UNA CONVENTION ADDRESS: Pioneers' dreams are our dreams (06/16/02)

UNA CONVENTION ADDRESS: Pioneers' dreams are our dreams

by Dr. Myron B. Kuropas

Below is the text of the keynote address delivered on May 26 at the banquet of the Ukrainian National Association's 35th Convention.

You and I live in the greatest country in the world. There are many, many reasons why the United States is so powerful, so rich, so united, yet so diverse.

It all began with America's Declaration of Independence, a mighty statement which settled for all time the standard by which all nations and people would be judged. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," our American founding fathers proclaimed on July 4, 1776, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

These were profound words. But they were more than words. They were a clarion call for freedom. They inspired the most successful and far-reaching revolution in the history of the world.

America's founding fathers were deeply religious men whose faith in God was unwavering. In his often-cited farewell address to his Cabinet on September 17, 1796, President George Washington urged Americans to preserve religion and morality as the "great pillars of human happiness." No matter how refined our education is, America's first president cautioned, "reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

When it appeared that the United States would be torn asunder, President Abraham Lincoln mobilized the people of the North to fight for the preservation of the union. Following the Battle of Gettysburg he came to honor the fallen heroes and to declare "that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

America's founding fathers and those who came after them were willing to sacrifice and to risk their lives for the fulfillment of an idea. They had vision and they dared to dream.

One of the great orations of our time was a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King titled "I Have a Dream." It was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1963. It was an optimistic speech proclaimed during a pessimistic time. "I say to you today, my friends," declared Dr. King, "that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" His was an inspiring message that touched the hearts of most Americans and helped turn the tide in favor of racial reconciliation.

I share the dream of America's founding fathers and their heirs. I dream about an independent Ukraine predicated on American principles, a nation, free of graft, corruption and lies, a nation that respects the rule of law and permits all of its citizens to live prosperous and meaningful lives.

But I also share the dreams of our other founding fathers, the pioneer priests who established the Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz. It is no coincidence that our organization was formally established by 13 branches on an American holiday commemorating an American patriot. Svoboda reported the event in an editorial titled "It Has Come to Be."

Listen to the words of Svoboda: "On February 22, 1894, the day all America celebrates the birthday anniversary of the great George Washington, fearless fighter for liberty and the rights of man, Rusyn priests, delegates of Rusyn brotherhoods and Rusyn patriots from many areas assembled at 9 a.m. in the Rusyn church in Shamokin, Pa., to ask God's help in launching this all-important project, the founding of the Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz ... Who could have hoped only a few years ago that the Rusyn, who escaped the bonds of slavery, want and poverty, would unleash so soon the long-suppressed power of the spirit? Who would think that under this shabby coat there beats a noble heart, capable of everything that is good and beautiful, once it has been freed from the bonds of slavery and oppression?"

Father Gregory Hrushka, Svoboda editor, composed a poem to commemorate the occasion:

Rejoice, Mother Rus',
Your children are not lost!
In America they are reborn,
From their graves they have emerged.
Your children have united,
The Soyuz they have established,
Brotherly love and mutual help
Forever is enshrined.

The UNA's founding fathers were men of principle. They, too, believed in equality, unity, the dignity of life and the need to pursue their sacred dream. We are their heirs. Their dream is our dream.

From its inception, UNA members accomplished what in retrospect seems impossible. The UNA established reading rooms in various towns and cities where immigrants from Ukraine could learn to read and write, and to learn about their Ukrainian heritage. UNA leaders worked with Rusyns from Ukraine who were poor, illiterate, and provincial, and transformed 40 percent of them into literate and nationally conscious Ukrainians. The UNA took Svoboda, today the oldest, continuously published Ukrainian-language newspaper in the world, and turned it into an educational guidebook for newcomers. By reading Svoboda, Ukrainians in North America learned about events in Ukraine as well as requirements for becoming citizens of the United States of America and Canada. By 1914, the Ruskyi Narodnyi Soyuz was formally renamed the Ukrainskyi Narodnyi Soyuz, the Ukrainian National Association in English.

