By VAN COUFOUDAKIS
AMERICAN HELLENIC INSTITUTE
WILMINGTON, November 18, 2017
Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
EARLIER TODAY DAN GEORGAKAS, IN HIS KEYNOTE ADDRESS, SET THE STAGE FOR MY PRESENTATION ABOUT THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING HELLENISM IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA.
EVEN THOUGH NOT ONE OF THE LARGER ETHNIC COMMUNITIES, GREEK AMERICANS ARE ONE OF THE OLDER AND MORE SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES IN OUR COUNTRY. WE ARE NOW IN OUR 5TH, POSSIBLY IN OUR 6TH GENERATION.
AS A NON-ANGLOSAXON MINORITY, GREEK AMERICANS CONFRONTED DISCRIMINATION, HARDSHIP AND EVEN ANTI-GREEK RIOTS, ESPECIALLY IN AMERICA’S WEST.
TODAY, OUR COMMUNITY IS WELL RESPECTED AND INTEGRATED IN ALL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE, CONTRIBUTING TO THE ARTS, THE SCIENCES, TO MUSIC AND LITERATURE, TO BUSINESS, TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND TO ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.
HOW DID WE DO THAT?
**WE BENEFITED FROM A SOCIETY THAT IS BASED ON MERIT AND OPPORTUNITY;
**WE DID IT WITH HARD WORK AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILL;
**WE DID IT WITH SELF-RELIANCE;
**WE EMPHASIZED FAMILY LOYALTY;
**WE PLACED GREAT VALUE ON EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENT AS THE MEANS TO SOCIOECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT;
**WE VALUED OUR HERITAGE, OUR CULTURE AND HISTORY, BECAUSE IT GAVE STRENGTH AND CONFIDENCE IN OUR IDENTITY;
AND FINALLY,
**WHILE ORTHODOXY SERVED THE SPIRITUAL COMPONENT OF OUR COMMUNITY, HELLENISM SERVED ITS CULTURAL AND SECULAR PART.
A CENTURY AGO, ASSIMILATION AND AMERICANIZATION WERE CONSIDERED TO BE PRIMARY THREATS TO OUR CULTURAL IDENTITY.
BEING GREEK AMERICAN TODAY IS SOCIALLY AND CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE.
THE ACCOMMODATION OF THESE TWO ELEMENTS HAS MADE IT EASIER TO RAISE OUR CHILDREN WHO DO NOT HAVE TO FACE THE HYBRID ENVIRONMENT AND THE CROSS-CULTURAL PRESSURES CHILDREN FACED IN IMMIGRANT HOMES WELL INTO THE 1960’s.
THE OLD FEARS THAT ASSIMILATION MEANT THE DEHELLENIZATION OF OUR COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN LARGELY SET ASIDE IN TODAY’s MULTICULTURAL AMERICA.
THE CHALLENGES FACING US ARE DIFFERENT NOW. TODAY’S CHALLENGES ARISE FROM THE CHANGING NATURE OF OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME WHEN MIGRATION FROM GREECE AND CYPRUS HAS VIRTUALLY ENDED.
IN AN EPIGRAMMATIC WAY I WILL SUMMARIZE KEY CHALLENGES FACING OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
INEVITABLY, GENERALIZATIONS RUN THE RISK OF OFFENDING SOME, OR OMITTING SUCCESS STORIES FROM ACROSS OUR COMMUNITIES. HOWEVER, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE ENGAGE IN THIS CRITICAL DISCUSSION, AND THAT WE DO NOT RESPOND DEFENSIVELY, IF WE WANT OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS INSTITUTIONS TO SURVIVE AND PROSPER IN A DIVERSE AND MULTICULTURAL AMERICA.
LET US LOOK AT SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES:
- THERE IS APATHY, LACK OF ENGAGEMENT, AND LACK OF SUPPORT FOR OUR OUR CULTURAL AND OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
THESE ORGANIZATIONS, UNTIL NOW, HAD BEEN THE BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
WE “TALK THE TALK” BUT FAIL TO FOLLOW UP ON OUR PROMISES, LET ALONE ON OUR FINANCIAL PLEDGES TO OUR ORGANIZATIONS AND TO OUR CHURCH.
