I can talk for hours on the phone, but when I need to make an interview I definitely prefer to talk "face o face". I like to see the other speaker and observe how and what he speaks - it is easier to make contact and build a mutual relation. Unfortunately, I had to do my interview with the Ambassador of Poland to the USA, Janusz Reiter over the phone - I had no choice.

Koscierzyna a town near Gdansk, located in the heart of lake district with many rivers, hills and forests a land known as Polish Switzerland. Town's oldest structure a 19th century building with a square market connected from all corners by a two streets. The city's layout is typical for a XIV century town. Exactly there in one of the buildings on the square market, Janusz Riter lived for the first nineteen years of his life. -You have to grow up in order to realize how this period of your life shapes your thinking, feeling and perceiving the world. I learned a lot from this city, although as most teenagers- I would rebel against this world which I thought was cramped and provincial. I needed many years to realize that it had positive values. When I begun my studies in Warsaw I had a low self-esteem, I thought that everyone I met was a genius and that I was bound to be worse than everyone else. Fortunately, very quickly I managed to overcome this feeling. Today I am proud to be recognized as the Honorable Citizen of Koscierzyn.

As a child he was fortunate to live in security - Even now he thinks that it was his biggest treasure that parents and family could give their children. -When people use a computer they need software, they forget that for it to function properly it needs a base program. It is similar to us - your childhood and youth are sort of a stencil or a base program. At home and from the environment, I learned to respect certain values, regarded by some as bourgeois. For me these values are very important - punctuality, reliability, responsibility, a sort of pragmatism, cautiousness towards very emotional attitudes.

He graduated German language department at the University of Warsaw. He used to be a journalist of "Warsaw Life" newspaper, later he was involved in commentary for the "Catholic Review", and in 1989 in "Polish Politics", he also wrote for the "Gazeta Wyborcza" (Poland's leading daily paper). He also worked for television. Since 1980, he was an activist for the Solidarity Labor Union movement. Between the years 1990 to 1995, he was the ambassador to Poland in Germany. He wrote for many foreign newspapers such as "Die Zeit". During years 1996 to 2003, he was a director and founder of the Center of International Relations in Warsaw. He believed that Poland needed growth institutions away from politics, and competence in the field of foreign politics. -Journalism was a good preparation for what I do presently. I really liked this work and it was very satisfying. It has also allowed me to choose different paths. Of course, you have to be careful and resist the temptation of becoming a jack-of-all-trades. I received many invitations from Germany to make speeches, sometimes concerning subjects I was completely unfamiliar. When someone once told me that I could talk about everything, it was a signal to hit the brakes. Nevertheless, regardless of the stipulations, journalism is most importantly the ability to communicate with the world and the skill to communicate to the world and to a certain extent my current job involves just that. Marcus Tullius Cicero, the most prominent Roman speaker, advocate of the Greek philosophy, lawyer, politician and statesman, two thousand years ago made the following statement: "There are two ways of solving disputes: one using arguments, the second by the use of force; and since the first way is for people, and the second for wild animals, we need to use the second method only when the first fails."

In other words - the strength of argumentation, not the argumentation of force. Janusz Reiter unwillingly talks about his profession. -You need to act rather than theorize. I would simply put it that I enjoy what I do. For some this kind of work might be a burden, they might feel that it limits their choice of expression and their freedom. I on the other hand, consider myself lucky, diplomacy is my life.

Diplomacy is not always about keeping the distance. Definitely not! It is also about showing your emotions. It is an art of finding common language of understanding between people who are often very different from us, coming from completely different cultures and backgrounds. After all, during our lives, we come across many people and things not always necessary click in from the start, it is the invisible thread that gives us the impression that we have always known this person. We meet people who might have contrary opinions or views to ours as well as different interests. If you want to accept people for all their varieties, it is easier to adopt your behavior to the situation without contradicting yourself. Certainly, you should not accept and use single recipe for all situations. Instead, I am sure it is important to realize and accept the fact that people are different. And they have every right to be. Diplomacy is also and perhaps most importantly art of maintaining a balance between moderation, pragmatism and the skill of defining political targets in a realistic matter, but with a dosage of imagination.

