When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be
personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him
our liberty. This can't be said often enough by people who lived under
oppression for half a century, until communism fell in 1989.

Poles fought for their freedom for so many years that they hold in
special esteem those who backed them in their struggle. Support was the
test of friendship. President Reagan was such a friend. His policy of
aiding democratic movements in Central and Eastern Europe in the dark
days of the Cold War meant a lot to us. We knew he believed in a few
simple principles such as human rights, democracy and civil society. He
was someone who was convinced that the citizen is not for the state, but
vice-versa, and that freedom is an innate right.

I often wondered why Ronald Reagan did this, taking the risks he did, in
supporting us at Solidarity, as well as dissident movements in other
countries behind the Iron Curtain, while pushing a defense buildup that
pushed the Soviet economy over the brink. Let's remember that it was a
time of recession in the U.S. and a time when the American public was
more interested in their own domestic affairs. It took a leader with a
vision to convince them that there are greater things worth fighting
for. Did he seek any profit in such a policy? Though our freedom
movements were in line with the foreign policy of the United States, I
doubt it.

I distinguish between two kinds of politicians. There are those who view
politics as a tactical game, a game in which they do not reveal any
individuality, in which they lose their own face. There are, however,
leaders for whom politics is a means of defending and furthering values.
For them, it is a moral pursuit. They do so because the values they
cherish are endangered. They're convinced that there are values worth
living for, and even values worth dying for. Otherwise they would
consider their life and work pointless. Only such politicians are great
politicians and Ronald Reagan was one of them.

The 1980s were a curious time -- a time of realization that a new age
was upon us. Communism was coming to an end. It had used up its means
and possibilities. The ground was set for change. But this change needed
the cooperation, or unspoken understanding, of different political
players. Now, from the perspective of our time, it is obvious that like
the pieces of a global chain of events, Ronald Reagan, John Paul II,
Margaret Thatcher and even Mikhail Gorbachev helped bring about this new
age in Europe. We at Solidarity like to claim more than a little credit,
too, for bringing about the end of the Cold War.

In the Europe of the 1980s, Ronald Reagan presented a vision. For us in
Central and Eastern Europe, that meant freedom from the Soviets. Mr.
Reagan was no ostrich who hoped that problems might just go away. He
thought that problems are there to be faced. This is exactly what he
did.

Every time I met President Reagan, at his private estate in California
or at the Lenin shipyard here in Gdansk, I was amazed by his modesty and
even temper. He didn't fit the stereotype of the world leader that he
was. Privately, we were like opposite sides of a magnet: He was always
composed; I was a raging tower of emotions eager to act. We were so
different yet we never had a problem with understanding one another. I
respected his honesty and good humor. It gave me confidence in his
policies and his resolve. He supported my struggle, but what unified us,
unmistakably, were our similar values and shared goals.

---

I have often been asked in the United States to sign the poster that
many Americans consider very significant. Prepared for the first
almost-free parliamentary elections in Poland in 1989, the poster shows
Gary Cooper as the lonely sheriff in the American Western, "High Noon."
Under the headline "At High Noon" runs the red Solidarity banner and the
date -- June 4, 1989 -- of the poll. It was a simple but effective
gimmick that, at the time, was misunderstood by the Communists. They, in
fact, tried to ridicule the freedom movement in Poland as an invention
of the "Wild" West, especially the U.S.

But the poster had the opposite impact: Cowboys in Western clothes had
become a powerful symbol for Poles. Cowboys fight for justice, fight
against evil, and fight for freedom, both physical and spiritual.
Solidarity trounced the Communists in that election, paving the way for
a democratic government in Poland. It is always so touching when people
bring this poster up to me to autograph it. They have cherished it for
so many years and it has become the emblem of the battle that we all
fought together.

As I say repeatedly, we owe so much to all those who supported us.
Perhaps in the early years, we didn't express enough gratitude. We were
so busy introducing all the necessary economic and political reforms in
our reborn country. Yet President Ronald Reagan must have realized what
remarkable changes he brought to Poland, and indeed the rest of the
world. And I hope he felt gratified. He should have.

(Mr. Walesa, winner of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, was president of
Poland from 1990 to 1995.)

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