EDITORIAL: Can we talk? (09/07/97)

EDITORIAL

Can we talk?

It's back-to-school time all over North America. And, for our Ukrainian communities it is that and much, much more, as September traditionally marks the resumption of all our local activities: meetings of diverse organizations (be they youth groups or professional associations, women's organizations or fraternal associations), classes of schools of Ukrainian studies, Ukrainian folk dance or bandura lessons, sports teams' practices - you name it. Those activities, we maintain, are the very foundation of our organized community. They are the training schools for the younger members of our community and the proving grounds for our future leaders.

So, as we return to participate, directly or indirectly, in the work of such organizations and institutions, we ask you, dear readers: Can we talk? Let us collectively consider the "Five Ws" (to borrow a term from Journalism 101) of our activity: who, what, when, where and why.

First of all, the who. Who is active in our organizations, for whom is the activity targeted? Who supports their work, and who benefits from it? Which of our organizations and groups could work together for the greater good? (For example, if we here in the United States support our so-called umbrella organizations can we not expect them to support our organizations in the U.S. both morally and financially? And yes, it is good to provide all types of support for Ukraine, but don't we also have a responsibility internally, that is, within our own community?)

What activities do we engage it? What activities do we need? What activities should be adapted to the new needs of new generations (e.g., Ukrainian language classes for those whose primary language is not Ukrainian, or new textbooks for our Ukrainian schools that reflect modern-day teaching techniques)?

When are these activities held? Is the "traditional" Saturday once a week a good time if we want to attract participants and retain members? Have we looked into creative scheduling that would accommodate new or larger segments of our communities? Do we tend to schedule too many events for the same time of the year? (After all, how many Christmastime events can one person attend?)

Where are our activities held? Are these locations suited to our needs? Are these locations convenient and safe for our members? And, a related question, should we perhaps pool our resources to find new centers that would accommodate a variety of our community needs and at the same time allow us flexibility? (Consider this: it is one thing to rent a school for Saturday Ukrainian school classes, it is another to have one's own facility - that's the reality that has recently hit home in one northern New Jersey community.)

And finally the big question: Why? Why do we have community organizations? Quite simply, why do we do what we do? (For example, why sign up your child with Plast, when Scouting might do? Gee, well, it could be because of the Ukrainian content ... hmmm ... There must be something here that we still value, even in this fast-paced, highly assimilated world.)

Having gone through the above series of questions, we firmly believe that the first thing most of us will realize is something quite obvious: we still feel we want and need to have a Ukrainian community for ourselves and for our children. We hasten to point out, however, that our community is suffering as a result of our own neglect.

As has been proven over, and over, and over again, the first step to recovery is to recognize and admit the problem at hand. The next step is to act. So, let us be blunt and admit that we - both as individuals and via our organizations - have not done nearly as much as we should for our own communities here in North America. Meanwhile, new generations arrive on the scene requiring our dedication and commitment.

Therefore, it would certainly be prudent and wise for us to take some time out to refocus our attention on our future here in the United States and Canada.

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