The news that Poland has stripped Volodymyr Zelensky of a state honour is not a mere diplomatic kerfuffle. It is a symptom of a deeper rot. Recall the late Roman Republic, where allies became rivals and the so-called ‘brotherhood’ of civilised states crumbled into petty squabbles.
Here we have two nations that stood shoulder to shoulder against the Russian bear, and now they squabble like Victorian schoolboys over a disputed inheritance. The West’s unity, so loudly proclaimed, is revealed as a brittle thing. Poland, a nation with its own historical chips on its shoulder, has chosen to make a point.
But what point? That their patience with Ukrainian gratitude has worn thin? That the burdens of hosting refugees and stoking war have curdled into resentment?
Or perhaps it is a deeper civilisational malaise: the West no longer knows what it stands for, so it lashes out at its own. This is intellectual decadence, the kind that precedes the fall. When allies start snatching away honours, the barbarians are already at the gates.
The fracture is real, and the cracks will widen. Zelensky is no saint, but this move is a reckless indulgence. It will delight Moscow and sow discord among those who should know better.
We are watching the unravelling of a coalition that was never truly stitched together. The lesson of history is clear: when the centre cannot hold, anarchy is loosed upon the world.