"Diplomacy does not have to be pleasurable as long as it is effective". [Tom Clancy, American novelist, the author of "The Hunt for the Red October"]. The Ambassador believes that foreign politics is not about proving to the other side that you are right. -In politics and in diplomacy accordingly, you cannot act without the conviction that you are right, and that you represent a positive purpose. However, the goal is not trying to prove that you are right. If you are alone without allies and support the mere, fact that you are right does not mean anything. The fact of the matter remains that the measure of foreign politics is its effectiveness. Searching for partners does not necessary mean you must agree with them entirely. Cooperation in the world would not exist, if our only partners in international politics were, the only one who we agree with entirely. There is a joke about a rich older man, who is married to a young attractive woman. One day somebody very "kind" informs him that his wife has a lover. The betrayed husband is not upset by the news. - How come? - Asked the informer.-Don't you care about it? - No- says the husband. - It is better to have 50 percent stake in good business rather than 100 percent in a bad one. Please, do not take literally, but in politics, sometimes it is better to be 50 percent successful than to be 100 percent right.

Janusz Reiter became the ambassador of Poland to Germany few months after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. He recalls these five years with pleasure. -It was a remarkable experience - the beginnings of independent Polish foreign politics and Germany as "her" great challenge. It was clear that without rearranging and rebuilding relations with the Germans, practically from the scratch, there would be no Polish foreign politics in Europe. Challenges that had to be faced were clear - historical, emotional and political. On the other hand, Germany anticipated and was curious who will represent newly born Poland, what will he have to say, what will be the dialog? This concern gave me great opportunity and I tried to take full advantage of it. I knew this country; I understood and felt how we were perceived. I sensed that the Germans expected someone to represent Poland differently than previously. Poland that is modern and open. I tried to meet that demand - honestly, without pretending or "pretending to be someone else".

"A diplomat is a person who thinks twice before he does not say anything". [Winston Churchill]. -The Germans like to hear what others have to say about their country, what their neighbors say about their internal issues. I was invited, encouraged - by such individuals as the then president of Germany Richard von Weizsacker, who to this day is my close friend - and even provoked to openly express my views about internal and foreign German politics. It was just right for me and I was pleased to be taking part in such discussions, especially since Germany is rich on political discourse. I also decided that it would be a good way to represent Poland's interests. It is a really nice feeling that still to this day I know not only friends, but people - including those from top shelves - who I can call or visit at any time.
Germany is a difficult country especially for us Polish in terms of emotions. We have the right to expect from them historical awareness, but we must remember to take into an account the other side's psychology. In my opinion, agreement with the Germans is possible and needed. Lack of such, substantially limits our political maneuverability in Europe. Even from the perspective of transatlantic relations, it would be vital for Poland and Germany to maintain good cooperation, however that would not exclude discrepancies of views and interests in different issues.

Winston Churchill said: "I am an optimist. Being someone else does not seem to be useful for anything." Ambassador Riter is also an optimist. And he likes being one. He thinks that there is probably no other country as optimistic as the United States. -There is a lot of optimism in this country. Something we do not have in Europe, it is a disappointment since it is very important and pleasant. I feel European and Polish, and I am very proud of it. If I admire America, it is not because I feel strange in Europe. I simply respect the strength of this country. The incredible power of optimism and faith and that every man is in charge of his own happiness, although he is also responsible for himself. This approach seems to be appealing and motivating. Poland and other countries from this part of Europe invoke positive emotions. Poland has few assets - it is a pro-American country, shares many interests with America, and finally - corresponds to the American myth of success. We can evaluate ourselves differently, but for the American people Poland is considered a country of great success. It is a positive potential and we need to take advantage of it.

