"LIVING IN POLONIA"

ANOTHER YEAR DAWNS

At the dawn of a new year, it is always natural to consider the direction something is going. That, of course, applies to Polonia just as much as to anything else. We naturally wonder if we are moving forward or slipping backward. It isn’t an easy question to answer, as there may be different means by which progress or regression may be measured.

Likewise, it is dangerous and somewhat futile to generalize. Polonia’s status may vary considerably from nation to nation, region to region, or city to city. We can draw some conclusions on a national basis, but it is probably safer to consider the Polish community in a certain area, and, even more precisely, in a particular city.

Hence, as we are based in Chicago, Illinois, and obviously more conversant with the situation here, these comments will center around this city. The reader can judge whether they apply in whole or in part to the place in which he or she resides.

Most Polonian organizations report unofficially that they are experiencing a decline in membership and are devising varied plans for regaining their numbers. The results of their efforts are varied, as are the causes for their declining membership, but the overall picture does not seem particularly bright.

Nearing the end of the last century, Alderman and former Congressman Roman Pucinski, a undoubted leader of Polonia in Chicago, pronounced it the “Age of the Ethnic.” He appeared to be correct in regard to Polonia, largely due to the excitement surrounding the rise of Solidarity and the concomitant influx of Polish immigrants into the United States and the Midwest in particular.

Those phenomena certainly breathed new life into Polonia, but they could not be sustained forever. Solidarity succeeded, bringing a flash of excitement among American Poles with it, but the independence of Poland also meant the loss of a major cause: freeing that nation from Communist occupation. Moreover, it was inevitable that most Polish immigrants and, even more so their progeny, would assimilate with the wider American population.

That is where we stand, but although it does not seem to bode well for the future, an examination of our own history in the United States may not present a picture that is nearly so bleak.

My family, immigrants from Poland, clung to many of their customs and traditions, but basically wanted to be “real” Americans. They may have gone to a Polish church and listened at times to Polish radio, even bought a Polish language newspaper (as much for the sports news in English as for the news in their native tongue,) usually offering reports a few days behind the general circulation papers. However, their sights were even more focused on America. It was necessary for work and increasingly for social reasons. Eventually, the Chicago Tribune, The Herald, Sun, Times and other English language papers became the main source of news, just as the entertainments on American radio became the favorites.

Nevertheless, Polishness remained a unifying factor in what could sometimes be an unfriendly world. Polish organizations grew and prospered. Polish media, although reduced somewhat in popularity, maintained a place in the Polonian community. The next generation, seemingly less Polish, took up an interest in its roots, reclaimed a bit of the language and often reveled in the customs and traditions. This were the people who joined the Polish clubs and fraternals, supported Polish causes and proudly announced their heritage.

Many will argue that the attachment has waned, and they may be momentarily correct. But, just as has happened in the past, the pendulum is almost certain to swing in the other direction. A person’s background, heritage, roots ultimately become interesting and significant. It gives one a foundation that is important in a world that can be otherwise lacking in solid grounding.

And so, our goal, beyond the immediate aim of surviving as a segment of society, must be to nurture and encourage the nascent longing for meaning beyond mundane existence. Indeed, Polonia will subsist through the lean years and, with our continued persistence, look forward to the same sort of exciting rebirth that we have experienced in the past. Happy New Year, Polonia! We should look forward to a bright tomorrow.