Why do I say antonym, well a colleague a work remarked on the Polish custom and in the same sentence noted "where as you (British) have My home is my castle." I was not sure if I should get offended or just sigh at the ignorance of the remark (coming form an experienced English teacher/examiner). Where is the flaw in her argument? Well, she inferred that the two sayings are talking about the same issue: hospitality and are therefore comparative, whereas in fact they are discussing completely different issues.
The phrase My home is my castle goes to the heart of the concept of English liberal political thought. Whereas in society you may be subject to various constraints and have to do various duties, in your own home you are the sole ruler. This concept has its practical application in the concept of 'possession is 9/10th of the law. i.e. it is up to the Police to prove a crime rather than assuming guilt. It is also the premise behind the need for search warrents etc...
Living in Poland I naturly have an ID card; mine is a EU Residents Card: Dokument Potwierdzający Prawo Stałego Pobytu. However, it is always a struggle to explain to students why In the UK there is no need for one. Recently while discussing this issue a student remarked: "but what if you are stopped by the Police?" This question displays the crux of the problem. He automatically assumed that Police have the right to know who you are and question you. Of course in recent years Police in the UK have been given increase 'stop and search' powers, but even these are limited and must be documented. No policeman in the UK has the right to simply stop you as he wishes (unlike it appears in Poland).
Poland is unfortunately still very much under the dark shadow of communism in Polish peoples acceptance of the controlling nature of the state. I am often met with a quizzical look when I point out the outdated nature of citizen registration: In Poland all people must be registered to a specific abode. Most people take it so much for granted that they can not even see my point at first, yet it is a left-over of a police state wherein citizens were not entitled to freely move around the country. This has its practical problems. For example, my friend works and lives in Lodz, but is registered at her parents home 200 km away. One day she discovered that someone had stolen her number plates on her car. What wouled be a simple problem to solve was made worse by the fact that everything had to go through her official residence 200km away.
