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In addition to these extremely religious holidays Poland's Catholic nature often manifests itself in odd legislation and political dialog. An example is a backlash by the more traditional (read: religous) members of the government against Halloween. Much like the character Father Mackie on the show South Park, these politicians feel that Halloween is an abomination and can only lead to evil. They believe this so fully that the wearing of costumes and participation in Halloween parties are openly discouraged in schools.
Other interesting conversations (but not legislation) include the outlawing of the sale of condoms, the introduction of a tax for unmarried men over the age of 30 - I think the idea is that this would encourage men away from unpure paths (lots of sex or homosexuality) while at the same time promote the building of the Polish family, and, more recently, there has been a discussion about banning IVF (in vitro fertilization) as this goes aginst God - if he wanted you to get pregnant it would work the natural way.
One final interesting note: the government is also against abortion. This is not so suprising as many Christians are against it. It turns out a bit strange in Poland though because while the law in Poland and the EU allow for certain types of abortions (say in the case of rape or incest) the atmosphere in Poland doesn't even allow for these to occur. Recently a Polish woman was awarded 25,000PLN by the EU courts because there was a medically proven risk to her life if her pregnancy was allowed to go to full term and she was not allowed an abortion. Several doctors would tell her it was a risk but none would actually sign the appropriate documents to allow it. She was poor as well and could not afford to go abroad as many other women do in her situation. As a result she is now blind and can no longer support any of her kids, the new one included, as she was once able to.
hmmmm...mike huckabee isn't looking like as much as a freak as before, although i think he may be happier in poland. i would also be happier if he lived in poland.
January 09, 2008
Wow, you are checking my blog early in the morning! I was in the middle of finishing off this post when your comment came in. :) I hope you are enjoying the photos and stories and are not too offended by my schoolyard vocabulary. ;)
So are you pulling for the mormon then? Or perhaps Hill-dawg? :p
January 09, 2008
i know, you'll see if and when you have a kid that the wee hours of the morning or late at night is the only quiet, focused time you have!
i'm actually not sure who i'm pulling for. certainly not huckabee (or as steve calls him, fuckabee). i like mitt romney's experience but i don't think he'll get the nomination. mccain is looking better and i've always like guiliani. on the dem side, if it comes down to obama and hillary i'd take hillary every day of the week. running a non-profit and serving a couple of years on capital hill do in no way qualify you to run a country.
i love your blog! the photos are amazing - i never even knew you were into photography until your blog!
January 12, 2008
You had better keep that quite, if our parents hear you would support Hillary they might try to kick you out the family like they did me!
Thanks for the complement. I did a photography class in HS but you were already in college then. I have stacks of 35mm negatives but digital are much easier to share now-a-days so...
:)
January 12, 2008
excuse me, when exactly did you get kicked out the family? this is news to me...
it's not so much that i would support hillary, it's just that compared to her opponent she is much more appealing. i never thought i would use hillary and appealing in the same sentence but there you have it.
January 13, 2008
Yeah, I got kicked out August of 2006. Durning a heated political discussion I commented that the two party system was a weakness of American politics and there should be one or two more viable parties. My dad took exception to this and ask for "any example of a country where that works". As I live in Europe I gave him about 27 examples. He didn't think it was funny (or accurate) and said I should just "stay there then".
January 15, 2008