- WE EXPECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM PUBLIC SOURCES AND PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS IN GREECE AND CYPRUS FOR CULTURAL AND OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT WE ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING.
WE ARE NO MORE THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY OF A CENTURY AGO THAT NEEDED SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE FROM GREECE.
- WE HAVE FAILED TO COMMUNICATE THE RELEVANCE OF GREEK HISTORY AND CULTURE TO A DIVERSE GREEK AMERICAN COMMUNITY. INSTEAD, WE HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES ABOUT MODERN GREECE ITS CULTURE, HISTORY AND POLITICS.
- THE END OF MIGRATION FROM GREECE AND CYPRUS, LOW FERTILITY RATES, AND A HIGH RATE OF MIXED MARRIAGES, ARE DILUTING THE COHESIVENESS, LET ALONE THE SIZE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
- WE NEED TO OVERCOME THE DIVISIVENESS AND PERSONAL RIVALRIES THAT OFTEN CRIPPLE OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
WE OFTEN HAVE BITTERLY CONTESTED ELECTIONS OVER WHO THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF AN ORGANIZATION WILL BE, INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON WHAT THE MISSION OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA.
- MAKING OUR ORGANIZATIONS RELEVANT TO THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
IN 1964, I JOINED AHEPA IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.
THIS HISTORIC ORGANIZATION SUCCESSFULLY MET ITS ORIGINAL GOALS. WE CAN NOW HONESTLY ASK HOW IS THIS ORGANIZATION MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY?
I KNOW THAT MANY AHEPA CHAPTERS ARE UNDERTAKING MANY NEW AND EXCITING PROJECTS. BUT I AM ALSO AWARE OF THE LOSS OF MEMBERSHIP AND THE DIMINISHING NUMBER OF ACTIVE AHEPA CHAPTERS ACROSS AMERICA.
SOME CHAPTERS SUCCESSFULLY RECRUIT YOUNG GREEK AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS, BUT DO NOT OFTEN RETAIN THEM AS MEMBERS. TODAY’S YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FACE COMPETING DEMANDS ON THEIR LIMITED VOLUNTEER TIME. WILL THEY CONTINUE COMING TO MEETINGS WHEN WE ONLY DISCUSS WHEN WILL THE NEXT DINNER BE, ITS MENU AND PRICE?
OUR ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO LOOK OUTWARD, CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SOCIETY AND BECOME NETWORKING SOURCES FOR THEIR MEMBERS.
WE ARE PART OF AMERICAN SOCIETY AND SHARE IN ITS PROBLEMS AND ASPIRATIONS. WE CAN NO LONGER SHY AWAY FROM ISSUES LIKE EQUAL RIGHTS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, INEQUALITY AND POVERTY.
“PHILANTHROPY” IS A WONDERFUL ANCIENT GREEK PRINCIPLE.
YET, WE ARE OFTEN CONFRONTED WITH THE UNWILLINGNESS OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT LOCAL CHARITIES, ESPECIALLY AFTER SUCCESSFUL FESTIVAL EVENTS THAT WERE ATTENDED AND SUPPORTED BY OUR NON GREEK NEIGHBORS.
- WE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE LOSS OF GREEK LANGUAGE SKILLS BUT, DESPITE TAX ADVANTAGES, WE FAIL TO SUPPORT UNIVERSITY MODERN GREEK STUDIES PROGRAMS, AND DO NOT ENCOURAGE OUR CHILDREN TO ENROLL IN MODERN GREEK LANGUAGE COURSES THAT MEET THE UNIVERSITY’S FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS.
MODERN GREEK IS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. UNIVERSITY GRADUATES FLUENT IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING GREEK, ARE IN HIGH DEMAND WHETHER IN DIPLOMACY, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.
THOSE SKILLED IN GREEK WILL REALIZE ITS IMPORTANCE ESPECIALLY IN THE SCIENCES AND MEDICINE, WHILE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL GREEK TEXTS.