One of Ambassador's main objectives in America is to reach an agreement concerning the abolishment of visas for Polish visitors to the USA. Other issues concern international politics. -The Senate has passed an amendment that anticipates Poland's admittance to this program. It is our biggest achievement so far in this issue. We still need the consent of both Houses, and that might be very difficult. I hope and repeat this in the Senate and in the House of Representatives that when I will be leaving America , I would like to be able to return any time that I want, all I would need is the passport without the visa. I believe it is possible.

We are not immediate neighbors, we are divided by the Atlantic, and so our physical contacts are much lesser than in Europe, nevertheless we share common international political issues. From the perspective of strategic interests and the rank of this country in world politics, it is an exceptionally important partner. Washington is the centre of international politics. There are no other places like it in the world. For an Ambassador it is a very demanding, difficult, and competitive market. It is not easy to draw the needed attention of America, support is required. There are many candidates who want to be in the spotlight and all of them want to steamroll their interests. One way to achieve this is by appearing on America's political agenda in Washington. Poland is doing the same. In any case, it is an exciting task. We would like to relate our security with America's security - that is why we are in Iraq. Although terrorism itself dos not directly concern us, nor is it an immediate threat to us, but it is a threat to what we call, world order and we are also part of this order. Our involvement in Iraq reinforces America's involvement in Europe. Such strategic transaction is in our interest. Europe always arouses America's interest, but rather among the elite, although I am under the impression that this is slowly changing. I think this tend is because demographic structure of America is also changing - there is a depletion of people whose roots are from Europe. Cold war, which naturally brought America closer to Europe, is long over and the war against terrorism is not as binding. Of course there are still common interests, but there is no such feeling of community of both societies, who either both win or lose. There is no such strong identification on both sides. We must pursue to develop infrastructure of Polish - American relations. To achieve this there must be American presence in Poland in different fields - culture, science, and economy. It is also important to make the Americans aware that Poland's friendship with America is a matter of choice. It would be good if America accepted this choice - and what is more important - appreciated it, only then it would be an advantage to Poland.

"During dinner celebrating end of an international conference, an American delegate turned to a Chinese delegate sitting next to him, pointed at the soup, and rather pretentiously, asked: - soup good? The Chinese delegate readily nodded his head. Later he asked again: fish good? meat good?, fruit good? - the answer was always a kind nod of the head. At the end of dinner, the chairman of the conference introduced speaker of the night - no other than the Chinese, who - to the astonishment of his American neighbor - made a witty and humorous discourse, speaking in flawless English. After finishing his speech, the speaker turned to his neighbor and with a playful spark in his eye, asked: - speech good?

"Instead touching the reality, they react to stereotypes." [Anthony de Mello - Jesuit, psychotherapist, theologian, and a philosopher, became popular thanks to his books about spiritual development].

We owe the phrase "stereotype" to Walter Lippmann, one of the greatest editors of the XX century, sociologists, journalist whose articles were published in "New York Herald Tribune" and "Washington Post" (the inventor of the phrase "cold war"). Lippmann described stereotype as a schematic and unilateral "picture in human mind" of any occurrence, person, object, and an opinion of it adapted from the surrounding, before getting to know the object itself. -Stereotypes have an immense strength of existence. People question stereotypes only in exceptional situations - says Janusz Reiter. - What can I say - it is easier to live with stereotypes, that is probably why people tend to follow them. The image of Poland and a Pole in America - in my opinion - has greatly improved, which does not mean that it is perfect and always real. It is not. I believe we always have to improve it. Of course, it requires effort and not only thinking about yourself, but in a wider social scale. There is a huge gap between reality and stereotypes. Our effort must concentrate on shrinking this gap. Poland is in much better shape than before 1989- firstly because we are part of the western world and because Poland is a completely different country than back then. For generations Poles loved their country but they did not always like it. I would really like to see Poles start liking their country, and I believe that it is more possible today than ever before.