Dear Editor:
Alexander Motyl’s commentary “Why don’t Ukrainian Americans write?” (December 28, 2014) was a long overdue wake-up call for Ukrainian Americans to get more involved in policy debates concerning Ukraine. Too often the Russian propaganda machine and its army of paid trolls go unanswered because we are silent.
Sometimes I hear the argument that it’s useless or that there’s no point in arguing with idiots who toe the Russian line. Yet, who better to defend and/or advocate Ukrainian interests in mass media than the numerous well-informed Ukrainians living in the United States or Canada? Unfortunately, too few intelligent individuals speak out. Some voices are heard, but they are few and far between. Rather than venture outside our comfort zones we prefer to exchange views and opinions in the echo chamber of like-minded friends. Thus, when a John Mearsheimer expresses an opinion in The New York Times or a Stephen Cohen spews out nonsense on the John Batchelor radio show contrary to the best interests of Ukraine, they should be inundated by a barrage of calls and letters from individuals countering their mistaken beliefs. Not that it will change their minds, but it might influence the readers and listeners, and, by extension, the opinion of the public at large.
I should point out that form letters, no matter how well written, with hundreds of signatures petitioning this or that, are not nearly as effective as a single well-written op-ed contribution or even a letter to the editor expressing an opinion.
Dr. Motyl is right when he says that Ukrainian Americans have all the objective abilities – the vast majority are well-educated – to write an opinion in a public forum, and yet they don’t. Instead they waste an inordinate amount of time in intra-communal forums writing to the choir. One of these forums is Facebook, where countless hours are spend exchanging trivial personal information. If only a fraction of the time spent on Facebook was diverted to writing a good opinion piece, we would see results. To those who say they don’t have the time or can’t write, I remind them of an old Ukrainian proverb “sviati horshky ne lipliat” – you don’t have to be a saint to make a vase.
As Dr. Motyl notes, we should not fear rejection. If you fail, try again and again until you succeed. Critical mass is important no matter who the writers are. He writes that there are perhaps 500 educated Ukrainian Americans out there. I would say that they number in the thousands, but they are inactive. I, for one, have resolved to become more active in expressing my views on Ukraine wherever and whenever the occasion arises. Others should heed Dr. Motyl’s call to action. We must remember that in numbers there is strength.
Washington