The UNA also helped build churches throughout North America. In many towns the creation of a UNA branch often preceded the establishment of a parish or a church building committee. The first Ukrainian divine liturgy in Canada was celebrated in Manitoba in 1897 by Father Nestor Dmytriw, former editor of Svoboda and UNA secretary.

In 1905 UNA executives protested what they believed were efforts by Roman Catholic prelates in the United States to "Latinize" the Ukrainian Catholic Church in America. Svoboda pushed for a Ukrainian Catholic bishop who could better serve the needs of UNA members. Ukrainian Catholics received their first bishop in 1907.

In 1924 UNA executives and the Svoboda editor stood firmly on the side of those Ukrainians who were disenchanted with the actions of America's second Ukrainian bishop, a stance that eventually led to an estrangement between the UNA and the Ukrainian Catholic Church that took years to heal.

Between 1914 and 1923 Svoboda offered a daily commentary on developments in Ukraine, from the first, fledgling efforts at independence, through the unification of Ukraine in 1919, to the final incorporation of Galicia by Poland. Protests and fund-raisers were held throughout America. The UNA was one of the founding organizations of the Ukrainian National Alliance, which was instrumental in having President Woodrow Wilson declare April 21, 1917, as "Ukrainian Day" in the United States. Ukrainians associated with the Alliance collected more than $53,000 in one day. This was a phenomenal sum for its day, equivalent to 10 times that amount today. A total of $22,000 was immediately sent to Ukraine's president, Mykhailo Hrushevsky.

When the war ended, the Alliance changed its name to the Ukrainian National Committee and sent a delegation of Ukrainian Americans to Paris to plead for recognition of Ukrainian independence by the Versailles Peace Conference. When this effort failed, the focus shifted to Galicia, a region of Ukraine whose fate had not yet been decided. Svoboda helped raise thousands of dollars for the cause of Galician independence.

The UNA and its press were a bulwark against the growing power of the Ukrainian Communist Party in America. UNA publications mobilized the Ukrainian community against Poland's pacification of western Ukraine and Stalin's forced famine.

The UNA and The Ukrainian Weekly, founded in 1933, contributed to the creation of the Ukrainian Youth League of North America, an organization that brought young people together from two nations.

Following World War II it was the UNA that lobbied Congress and the president for passage of the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. When Ukrainian refugees began to arrive, it was UNA members who sponsored them housed them, and found them jobs. Some of you here tonight may remember that it was the UNA Center on Western Avenue that was your initial home in Chicago.

And so it went. The English-language Ukrainian encyclopedia, the Shevchenko Monument in Washington, Robert Conquest's "Harvest of Sorrow," the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine. These are just a few of the accomplishments made possible by the Ukrainian National Association.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is our heritage, our tradition, our pride and joy. No other organization in the diaspora has done more for Ukraine and for the preservation of our culture in the United States than the Ukrainian National Association.

The UNA and its publications have been the voice of Ukraine for over 100 years. Even today as journalists in Ukraine who criticize the government are being murdered, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly are still the voice of Ukraine, a voice that cannot, will not be silenced.

Are we worthy of these great deeds? Will we squander the precious inheritance our UNA pioneers left for us to build upon and to enjoy? Will we rationalize away our indifference? Already I have heard comments from some of you that we're too old to make a difference. It's too little, too late. The young people don't care. Decline is inevitable. Why fight it?

Let me be blunt. If you harbor any of these sentiments, perhaps you are part of the problem. I ask you. If you are too old, then why are you a delegate? If decline is inevitable, then why are you here?

Ladies and gentlemen. This is not the time to quit. This is not the occasion to turn away. This is not the time to despair.

No. This is our time, our turn to stand up and be counted, a time to make history, to build on the past and to pass on our inheritance to our children and grandchildren. Precious little time remains. I know that deep down in your hearts you believe that the Ukrainian National Association is worth fighting for. Don't be afraid. Do the right thing. If you don't, you will always regret it. If you do, generations to come will remember you, thank you and marvel at your perseverance. Don't miss this grand opportunity. It will never, ever come again. Our pioneers are watching. Let's not disappoint them.

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