Fraternity-Testvériség, 2007 (85. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2007-01-01 / 1. szám
Zoltán Bagdy Rev. Imre Bertalan Washington DC-area Hungarians commemorate the 1848 Revolution - Courtesy of AHF Hungarians in the Washington Metropolitan area gathered Sunday, March 18, 2007 at the Wesley Theological Seminary, to commemorate March 15 and the 1848 Hungarian Revolution. The American Hungarian Federation of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., organized the event, and members of the Bathori József Hungarian Scout Troup of Washington provided a good part of the program. AHF Co-President and Master of Ceremonies, Zoltán Bagdy welcomed the audience and recognized I AHF leadership and distinguished guests from the Hungarian Embassy, the William Penn Association and the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. I The Reverend Dr. Imre Bertalan opened the commemoration with a retrospective look at the 100-year history of the American Hungarian Federation and reviewed the various events and celebrations AHF is planning for the coming year. AHF Vice-President Yvette Görög-Boone, an attorney who received her law degree in Budapest and her Master of Laws degree at Georgetown University Law School, delivered the keynote address calling on the Hungarian community to rekindle the spirit of 1848 and to guard Hungary's place in the community of democratic nations: "Washingtonban es az amerikai fovaros kornyékén elő, dolgozo es tartózkodó magyarok, akik valószínűleg hozzam hasonlóan sokszor elgondolkodtak az amerikai demokrácia ervenyesulesen es a szabadságjogok széleskörű megvalosulasan es párhuzamba állították es állítják azt a mindenkori aktuális magyarorszagi helyzettel. Bizony hosszú ut all meg előttünk. Bizony sokat kell meg tanulnunk." "Gondolkodjunk tehat el azon itt Magyarorszagtol ugyan távol, hogy mit teszünk vagy mit tehetünk azért, hogy az 1848-as forradalom szelleméhez es hőseihez méltóan Mag- ] yarorszag megőrizze kultúráját, nyelvének gazdagsagat, ápolj a történelmet es hagyományait, valamint Yvette Görög-Boone megőrizze helyet a demokratikus es szabad államok sorában az európai nemzetek kozott.” AHF Co-President (and President of AHFDC) Frank Koszorús, Jr.'s address, "Kossuth and the Meaning of Democracy," focused attention on the dangers of "liberal democracy" and the "tyranny of the majority" in Central and Eastern Europe: "In evaluating countries today, we tend to look at only one aspect of democracy - elections. Remember the purple thumbs in Iraq? Yet, suppose elections are free and fair, but those elected are not committed to the rule of law, to individual and minority rights, to freedom of expression, assembly and religion, or to the right to private property. Aren’t we then left with of the "tyranny of the majority," as Tocqueville warned? Don’t we end up with illiberal democracy instead of with the bundle of rights protected by constitutional liberalism, as Fareed Zakaria pondered in his November, 1997 Foreign Affairs article, “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy”? As we observe Central and Eastern Europe, we see free and fair elections. But is democracy as defined by Kossuth prevailing? Often the answer is “yes,” but are “all the people” considered when, for example, police rules and regulations are ignored, as we witnessed last October in Budapest? Are “all the people” considered when Romania lavishly funds the Orthodox Church that is engaged in a church building spree, but fails to return to the rightful Hungarian owners the more than 2000 religious and communal properties illegally seized from them during the Communist era?" The title of his address was “Kossuth and the Meaning of Democracy.” The scouts recited poetry of the period and sang Kossuth songs. One of the scouts, Sebestyén Szollos, performed Franz Schubert's Impromptu No.4. Opus.90. Sári Bárczay recited the “Nemzeti Dal.” Viktor Szederkényi represented the Hungarian embassy and spoke about the significance of 1848 for ! Hungarians in our time. I The Reverend Zoltán Kovács, assistant pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church of Washington closed the commemoration. Viktor Szederkényi Frank Koszorús, Jr. Sebestyén Szollos M&V V : _ 7- lV4 toft Fraternity - Testvériség / Spring 2007 11
