Very few people in the world ever earned the right to say that they made a true difference in the lives of others much less in their own lives. 
On the shoulders of a single man, however, a nation rose from the darkest depths of a Communist government to the light of democracy.  This man, Lech Walesa, represents the embodiment of purpose itself, and he succeeded in his purpose.
As the leader of Solidarity, a labor movement with 10 million followers, Walesa inspired the people of Poland to strike, and this strike eventually evolved into a social revolution.
Although Walesa suffered imprisonment for his rebellion, he persevered until the Communist government finally cracked under the pressure of Solidarity.
In his efforts to promote government and social reform, Walesa rose from an electrician to a labor leader to a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and he became the first democratically elected President of Poland in 1990.
When Walesa spoke at NIACC on October 5, his speech reflected the same vibrancy and frank honesty which characterized his entire political career.
Despite the fact that he held the office of President himself, Walesa poked fun at politicians in general when he said, “We have so few politicians of vision, yet so many of television.”
Walesa spoke of the need for reform in the United Nations and NATO, and he said that the United States too often acts as a policeman for the world.
“If the police are effective, we like them,” Walesa said, “but if they fine us, we criticize them.”
Although Walesa also spoke eloquently about the role of Solidarity in promoting democracy, he made one comment which hit at the heart of some of the problems in our own democracy.
He chided the younger generation for not being involved in our democracy, saying that young people think they are so far away from Washington D.C. that the politicians cannot hear them at all.
In a democracy, our vote acts as our voice, and the only time that voice is not heard is when we fail to vote, so I believe that we have no right to complain about anything in government unless we submit that vote. 
Here in the United States we should see voting not as a privilege, but as a responsibility, and Walesa, having experienced the oppression under a Communist government, was quite qualified to reprimand us for our apathy.
“Decent, educated people take democracy for granted,” Walesa said, “and it is dangerous.”