Old Dilemmas Renewed: Fear of Freedom vs. Freedom from Fear

Contemporary societies are currently subjected to very rapid and radical social changes and, as a consequence, struggle with their outcomes. The results range from the unforeseen repercussions of globally shifting political powers, through rising nationalisms, to prolonged economic, environmental, political and humanitarian crises. Critical analysis of the theories focused on the phenomena of authoritarianism, escapism, political myth, and conformity allows for outlining a comprehensive picture of the universally recognized opposition between freedom and security. From the distinction between the positive and negative freedom to the ambiguity surrounding the concept of “freedom from fear”, the fundamental dilemma is viewed from a historical perspective and illustrated with modern examples, emphasizing its current validity, insightfulness and potential in analyzing contemporary global problems. This approach allows for in-depth analyses of diversified social and political issues, such as the North African-European refugee crisis, rising nationalisms in the Western world, or a marked shift in political and social perspectives worldwide, from modern escapism to the birth of new myths of state

7 Babykillers czy ofiary systemu?

7 Babykillers or System Victims? Fight for the Shape of Social Memory on the Example of American Involvement in the Vietnam War&#x0D; Social trauma is a result of a collusion between the individual experience of trauma and the culture-mediated process of communal creation, negotiation and structuring of meaning. It emerges from the process of communalisation of individual trauma: when individual trauma becomes an experience shared originally by a ‘carrier group’ and later on spreads throughout whole societies. As a communal experience trauma alienates from their carriers by means of cultural media and their products. In the form of cultural artifacts, such as movies or books, it transforms into a Durkheimian social fact. The inability to negate it ultimately forces the society to engage in negotiations of meaning, resulting in either a refutation or an inclusion of the carrier group’s trauma into the wider social identity. The act of emergence of social trauma can be defined as a complex, multilayered process of continuous expansion of the intersubjective field. The history of American engagement in the Vietnam war and the society’s reaction to it serves as an informative example of this process.</jats:p

Old Dilemmas Renewed: Fear of Freedom vs. Freedom from Fear

Contemporary societies are currently subjected to very rapid and radical social changes and, as a consequence, struggle with their outcomes. The results range from the unforeseen repercussions of globally shifting political powers, through rising nationalisms, to prolonged economic, environmental, political and humanitarian crises. Critical analysis of the theories focused on the phenomena of authoritarianism, escapism, political myth, and conformity allows for outlining a comprehensive picture of the universally recognized opposition between freedom and security. From the distinction between the positive and negative freedom to the ambiguity surrounding the concept of “freedom from fear”, the fundamental dilemma is viewed from a historical perspective and illustrated with modern examples, emphasizing its current validity, insightfulness and potential in analyzing contemporary global problems. This approach allows for in-depth analyses of diversified social and political issues, such as the North African-European refugee crisis, rising nationalisms in the Western world, or a marked shift in political and social perspectives worldwide, from modern escapism to the birth of new myths of state

Thémis jako kategoria graniczna

Thémis as a Liminal Category Thémis is a concept deeply rooted in the culture of ancient Greece. As a category delineating the limits of “what’s right” as well as a personification of this very concept in Themis, the Titaness ruling the sphere of eternal order, justice, laws and mores in the Greek religion, thémis in ancient Greece was the ultimate boundary of the social reality. Situated on the crossroads between two spheres: the sacrum and the profane, this concept also served as the foundation of an impassable axio‑normative barrier between that which is human and which is other‑than‑human: either god‑like or beast‑like. Thémis as a philosophical and axio‑normative notion still remains a valid scientific category, which can be successfully used in the explication and analysis of the processes of emergence and transformation of contemporary social and individual boundaries. The examination of the socio‑cultural aspects of thémis facilitates the analysis of the communal factors influencing the individual world‑views, as well as those forming the limits and content of the prevailing ethics.</jats:p

American National Guard as a civilian-military service

Publikacja recenzowana / Peer-reviewed publicationCelem artykułu jest przedstawienie genezy, historii, struktury i funkcji Gwardii Narodowej Stanów Zjednoczonych, i jej znaczenia w strukturze komponentów rezerwowych Sił Zbrojnych Stanów Zjednoczonych oraz dla całego systemu militarnego państwa – na poziomie federalnym, stanowym i lokalnym. Gwardia Narodowa buduje swoją tożsamość odwołując się do tradycji milicji kolonialnych, zbrojnych oddziałów oddolnie organizowanych przez kolonistów na terenie pierwszych trzynastu kolonii brytyjskich przed ogłoszeniem Deklaracji Niepodległości w celu utrzymania pokoju wewnątrz osad, jak również odparcia zagrożeń zewnętrznych. Dualny charakter Gwardii Narodowej jest konsekwencją dwóch przeciwstawnych procesów: oddolnej inicjatywy obywateli oraz ambicji kontrolnych rządu federalnego. Dualny, stanowo-federalny charakter Gwardii Narodowej wynika z zapisu ustawy z 1933 roku – National Guard Mobilization Act, wprowadzającym zasadę podwójnej przynależności: wszyscy żołnierze finansowani z funduszy federalnych mieli znajdować się zarówno na listach Gwardii Narodowej danego stanu, jak i Gwardii Narodowej Stanów Zjednoczonych. Dualizm amerykańskiej Gwardii Narodowej uwidacznia się w jej funkcjach i działaniach, sporach kompetencyjnych, ocenach społecznych oraz sposobach wykorzystania tej formacji przez polityków, nie zawsze akceptowanych przez większość społeczeństwa. Ma on również wpływ na kształtowanie własnej tożsamości przez członków Gwardii Narodowej i na ewolucję jej społecznego statusu, zależną od przemian rozumienia idei patriotyzmu.This article is aimed at the presentation of the origins, structure and functions, as well as the dynamics of the United States National Guard as an element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, a vital part of the country’s military system on all levels: federal, state and local. The National Guard’s identity can be traced back to the traditions of the colonial militia, i.e. locally organized armed units of colonists, established in the first thirteen colonies prior to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence to keep peace within the settlements and to protect them from the outside threats. The dual character of the National Guard stems from two opposite processes: the grassroots initiative of the citizens and the controlling urges of the federal government. The dual, state-federal nature of the National Guard is a consequence of the 1933 National Guard Mobilization Act which introduced the rule of double belonging: the soldiers financed from federal funds were to be signed up both on the National Guard lists of a given state as well as the lists of the United States National Guard. The dual nature of the National Guard is apparent in its functions and actions, in the competence disputes, social opinions and the various political modes of use, not always condoned by the nation’s majority. It also affects the National Guard members’ identity as well as the evolution of the formation’s social status, dependent on the perception of the ever-changing idea of patriotism