PL
Traditional or Modern? Lubusz Youth at the Beginning of the XXI CenturyWe were interested in fi nding determinants of traditional and modern young Poles’attitudes towards elementary social issues. We wanted to answer the question howproximity to the German border can be treated as a diff erentiating factor consideringattitudes of youth form Lubuskie voivodeship, compared to the attitudes oftheir peers from other regions of the country. Th e analysis of the PGSS and LSS dataallowed us to formulate thesis of modern attitudes towards most of the analyzed dimensionsof social life, beyond the perception of the paternalism. Modern worldviewmanifests itself most strongly in relation to national issues where it can be concludedthat contemporary young people are rational citizens, deprived of strong emotions inthe way of speaking about their country and its activities.It cannot be strongly concluded that the proximity to the border fosters attitudesmore modern, because of the intensity of contacts with Germans. In most of theanalyzed cases we could not fi nd signifi cant diff erences in the opinions of the Polesand the inhabitants of the region of Lubusz. Th ere are, however, individual statements,which revealed signifi cant diff erences between the Poles and Lubusz, whichcan be explained by the multidimensional impact of the border. We claimed thosediff erences with the importance of the fl ow patterns of behavior between Poles andGermans, or the development of trade relations. It should be emphasized that theproximity of the border also generates a negative attitudes of Poles towards Germans.Daily contacts shape attitudes towards patriotism.