FACES AND PLACES: Reflections on Ukraine's civil society (01/18/98)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Reflections on Ukraine's civil society

Do Ukraine's people believe they live in a democracy? According to a survey conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), only 20 percent believe they do.

More sobering CSIS statistics, as printed in the latest issue of Infolink, a publication of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation: 96 percent of the people interviewed are dissatisfied with the current political situation; only 12 percent believe the economy will improve; only 3 percent believe land ownership should be unlimited in the amount a person can purchase.

The survey also found that the most informed people in Ukraine are those between the ages of 18 and 35, paradoxically, the one group that is least likely to vote.

Despite the fact that during the last five years the American government, various foundations and numerous individuals have poured millions of dollars into projects designed to establish a society "where democratic values are in people's hearts," the results are disappointing. Rather than progress toward this laudatory goal, we appear to have regression.

Why the poor showing? One reason is that a civil society is hardly possible without two elements: a moral consensus and a collective self-consciousness. Today, Ukraine appears to have neither. To attempt to create a civil society before these two ingredients are present is to put the cart before the horse.

But that is exactly what many American and international organizations - both governmental and private - are attempting to do: create a civil society before nationhood has been achieved. In the words of the renowned sociologist Edward Shils: "National collective self-consciousness is the shared image of the nation and the mutual awareness of its members who participate in that image ... Civil society is a feature of modern national states ... Civil society is guided and oriented by nationhood. Civil society is one of the institutional manifestations of the nation." In short, no national self-consciousness, no nationhood. No nationhood, no civil society.

Part of the problem, of course, is American hubris, a kind of one-size-fits-all mentality that believes that if something works in America it can surely work anywhere. There seems to be little appreciation for the fact that every country is different, with its own unique culture, traditions and history. It's difficult to transplant social institutions without realizing this simple fact of life.

What many modern-day American political reformers fail to appreciate, it seems, is that the United States enjoys both a moral consensus and a collective consciousness (although both are presently being undermined by militant multiculturalists), which began with the Magna Carta and took centuries to develop. "A nation is never an affair of a single generation," wrote Mr. Shils.

Two influences that helped the United States establish its sense of nationhood were religion and national unity, two elements avoided by today's post-Soviet reformers. Their commitment to the principle of separation of Church and state has blinded them to the potential of religion as a vehicle of moral renewal. Their fear of "nationalism" in every form has led them to believe that efforts to construct a national identity will somehow destroy intercultural understanding within the state.

But that is not how America came to be. "By their practice Americans show that they feel the urgent necessity to instill morality into democracy by means of religion," wrote Alexis De Tocqueville in his classic study "Democracy in America." "Thus, while the law allows the American people to do everything, there are things which religion prevents them from imagining and forbids them to dare."

De Tocqueville elaborated on this point in his "The Old Regime and the French Revolution": "I have sometimes asked Americans whom I chanced to meet in their own country or in Europe whether in their opinion religion contributes to the stability of the state and the maintenance of law and order. They always answered, without a moment's hesitation, that a civilized community, especially one that enjoys the benefit of freedom, cannot exist without religion."

Can Ukraine achieve a moral consensus without some kind of religious grounding? "There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion," wrote Will and Ariel Durant in their 1968 publication "Lessons of History." The Soviets tried but failed miserably.

It is significant to note that first immigration Rusyns became Ukrainians in the United States largely as a result of the work of nationally self-conscious priests.

Given the devastation wrought by decades of Soviet domination combined with the last five years of oligarchic rule by the same old nomenklatura, it will take time before nationhood predicated on a broad moral consensus and collective self-consciousness can blossom. As I've written on these pages before, however, there is a glimmer of hope. A new generation of leaders is being educated at institutions like the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the Ostroh Academy in Volyn.

Here at Northern Illinois University, three professors from the Ostroh Academy are currently writing theses on three very important topics. Vasyl Zhukovsky is investigating moral education in the United States and Ukraine during the past 20 years. Natalya Lominska is reviewing language education in Ukraine, from Rus' to Rukh. Oleksander Izmentinov is analyzing multicultural education in the U.S. to see what, if anything, is applicable to the Ukrainian experience. The result will be three studies that address three vital issues related to Ukraine's nationhood and three Ukrainian professors who will have a keener understanding of the role their institution needs to play in Ukraine's resurrection.

On June 7, the Ostroh Academy will host a conference titled "The Bible in Ukraine." Ostroh is the perfect site for such a conference because the first Slavic Bible was published there in 1581. All faith expressions are encouraged to participate in this very significant conclave. For more information contact: Vasyl Zhukovsky, 403 South First, No. 14, DeKalb, IL 60115.

Thus far the Ukrainian community has been very generous in supporting the Ostroh Academy. Donations are always welcome and can be sent to the UNA Foundation/Ostroh Fund, 107 Ilehamwood Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115. All donations are tax-deductible, so please give what you can.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected]

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