LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (03/02/03)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dissent is part of being American

Dear Editor:

I have been a loyal subscriber to The Ukrainian Weekly for many years now. Initially I subscribed because it was one of the few available sources of information about Ukraine. Now, in Internet times, this is no longer the case, but I continue to subscribe out of loyalty and to read some of the longer analytical articles by Taras Kuzio and others.

In the past few years I have become more and more outraged by the right-wing ranting of Dr. Myron Kuropas. If he were writing in any other newspaper, I would just ignore him. Newspapers have their own ideologies, so be it. But The Weekly is different. It is supposed to be about and for Ukraine and Ukrainians, all of them, not just those who toe the extreme right-wing Republican party line.

I am tired of being hectored by Dr. Kuropas for being un-American. Dissent is an essential part of what it means to be an American, it is not un-American. Being anti-war or anti-government is not being un-American.

Yes, some factions of the Vietnam anti-war movement were Marxists who "worshipped at the altar of Fidel Castro, et. al.." But most were ordinary Americans who opposed the war for religious and moral reasons, including my late senator, Phil Hart. Some were misled and brainwashed by the Communists; but wasn't it George W. Bush who said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, an unreconstructed Communist, that he "looked into his eyes and had been able to glimpse his soul" and thus knew he could trust him?

Dr. Kuropas says of today's anti-war protesters "Today they're back - different people, but the same shrill anti-American rail." He speaks of ANSWER, who organized the January 18 demonstration in Washington. Yes, answer is a far left group, and yes, it did organize that rally. But hundreds of other organizations, who may not agree with most of ANSWER's agenda, decided to work with them, rather than staging competing demonstrations on the same day.

And what of February's demonstrations? Millions of people marching worldwide - are they all shrill anti-Americans, too? I attended a march in my home state. It was peaceful and patriotic. We carried anti-war banners, but also American flags. There were a few socialists and counter-culture types in our midst, but mostly it was middle class, middle-aged, middle American folks. There were families with children, and senior citizens with pets and canes. We had teachers, nurses, doctors, Methodists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Unitarians. There were students and veterans. There were Democrats, Greens, and Republicans.

We spoke with many voices, but we were all there because we love our country. Because, as Carl Schurz, U.S. general and U.S. senator, declared, "Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right."

Luba Petrusha, M.D.
West Bloomfield, Mich.

Meest speaks out re: concert tickets

Dear Editor:

We at Meest were delighted to read the article "Oksana Bilozir at Brooklyn's Millennium Theater" by Lillianna and Alexander Chudolij in the February 16 issue of The Ukrainian Weekly.

We were disheartened, however, to read the comments of Ms. Chudolij in the same issue of The Ukrainian Weekly: "Why Russian tickets for Ukrainian show?"

First of all, I would like to answer Ms. Chudolij's question about why there was Russian print on the tickets. The tickets were printed in three languages: English, Ukrainian and Russian. There was a short phrase in Russian: "entrance after the third bell is forbidden." The words "row" and "seat" were in Russian. The name of the performer and the name of the concert were in Ukrainian. The rest of the information was in English.

Most of us know that the Millennium Theater is an active hub of Russian and Jewish culture. The Millennium Theater was selected for two reasons. The first reason was that the location of the theater was ideal; it is in the midst of the largest recent Ukrainian immigrant community. The second reason was economic; it was the best value for the services provided. When contracting for use of the theater, we had to accept certain terms. One such term was the tickets had to be done by the theater's selected vendor. The Russian phrase is preprinted on all tickets. The name and the time of the show is the only thing added to the tickets. We suspected that this might cause some unease. Little did we know that we would be called "insensitive to all Ukrainians" and even accused of "helping to perpetuate one of the biggest problems we Ukrainians have - lack of respect for our heritage ..."

To Ms. Chudolij we say, clearly, you knew Meest was not only the sponsor of the event but also the organizer of Oksana Bilozir concert. We knew the artist and understood the performance would be 100 percent Ukrainian. Why would a sponsor and the organizer of this Ukrainian event help "perpetuate lack of respect for our Ukrainian heritage"? There is no logic in your comment.

For over a decade Meest has been financially supporting Ukrainian artists, Ukrainian concerts, Ukrainian festivals and other events.

I would not be so close-minded as to not use the Russian language to help support Ukraine or myself. Furthermore, I would advise all those who know the Russian language to use their knowledge to financially benefit themselves and invest in preserving the Ukrainian culture for future generations.

Natalia Brandafi
Linden, N.J.

The letter-writer is director of Meest America Inc.

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