FACES AND PLACES: A whole new ball game? (09/04/05)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

A whole new ball game?

Sooner or later it had to come to this. If not Messrs. Taras Kuzio and Orest Deychakiwsky writing in The Ukrainian Weekly (August 7), then others would have called our attention to the fact that our community, or diaspora if you prefer, is becoming increasingly irrelevant vis-à-vis Viktor Yuschenko's Ukraine. Bottom line? It's a whole new ball game. Or is it?

In contrast to the twaddle that has been appearing in The Kyiv Post - a publication that believes our community is a neo-fascist gargoyle, stuck somewhere in western Ukraine circa 1938 - the Kuzio/Deychakiwsky analysis offers some friendly, albeit painful, advice.

What I found particularly heartening in their summation was the magnitude of U.S. governmental, NGO and think-tank involvement with Ukraine. So much for the canard that the United States cares little for Ukraine and its people.

No doubt about it. There has been a sea change in the world following the Orange Revolution. Ukraine is finally a player in the international arena. No longer are we "Little Russians" speaking a "Russian dialect." Other nations are finally paying attention. So now what? Can the same community institutions that have served us well in the past continue to do so in the future? Simple answer: probably not.

The main reason is that some of our community leaders are part-time amateurs suffering from hubris. The majority of our part-timers are well-meaning, but good hearts can't compete with good heads, with those who have superior credentials and do what they do full-time. A new breed of professional Ukraine experts is emerging and that is a good thing. Many of them have traveled in Ukraine, lived in Ukraine, studied in and about Ukraine, and, significantly, they tend to be objective. In short, they're professionals.

Non-sentimental, non-Ukrainian professionals working on behalf of Ukraine, however, is not always a good thing. It's fine if these same professionals have cultivated a sensitivity to the peculiarities of the Ukrainian experience. It's hurtful if they look upon Ukraine as just another country desperate for U.S. assistance and guidance. I have met some of the latter types. They were all about saving the world and they had all the answers, regardless of what country they were "saving." Their approach was Ukraine today, Uganda tomorrow. Both nations begin with U, right?

So what's to become of our part-time community leadership now that Ukraine has emerged from the shadows? Here's one suggestion. How about some humility. Stop posturing and pushing for photo-ops with President Yushchenko and other Ukrainian VIPs. Ukrainian leaders over there know our strengths and weaknesses and, based on the recent performance of some of our leaders, they're not all that impressed.

Does that mean our community needs to step aside and let the big boys and girls carry the ball? Hardly. We still have a role to play. We need to re-invent ourselves as the saying goes, and we can begin by changing our focus from over there to here. There is no doubt that over the years our community has contributed much to preserving the Ukrainian heritage, the Ukrainian language, and the ideal of a Ukraine that is free, sovereign and independent. We won! Time to declare victory, blow the bugles, pat ourselves on the back, take our bows and move on to the next assignment.

And what might that be? Given our present situation, i.e., the somewhat weakened state of our institutional infrastructure, our next task needs to be modest, focused and incremental. Our base needs nourishment and expansion, and that depends on our finding ways to bring our youth back into the fold, and to convince the Fourth Wave to buy into our community.

We will never get them to commit to such a grandiose goal as "saving our community" because their vision of "our community" is different from ours. Besides, both our youth and our Fourth Wavers are too busy building their economic lives to focus on communal needs. But we can develop creative, do-able, short-term projects that can peak their interest and not require a lifetime pledge to belong. We witnessed how these two groups responded to the Orange Revolution. It was an awesome display of passionate commitment. Now that the Ukrainian people are back on track, however, most of our youth and Fourth Wavers seem to be fading away.

Our social capital needs to increase if we are to survive until 2020. It won't be easy, but we're not alone. Other ethnic groups face similar problems because we live in an America that is becoming increasingly asocial. Sociologist Robert Putnam addresses this issue in his classic work, "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Renewal of American Community." Surveys indicate that Americans have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors and such mediating structures as the PTA, churches, the boy scouts, the YMCA, fraternal organizations, political parties bowling leagues and other, similar institutions; "We need to create new structures and policies," writes Prof. Putnam, "to facilitate civic engagement."

Frustrated with the lack of opportunity to feel at home and to make a difference within our present communal structures, many of our young people - and Fourth Wavers as well - have simply walked away to seek social nourishment elsewhere.

If you've read this far, dear reader, I think I know what you're probably thinking. "Big words," Kuropas. 'Social nourishment' "institutional infrasructure, 'civic engagement.' Right! Now tell us HOW we accomplish all this. Be specific, Kuropas, how do we turn things around?"

Patience, dear reader, patience. I have some ideas. But first, I would like to know what you think. Do you care? Do you believe that any of our established organizations still have a role to play? If yes, which ones?

Write me. Send a letter to The Ukrainian Weekly or to my e-mail address. I will respond. I promise.

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

| Home Page |