What is the legacy of Pope John Paul II?
” Those interviewing me usually want a sound-bite sized quote. Since I’m a philosopher, I prefer to draw distinctions and tell stories. Perhaps because of my Polish ethnicity on my mother’s side, I think that the life and legacy of John Paul II is best understood in light of the history and culture of Poland. Nation and State The thousand-year history of Poland has produced a profound distinction between the Polish nation and the Polish state. The “nation,” its language and cultural heritage, is rich. Ever since Prince Mieszko, the medieval leader who united various Slavic tribes into a unified people, converted to Catholicism in 966, a Polish-speaking people have inhabited central Europe. That people, who spread throughout the fields of central Europe, formed their own culture. The “state” of Poland has had a much more rugged history. After a golden era of prosperity from the 14th to the 16th centuries, Poland was partitioned three times in the 18th century. By 1795, the state of Pola
