I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Luciuk's
points on the UCC, with the exception perhaps of the location. Winnipeg
is the headquarters and there is something to be said about tradition.
But to me it's not a make-or-break issue.
His other points are plain common-sense. To be effective an organization
has to be inclusive and responsive. UCC unfortunately is neither. It is
run much like our government ... a bunch of cronies hanging on to power
... but the difference is UCC has no real power and is seen as such by
just about everyone else including those with power. Heard the story of
the emperor with no clothes? This is the Ukrainian version -- a pauper
with no clothes.
One point I would add to Dr. Luciuk's list:
Cultivate commerce. Develop a healthy attitude towards money and those
who know how to make it. Like it or not, without money a community or a
people can do little or nothing to help itself. The Ukrainian community
as a rule has chosen to ignore this fact of life and if it continues it
will surely perish.
There are many successful business people in our community who could--and
should--be made into role models for our community. They know how to make
money for themselves and for others, yet often they are snubbed by their
own community.
UCC should be hoisting these people onto a pedestal for the less successful
and those just starting out (i.e. the conspicuosly absent younger generation)
to emulate. UCC should enable -- and mandate -- its business and professional
subcommittees to invite these people to their events, pick their brains
dry and pass the information around the community on websites, radio, TV
shows and print publications. But, how many of these people have been approached?
How many UCC branches or P & B clubs have held seminars on how
to start/build/promote a business? Raise funds? Work with the media? How
many helpful publications have they published to disseminate such much-needed
information?
Eschewing commerce is to the community's own detriment. Where is the
money supposed to come from to fund Ukrainian university studies and publications
and political campaigns for those who would champion our cause? Continue
to bleed community members dry of their hard-earned after-tax dollars (i.e.
their "seed corn")? Then there's the government ... How well has UCC done
so far with that approach?
UCC would do well to take Dr. Luciuk's advice to heart. Or they can
continue to wring their hands in dismay while watching the next generation
flock to McDonalds and Microsoft, Disney and Eminem, French and Spanish
immersion, evangelical churches and American self-help gurus. The former
means change, possibly painful change, but exciting times for innovative
and imaginative souls willing to chart new terrain and breathe new life
into the community. The latter means the Ukrainian Canadian community as
we have known it will be extinct in a single generation. It is already
on the endangered list. (More sand, anyone?)
That's my 2.5 cents. (Adjusted for inflation.) My comments are admittedly
harsh but imminent death is not the time or place for comforting euphemisms.
I can only hope they will be taken in the spirit they were offered.
Paulette MacQuarrie
Coquitlam, BC
