The Eighth Tribe, 1980 (7. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1980-09-01 / 9. szám
Page 4 THE EIGHTH TRIBE September, 1980 TO THE READERS OF THE EIGHTH TRIBE MAGAZINE: At a Banquet given by Congress in honor of Louis Kossuth during his visit to the United States after the Revolution of 1848-49 was defeated, our Secretary of State Daniel Webster stated: “The attempt by the Hungarians to establish the American model at the lower Danube will be remembered by Americans forever.” Indeed, the brave Hungarians are remembered for what they have done and what they fought for in 1848-49. Americans must reembrace the characteristics which made the United States the example for Hungary in her efforts to be free, to prosper and to pursue happiness. We must reclaim the spirit which ignited the Hungarians many times to fight for freedom and liberty. If we fail, tyranny will be the victor and with tyrants there is no hope. Where there is no hope, there is no life. In the month of October, the American Hungarians will remember those who fell on the battlefields, died on the scaffolds, who gave their lives for the life of a nation, and who died to give birth to hope. I join you by paying tribute to the sacrifices of a Nation, which gave so much to the world and in turn received so little. I share in your pride. I sense your glorious and tragic history. We celebrate together by recommitting ourselves to the ideals of Kossuth, ideals which were inspired by the example of a vigorous, glorious, prosperous, free and strong America. Only by keeping these ideals alive can we assure that the centuries old dream of the Hungarians will come true. May God help us in this and all our endeavors! RONALD REAGAN THE ETHNIC AMERICAN AND HIS ROLE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY by RONALD REAGAN Presidential Candidate on Republican Ticket, 1980 The ethnic American has been called “the invisible man” of American society — and with good reason. Too often the government and media treat ethnics as if they did not exist. Ethnics are viewed by politicians with an “election year” mentality— every two or four years the politician will pay ritual tribute to ethnics and, after the election is over, forget about the ethnics’ concern and'values. The time has come to stop treating ethnic Americans as if they do not exist (or as if they exist only to be exploited). At the heart of the ethnic experience is not only love of national heritage but a love of values that have given this nation a kind of resiliency and strength it otherwise would not have. Love of family, willingness to work to achieve desirable ends, a sense of community manifested in neighborhoods all across the United States, an unashamed belief in the American dream of material well-being guided by love of God—these are the values that exist in every ethnic community, not only among those living in the traditional ethnic neighborhoods of the cities, but in the second-and-third generation who may have moved to the suburbs but still bold family values dear. Thus, when we speak of the contribution of nationalities to American society we must cast aside the cliches and rhetoric of the past and embrace a new understanding of why ethnic Americans are important to our society. They are important not only because they preserve the culture, the language and the folkways of their ancestral lands but because they also bring with them ways of looking at the world without which no society can survive. They are important not only because they represent in many ways those values which have built America, but because they have done so in the face of severe hardships. As a grandson of immigrants— Irish, Scotch, and English—I can speak from family experience. But the ethnic has persevered in spite of government indifference, and even in the face of government-created obstacles. Often ethnic Americans have been displaced by affirmative action quotas, and their neighborhoods have been uprooted by government “renewal” programs. Somehow these practices of government are neglected or forgotten when discriminatory practices are discussed in public debate. Ethnics are important because even during times when it was fashionable among policy-makers to down-play Soviet tyranny, ethnic Americans have consistently reminded our nation that despite the willingness on the part of officials to conveniently forget the brutal facts of Communism, those facts do exist. It is easy to become resigned to the fact that the Communists are the biggest colonial oppressors in the history of the world if you happen to be sitting in the comfortable, isolated rooms where foreign policy is made—it is impossible to forget about Communist tyranny in Hungary and other Eastern European countries if your uncle or aunt or cousin or friend happens to be experiencing that tyranny every day. Ethnics have therefore served as a form of national conscience.
