Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1981. január-június (35. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1981-03-26 / 13. szám
AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZÓ Thursday, March 26. 1981. 2. THE “HUNGARIAN ETHOS” Written for the March 22nd banquet by Roger Kiralv Illness prevents me from being with you on the occasion of your commemorative banquet, but as I sit at my desk on this most historic day of March 15th, I am compelled to set down a few thoughts concerning the events of 1848 which can be shared with you. Despite my inability to appear before you, then, my disappointment at not being able to directly participate in your celebration, will not be total. You are gathered together to commemorate what is generally considered to be Hungary’s most important historic event. The dimensions of its import can be perceived in statements such as these: “Generations of Hungarians”, writes historian István Deák, “have lived in the aura of that unforgettable year.” And Pail Ignotus, commenting on Sándor Petőfi’s role in the 1848 revolution, notes that “Hungarians thereafter could hardly conceive of a social reform movement, let alone a war of independence, not inspired by a poet.” Celebrations of the 1848 revolution often concentrate on the personalities and achievements of such great men as Petőfi, Kossuth, Deák, and Széchényi, among many others.This is natural, because these men were indeed giants, whose personal characteristics and political accomplishments have long ago passed from the stuff of drama to the magic of legend. Nevertheless, we must not forget these lines from Tolstoy’s War and Peace: The life of nations is not contained in the lives of a few men...To study the laws of history, we must entirely change the subject of our observation, must leave aside kings, ministers, and generals, and study the common, infinitesimally small elements that influence the masses...As yet, historians, have applied only a millionth part of such efforts in this direction as they have devoted to describing the actions of various kings, ministers, and generals and propounding notions of their own concerning these actions. In light of Tolstoy’s words, I hope you will pause for a moment today and give thought to the contributions of all the “nameless” people of 1848.. the artisans, whose activites (not to mention their very lives) were the raw material of reform and revolution which those celebrated leaders molded into the achievements of 1848-49. As a result of my own reflections upon the actions of those less-than-fa- mous Hungarians during that turbulent year and the importance attributed to those history--making e- vents by subsequent generations of Hungarians, I have become convinced that 1848 has a relevance to the lives of all of us of Hungarian descent currently living in the United States. No matter how one views the events of 1848-49 from, say, a political, cultural, ideological, or historical point of view- and no matter what position one takes within ; these various perspectives concerning the “true meaning” of those events - all seem to agree that a powerful symbolic resonance has long emanated from those events; in fact, the journalist István Bart insists that 1848 “maintains its central position in the Hungarian national consciousness.” It is my belief that the incredibly persistent symbolic power of 1848 results from the recognition that the participants- in the events of 1848-49...celebrated leaders and nameless common men alike... were, in essence, engaged in a struggle to insure that what could be called the ‘‘Hungarian ethos” would not become lost to the world. This, in my opinion, was at the core of the language reforms, the attempts to modernize agriculture and industry (thus making sure Hungary would not become swallowed «• up by more productive, powerful neighbors), and the many other political, legal, religious and cultural reforms advocated during that period. Only if the events of 1848-49 are viewed in this light-again, as essentially a passionate desire to see the Hungarian ethos survive - can one explain the continued fascination with those events which is undiminshed by the passing of time and which can be observed to this day. This brings me to our present situation as Hunga- rian-Americans in the United States of the ‘80s. I am utterly convinced that it is necessary for anyone who is proud of his Hungarian heritage to commit himself to the preservation on American soil of the above-mentioned Hungarian ethos. We must all utilize whatever resources we have, whether financial, journalistic, artistic, linguistic, etc., to make sure that our Hungarian heritage will not disappear; that it will not shrivel like a burnt piece of bacon in the “melting pot” of America. In a review of the recently published Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, Andrew Hacker correctly points out that in present-day America ethnic consciousness “is an option, and it is not one all Americans choose to take.” Nowadays many individuals choose to de-emphasize their ancestry, and their efforts can proceed to a point where, in effect, these people can no longer be considered ethnic Americans. Hacker says, that “For a group of Americans to be considered ethnic., they must possess a distinctive culture that they have managed to maintain to a discernible degree, and to so qualify, at least some of its members must have resisted absorption into mainstream America.” (to be continued) AMERIKAI , MAGYAR SZO USPS 023-980 ISSN 9194-7990 Published weekly, exc. last 2 weeks in July and 1st week in August by Hungarian Word, Inc. 130 E 16 St. New York, N.Y. 10003. Ent. as 2nd Class Matter, Dec. 31.1952 under the Act of March. 21.1879, at the P.0, of New York, N.Y. Szerkeszti a Szerkesztő Bizottság ‘ Előfizetési árak New Yorkban, az Egyesült Államokban egy évre $ 15.- félévre $ 8.- Kanadaban es minden más külföldi országban egy évre $ 18.- felevre $ 10.- Postrqastert Send address changes to Hungarian Word, Inc. 130 E 16 St. New York, N.Y. 10003. The“Supply Side Economics” Fairy Tale by Joseph Budish “Economists” of the establishment, whether in government, business or the academic world, have one major function. Their biggest job is to confuse the public about the way it is being robbed blind by that same establishment. They do it by spinning elaborate fairy tales with fancy titles that sound scholarly, “proving” how much better things will be in the sweet bye-and-bye if we will just accept the hardships their bosses want to stuff down our throats right now. The most popular of these fairy tales for the Reagan administration is called “supply-side economics.” This theory holds that if the government gives business a lot of money and other inducements by cutting its taxes, increasing depreciation allowances, etc., business will rush out and spend to build new plants and improve operations. We are told this would make production more efficient, expand employment and lower inflation by increasing the supply of goods. We are told further that big money handed to the rich by individual tax reduction (with a few bones thrown to the lower income brackets) will immediately be socked into savings. The available loan funds will thereby be expanded and businesses will charge right in to borrow that money to build. It is hard to see how anyone who follows the daily business news, not to speak of those who call themselves economists, can swallow this line of hot air. U.S. industry is now operating at about 80 % of capacity because there is no market for the product of the idle 20 %. Loan money is so plentiful that the banks have been cutting their interest rates for several months to meet competition for loan business. As for depreciation, the best example is England. They allow a tax deduction for depreciation of 100 % of the cost of a plant investment in the first year, the highest depreciation allowance in the world, but there is not much plant investment because there is a very weak market for goods. There is plenty of capital here for businessexpansion, but that only happens if there is a market for the goods to be produced. The real policies being covered up by this “supply-side” nonsense are altogether different. In plain terms, they involve a vicious attack on the living standards of practically everybody except the very rich and the big monopoly banks and corporations, for whose benefit the entire plan was worked out in the first place. This attack on the people is being combined with an enormous expansion of the war budget, accompanied by another package of hysterical lies to cover up the real aggressive intentions. The first stirrings of public rebellion against these ominous anti-American policies have already begun. They will inevitably grow in volume and strength ■ as the real bitter meaning of “supply-side economics” makes itself painfully clear in the developing life of the people. Budapest’s Akadémia Publishers has been issuing scientific books in foreign languages for 25 years. Up to nc^v 2000 titles, a quarter of Akadé mia’s output, have appeared in foreign languages. Besides, it brings out close to 110 scientific periodicals, including 49 foreign-language ones.
