The sole and basic source of our strength is the solidarity of

The words of Lech Wałęsa — “The sole and basic source of our strength is the solidarity of workers, peasants, and the intelligentsia, the solidarity of the nation, the solidarity of people who seek to live in dignity, truth, and in harmony with their conscience.” — sound like the voice of a prophet speaking to his people in their darkest hour. They carry the weight of Poland’s struggle against oppression, and they proclaim a truth that transcends nations and ages: that true strength does not lie in weapons, nor in riches, nor in power seized by a few, but in the united will of ordinary people who stand together for justice and for truth.

Wałęsa, an electrician by trade, rose not with sword or crown but with the spirit of solidarity. His words are rooted in the birth of the Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s, when workers and intellectuals bound themselves together against the machinery of dictatorship. It was a time when isolation meant defeat, but union meant endurance. His declaration reveals the ancient principle that a divided people are weak, but a people united in conscience cannot be broken.

When he speaks of workers, peasants, and the intelligentsia, he names the three great pillars of any society: those who labor with their hands, those who till the earth, and those who labor with the mind. Alone, each group is vulnerable, but together they form an unshakable foundation. It is as in a tripod: remove one leg, and the structure falls. Bind them in solidarity, and the nation stands tall. Thus, his words are both poetic and practical: unity is not an ornament, but the very source of strength.

History confirms this wisdom. Think of Mahatma Gandhi in India, who united peasants, workers, students, and intellectuals in nonviolent resistance against colonial rule. The British Empire, mighty in arms and wealth, could not withstand the weight of millions who refused to submit. Their power lay not in violence but in solidarity, in the shared cry for dignity and truth. So too in Poland, where Wałęsa’s movement inspired the crumbling of the Iron Curtain, not with bloodshed, but with steadfast unity.

The mention of conscience is no less powerful. For Wałęsa does not call for unity built on hatred or vengeance, but on harmony with the inner voice of what is right. True solidarity is not blind conformity; it is the free choice of individuals to align with justice. It is the courage to say, “I will not betray my dignity, nor the truth within me.” This harmony of conscience transforms the crowd into a moral force, greater than any tyrant’s command.

The lesson is clear: in times of division, when fear and greed tempt people to withdraw into themselves, remember that strength is born only of solidarity. To the youth: do not scorn the worker, the farmer, or the scholar — for each carries a piece of the nation’s soul. To communities: seek unity not in uniformity, but in shared values of dignity and truth. To nations: build alliances on conscience, not merely on convenience.

Practical wisdom follows. In your own life, cultivate solidarity in small and great ways. Stand with your colleagues, with your neighbors, with those who suffer injustice. Do not let pride or prejudice divide you from others who share your humanity. Listen across boundaries, honor the work of others, and defend truth when it is threatened. In doing so, you weave yourself into the larger fabric of unity that sustains not only individuals but entire nations.

Thus, Wałęsa’s words endure as a call across generations: the true source of strength is solidarity — not of the powerful few, but of the many who refuse to betray their conscience. Let this teaching take root in your heart: walk in unity, guard your dignity, live in truth, and together, you shall be unshakable. For tyrants fall, empires crumble, but a people bound in solidarity shall endure forever.