With the beginning of 2021, America, and the West with it, has violently entered a new phase which could be termed as the Liberal Restoration. The political mind, if we at least consider the actual meaning of the results of the presidential elections, would suggest other, better solutions to restoration, such as reintegration and inclusion. These would perhaps allow for the reconstruction of the broken institutional and communication bonds of the West.
Yet, the recent events in Washington, and especially the reaction towards them, clearly point out that a phase of restoration awaits us. Despite what some would claim, it will not grant us a solution to the crisis or at least the return of peace. Instead, it will assuredly contribute to the deepening of polarization and conflict. This problem is worth observing, as it concerns not only the United States which is still a key nation in terms of the West’s future, but also refers to Europe and Poland. Restoration has its logic, and it’s not only about Charles Maurice de Talleyrand’s famous quote about restoration politicians as people who “have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.” If modern Western liberal cultures did not throw statues into rivers, then maybe they would preserve the needed knowledge from the past which would allow them to understand today what the consequences of restoration policy are and why it cannot succeed. The supporters of restoration are usually guided by the conviction that they can restore the lost order and correct the mistakes of the past.
Instead of doing so, they activate processes which in effect question the legality of the old order even more. One could say, that despite their best intentions, the supporters of restoration themselves contribute to the destruction of the rights to which they refer to. If we look at what is now happening in American politics, at the attempt to remove the hated Trump from office during the last days of his presidency, the permanent banning of his account on Twitter and the forcing of the gender-neutral language bill through Congress, one does not require great insight to figure out what will be the result of this all, especially since restoration has been unsuccessfully attempted many times in the past.
