FACES AND PLACES: A letter to St. Nicholas (12/27/98)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

A letter to St. Nicholas

I am a lifelong believer in St. Nicholas. This year I mailed my wish list early. It went beyond immediate family and included the naughty as well as the nice. Here's what I asked for.

A wake-up call for America: The United States has been slowly sliding into a moral marsh since the 1960s. Yesterday's abominations have become today's celebrations. As a people we are being morally disarmed by soft-core relativists who denounce accepted norms as a form of "judgmentalism," what Alan Dershowitz has labeled the "McCarthyism" of the 1990s. In the words of William J. Bennett, however: "Without judgment, there can be no common ethic. No standards. No established authority. No rules to govern behavior. No wise counsel on how best to live." And, I might add, there can be no rule of law. We should remember that during the 1930s the citizens of Hitler's Germany were willing to suspend moral judgment because the economy was good and their leader was popular.

Integrity for President Bill Clinton: This man's presidency is akin to a long and painful Greek tragedy. President Clinton is a man of extraordinary talent, ideas, oratorical skills, vision and charm; he is hardworking, shrewd and dynamic.

He could have been a great president if it wasn't for a fatal flaw, what the ancient Greeks called hubris, the delusion that one is god-like. Friedrich Nietzsche, identified such people as "sovereign individuals" (ubermensch), liberated from the morality of custom, autonomous, supramoral, unfettered by the "slave morality" of the masses. President Clinton has also savored the liberating draughts of deconstructionism, a post-modern philosophy that defines rationality, logic and honesty as illusions. Reality is dependent upon what "the meaning of is, is." In the language of philosopher Jacques Derrida, "the meaning of meaning is infinite implication ..." Truth (defined as a linguistic construct) depends solely on one's point of view at a given time. Will Mr. Clinton do the honorable thing and resign, or are resignations only a Republican phenomenon?

The rule of law for Ukraine: This is what Ukraine needs more than anything else. More than billions in loans, more than foreign investments, more than NGOs, more than sister cities. One can hold forums, debate issues, issue proclamations, even write new laws - but it will be empty rhetoric without a civil society where the law, not individuals, not groups, not lobbyists and not organizations, is supreme. Without the rule of law there is no democracy, no human rights, no freedom.

A backbone for President Leonid Kuchma: Mr. Kuchma is coming to the end of his first term, and he has little to show for it. While Ukraine's robber barons thumb their noses at the government, Mr. Kuchma makes promises and does nothing. Numerous meetings with Vice-President Al Gore have produced "nada," "nits," "nichevo." The old-line Bolsheviks are still flying the Soviet flag. The economy is in shambles and getting worse. The education system is in disarray. Intellectuals are fleeing the country. The government is riddled with corrupt officials. Companies such as Motorola and philantropists such as George Soros are pulling out, shaking their heads in dismay. How long will it be before Mr. Kuchma stops talking and starts doing?

A conscience for Pavlo Lazarenko: I suppose even St. Nicholas would find it difficult to provide a conscience for someone born into and nurtured by the Soviet elite, but there's no harm in asking. Pavlo Lazarenko, a billionaire and a former prime minister, is the poster boy for the new generation of nouveau riche in Ukraine. Like so many others, he obtained his wealth not by creating it; apparently, he became rich the old-fashioned Soviet way - he stole. He covets wealth and power with no concern for the common good. Charged with money laundering, Mr. Lazarenko was recently arrested in Switzerland. At the time of his incarceration he was allegedly in possession of eight different passports, including the Panamanian one he presented at the border. The Hromada Party, which Mr. Lazarenko controls, plans to run him for president in 1999. God help Ukraine if he gets elected. Even a Communist might be better.

Humility for Vyacheslav Chornovil: Mr. Chornovil's inflated ego continues to stand in the way of a united democratic front in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada. Even though they are in the minority, the Communists enjoy power and influence because, as always, they are united and resolute. Under Mr. Chornovil's leadership, Rukh, the leading party of the right, has yet to create a strong and meaningful anti-Communist coalition. With the 1999 elections not far off, right and center parties need to consolidate their forces - seriously this time - to avoid still another political catastrophe.

A reality check for Mykola Plawiuk: As head of the increasingly irrelevant OUN(M), Mr. Plawiuk needs to stop posturing as a very important person. Shuttling between Ukraine, where he took up residence, and North America, where he resided for years, he has been living on his laurels as a former president the Ukrainian government-in-exile, a position he obtained by default. Despite a history of abysmal failures in Canada, the United States and Ukraine, Mr. Plawiuk continues to push himself on stage. Whether one likes OUN(B) head Slava Stetsko or not, she does have a constituency (albeit small) in Ukraine and she holds a seat in the Verkhovna Rada. Mr. Plawiuk has neither.

Focused action for the diaspora: Nothing will save the Ukrainian diaspora short of focused action. We've worried. We've talked. We've discussed. We've analyzed. We've suggested. Now we need to act with energy, focusing on the here and the now.

Vision for Askold Lozynskyj: As the newly elected head of the Ukrainian World Congress, Mr. Lozynskyj is in a unique position to unify the diaspora. Much will depend on the weight of the ideological baggage he brings with him. Some Ukrainians are of the opinion that given his previous role as the OUN(B) point (some say "hit") man in the United States, Askold will remain Askold. Only old St. Nicholas knows what will happen. I have faith.

A plan for UNA executives: During the past 20 years the Ukrainian National Association has muddled through with no vision, no meaningful goals, and no plan. In the words of Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky (who said this about some of our community organizations), the UNA has been "on automatic pilot." Nearly elected (and re-elected) executives have a moral obligation to turn things around in the next two years or resign. Enough is enough.

There you have it: my letter to St. Nicholas. If you believe it's unrealistic, remember that I'm not asking this of just anybody. St. Nicholas is a saint with a centuries-old record. And he delivers.

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

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