THE LINKAGE OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE DEFINES ONE’S OWN CULTURAL IDENTITY. IT IS THE VITAL ELEMENT IN THE LONG TERM SURVIVAL OF OUR COMMUNITY.
- AT A TIME OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY, CHANGING DEMOGRAPHY IN OUR COUNTRY, AND A HIGH RATE OF MIXED MARRIAGES IN OUR COMMUNITY, OUR YOUNG GENERATION IS EXAMINING ITS HERITAGE AND IDENTITY IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT THAN WE DID.
ISSUES OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, EQUAL RIGHTS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES, THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN IN OUR CHURCH, ARE AMONG THE ISSUES THAT CANNOT BE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG ANY LONGER.
- GIVEN THE ASSOCIATION OF HELLENISM AND ORTHODOXY OUR CHURCH FACES MAJOR CHALLENGES AS WELL.
WHAT I HAVE TO SAY COMES FROM SOMEONE WHO FOR OVER 20 YEARS WAS ACTIVE IN PARISH AFFAIRS AND, SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO, WAS OFFERED THE PRESIDENCY OF HELLENIC COLLEGE//HOLY CROSS.
THE HISTORY OF ORTHODOXY IN AMERICA DOCUMENTS A DIFFICULT PAST. IT TOOK THE COURAGE OF THE THEN ARCHBISHOP ATHENAGORAS TO RESOLVE JURISDICTIONAL AND OTHER CONFLICTS AND GIVE A FUNCTIONING ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE TO OUR CHURCH.
ARCHBISHOP IAKOVOS BUILT ON THAT AND GAVE OUR CHURCH NATIONAL PROMINENCE.
AS THE LATE CHARLIE MOSKOS HAS WRITTEN IN HIS CLASSIC STUDY ON THE GREEK AMERICAN COMMUNITY, OUR CHURCH TODAY IS NOT ANY LONGER A DIASPORA OR AN IMMIGRANT CHURCH. IT IS AN INDIGENOUS AMERICAN INSTITUTION WHOSE PROMISE IS LIMITED ONLY BY THE VISION OF ITS LEADERS AND CONGREGANTS.
INTO THE 50’S AND 60’S WE STRUGGLED WITH ISSUES OF LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY IN THE CHURCH. TODAY, AS ORTHODOXY IS RECOGNIZED AS A MAINLINE RELIGION, THE DEBATE HAS SHIFTED TO THE QUESTION OF WHAT IT IS TO BE AN ORTHODOX IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA.
THE CHURCH ITSELF, WITH ITS POLICY OF “FLEXIBLE BILINGUALISM,” HAS ATTEMPTED TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS OF OUR CHANGING CONGREGATIONS.
IN THE ORIGINAL IMMIGRANT CHURCH, ORTHODOXY WAS EQUATED TO HELLENISM. TODAY, WE ARE IN AN ERA OF MIXED MARRIAGES, PRIESTS AND CONGREGANTS OF DIVERSE ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS AND GREEK -AMERICANS IN THEIR 5TH OR 6TH GENERATION.
ORTHODOXY HAS ITS FOUNDATION ON HELLENISM, BUT IT HAS NOW MOVED BEYOND THAT. THUS, MANY OF THE GREEK CULTURAL ACTIVITIES THAT WERE CONSIDERED TO BE THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHURCH, LIKE GREEK SCHOOL, ARE NOW SHIFTING TO THE HANDS OF CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS AND CENTERS AFFILIATED WITH THE CHURCH.
THERE ARE ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF STRENGTHENING AND FOSTERING ETHNIC IDENTITY WITHOUT UNDERMINING THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
IN TURN, OUR CHURCH NEEDS TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TRENDS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IT NEEDS A FORMAL SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO ITS CONGREGANTS WHO BEAR THE BURDEN OF SUPPORTING THE CHURCH’S MISSION. “PISTEVE KAI MI EREVNA”AY HAVE BEEN AN ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE IN THE PAST BUT IT HAS NO PLACE IN A HIGHLY EDUCATED 21ST CENTURY GREEK AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
IT NEEDS TO RECRUIT AND EDUCATE A NEW GENERATION OF PRIESTS, MANY OF WHOM WILL LIKELY BE OF NON GREEK BACKGROUND, WHO HAVE CHOSEN ORTHODOXY BECAUSE OF ITS DOCTRINAL VALUE. THESE PRIESTS NEED TO BE SENSITIVE TO AND UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES CREATED BY:
