion of general public.
This should answer it better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recognition_of_same-sex_unions_in_Poland
Abortion.
While many of my friends from Poland would not chose to have an abortion they wish Poland allowed women to have the choice rather than not.
Is the society more liberal and open on these matters, than the Polish government (or juridical) is? (when it comes to juridical law). Is there a contrast between the law and the public opinion? What do you think?
This would be heavily dictated by the overall prosperity of the area you were in, like in any country around the world. Poor area = poor education, less work, more biases/fears, etc. Rich area = higher education, better understanding and awareness of the world. You get the picture.
And what other question is discussed in the public and is of importance, when it comes to political matters that concerns the society and the individual? is these questions regulated in the Polish law (same-sex marriage, etc.)? How do people bring forth their opinions (ways of influencing the public opinion/or government)?
How are matters like this brought to public’s attention in your country? I’m pretty sure it works the same way in most Western countries. We pick the political party that reflects our views. If there is an issue we want to raise we write to our politicians/governing bodies.
And last question, do you know any site or source where I can find more information about issues/questions that's is of imporance for the politicans today (how the legal law looks like in Poland, or what issues is brought by the Polish government :S).
Have you tried looking it up online?
So finally, is there a contrast (or contradiction) between Polish society/public opinion and what politicans bring forth?
Would you see that the opinions of politicans is more old-fashioned compared to the polish society today?
It depends which political party. I’m sure that it varies between conservative and liberal parties, as well as younger vs. older citizens. In general, younger people are more liberal than the senior citizens of Poland.
Not sure what country you want to compare this against.
What about catholic values, can they be seen in the society today in the public opinion, or are they more "old-fashined", or do they influence the public sphere and the legal law today, in the legal context (public law)?
I’d say most of our religious traditions are widely practiced everywhere in Poland, like Easter or Christmas.
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