** A PREDOMINANCE OF MIXED MARRIAGES;
**THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH’S HELLENIC HERITAGE;
**THE COMPLEX NEEDS OF CONGREGATIONS OF MIXED ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS, AND
** PARISH COUNCILS THAT REFLECT THAT DIVERSITY.
AT A TIME WHEN PRIEST SALARIES AND BENEFITS ARE MORE THAN COMPETITIVE IN TODAY’S MARKET, THE CHURCH HAS DIFFICULTY RECRUITING AND RETAINING QUALITY PRIESTS, PRIESTS WILLING TO SERVE OUTSIDE MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS.
BUT ORTHODOXY IN AMERICA IS NOT LIMITED TO BOSTON, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. THE LONG TERM MISSION OF OUR CHURCH IS AT STAKE HERE.
THERE ARE SERIOUS DOUBTS AS TO WHETHER OUR PRIESTS RECEIVE THE PROPER TRAINING TO COPE WITH THE CHALLENGES THEY WILL FACE WHEN THEY ARE ASSIGNED TO OUR PARISHES.
SOME OF OUR NEW PRIESTS TURN TO FUNDAMENTALIST THEORIES BORROWED FROM PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS OR ENFORCE DATED ORTHODOX PRACTICES IN AN ATTEMPT TO COPE WITH THE CHALLENGES FACING THEM. IF THESE TRENDS CONTINUE, THEY WILL DESTROY OUR PARISHES AND THE MISSION OF OUR CHURCH.
AND, FINALLY,
- WE NEED A SENSE OF SOLIDARITY AND MUTUAL HELP.
GREEK AMERICANS ARE SUCCESSFUL IN ALL FIELDS OF ENDEAVOR. WE NEED MENTORS TO HELP OUR NEXT GENERATION SUCCEED ON THE BASIS OF MERIT, IN A VERY COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT.
WE SPOKE OF VARIOUS CHALLENGES FACING OUR COMMUNITY. I DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH PESSIMISTIC CONCLUSIONS.
THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES AROUND US TO COUNTER THESE NEGATIVE TRENDS. LET US TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND HOW WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM.
- WE NEED AN INTENSIVE DIALOGUE NOT ONLY AMONG US BUT, ALSO, WITH THE JEWISH AMERICAN AND THE ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND SEE HOW THEY ARE COPING WITH SIMILAR ISSUES. WE DO NOT HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
- WE LIVE IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF TOLERANCE AND DIVERSITY, IN CONTRAST TO THE DISCRIMINATION OUR FOREFATHERS ENCOUNTERED.
CULTURAL CHANGE AND DIVERSITY ALLOWS ETHNIC AMERICANS TO MOVE IN AND OUT OF SUBCULTURES WITHOUT THE ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES OF THE PAST.
THE SEARCH, DISCOVERY AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR ROOTS STRENGTHENS OUR COMMUNITY AND ITS IDENTITY.
- THERE ARE AMERICANS OF GREEK DESCENT IN ALL FIELDS OF ENDEAVOR. NETWORKING, BASED ON MERIT RATHER THAN NEPOTISM WILL STRENGTHEN THE SOCIOECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY.
- WE NOW HAVE EASY ACCESS TO ACADEMIC PROGRAMS IN MODERN GREEK STUDIES AT ALL LEVELS, AND ACCESS TO LANGUAGE AND CULTURE COURSES OFFERED BY MAJOR UNIVERSITIES IN THE US, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA.
- DISTANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ARE NOW AVAILABLE NOT ONLY THROUGH INSTITUTIONS IN THE US, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA, BUT ALSO FROM GREECE.
I STRESS IN PARTICULAR QUALITY PROGRAMS AVAILABLE THROUGH DISTANCE EDUCATION BY GREECE’S OPEN UNIVERSITY.
- THE TEACHING OF MODERN GREEK WITH MODERN DISTANCE EDUCATION TECHNIQUES AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS THAT APPEAL TO THE YOUNG GENERATION. WE HAVE MOVED BEYOND THE ANTIQUATED AND BAD TEACHING METHODS ASSOCIATED WITH THE “OLD GREEK SCHOOL”.
- THE AVAILABILITY OF QUALITY STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS FOR CREDIT FOR AMERICAN STUDENTS IN VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS IN GREECE AND CYPRUS, AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS LIKE AHI’S SUMMER STUDY TOUR FOR AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS .
THERE ARE ALSO PROGRAMS FOR YOUNGER GREEK AMERICAN STUDENTS LIKE THAT OF THE IONIAN VILLAGE, THAT EXPOSE OUR CHILDREN TO MODERN GREECE.
- THE COOPERATION BETWEEN GREEK AND AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES; ANATOLIA COLLEGE IN THESSALONIKI, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CRETE WITH ITS INNOVATIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS IN MEDICINE AND LANGUAGE.
- CREATING QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS, THAT ATTRACT SELECT STUDENT AUDIENCES IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION AND FAMILIARIZE THEM EARLY ON WITH GREEK CULTURE AND LANGUAGE.
- THE AVAILABILITY OF CULTURAL CENTERS IN MOST OF OUR PARISHES THAT CAN HOST ACTIVITIES SUCH AS THOSE I DESCRIBED, WITHOUT DIVERTING THE CHURCH FROM ITS ORIGINAL MISSION. HOWEVER, FOR THIS TO SUCCEED WE NEED PARISH COUNCILS THAT WILL ENCOURAGE ACTIVITIES SERVING THE CULTURAL NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
11.THE REALIZATION THAT GREEK CULTURE IS NOT LIMITED TO ANTIQUITY OR TO THE BYZANTINE PERIOD.
UTILIZING THE SYNERGIES CREATED BY MODERN TECHNOLOGY, THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS OF PRESENTING AND SHARING MODERN GREEK CULTURE.
HAVING WORKED IN GREECE I CAN ATTEST TO THE VIBRANT CULTURAL LIFE OF MODERN GREECE IN MUSIC AND THE ARTS, DESPITE THE ECONOMIC CRISIS.
THE GOVERNMENTS OF GREECE AND CYPRUS DO NOT HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL IN THE AREA OF CULTURAL DIPLOMACY. JUST LOOK AT WHAT ISRAEL, THE GOETHE INSTITUTE IN GERMANY, THE FRENCH INSTITUTE, AND THE BRITISH COUNCIL ARE DOING TO PROMOTE THEIR CULTURE IN THE US. RELYING ON SYNERGIES CREATED BY MODERN TECHNOLOGY, PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS AND PUBLIC CULTURAL AGENCIES CAN CARRY OUT A LOT OF CULTURAL OUTREACH IN THE US, ESPECIALLY IN CITIES BEYOND THE EAST COAST AND CHICAGO.
OUR COMMUNITIES IN TURN SHOULD CAPITALIZE ON THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND INCORPORATE THEM IN THEIR ANNUAL CULTURAL EVENTS. MODERN GREECE IS MORE THAN SOUVLAKI AND SYRTAKI EVENTS.
WE SPOKE OF OUR COMMUNITY’S CHANGING NATURE AND THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES CONFRONTING OUR COMMUNITY.
THE CHALLENGES ARE REAL, BUT SO ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAINTAINING HELLENISM ALIVE IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA, A COUNTRY THAT NOW FINDS STRENGTH IN ITS DIVERSITY.
THE OLD DILEMMA OF BEING GREEK AND ORTHODOX IN AMERICA DOES NOT EXIST ANY LONGER.
IF WE BELIEVE IN WHO WE ARE AND IN THE STRENGTH OF OUR HERITAGE, TRADITIONS AND FAITH, WE CAN KEEP HELLENISM ALIVE IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA.
THE CHALLENGES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE OURS. NO ONE ELSE CAN PROTECT AND PROMOTE HELLENISM FOR US.
THANK YOU.
