At a recent meeting of the WNY Division of the Polish American Congress, the issue of how to involve young people in the activities of Polonia was raised. In the course of the ensuing discussion, it was determined that in order to answer that question we must address an even more basic question. That more basic question is: "What Does It Mean To Be An American Of Polish Descent?"
I believe that we must take advantage of the opportunities presented by the beginning of a new year to examine the question of what it means to be an American of Polish descent very seriously. Too often in the past, our Community has fallen victim to individuals who exploit us for their own personal benefit. They wrap themselves in the Polish flag and take advantage of our love of Poland and trusting natures. I am talking about the candidate for public office who is touted by the powers-that-be as the "Polish candidate" but you cannot think of a single Polish-American organization that this person is active in or a single service that this person has ever provided to Polonia.
We must be ever vigilant in the protection of our Community. When someone comes to you wrapped in the cloak of Polonia, ask who this person is and what contributions this person has made to our Community. Is this person an active member of our Polish-American organizations? If so, for how long? It is an old trick of political candidates to join as many organizations as possible in the year in which they are running for election. What has this individual done to preserve, protect and promote Polish heritage and culture?
It has been all too common for someone with a Polish sounding surname to be passed off by non-Polish-American power brokers who seek to promote this individual as a "leader of Polonia" in the mainstream community for their own purposes with no benefit to our Community. People of Polish descent have been exploited by non-Poles for too long.
It is our obligation to ensure that our People are represented by individuals who truly share our history, heritage and culture, and not by persons whose names merely sound Polish. In order to achieve this goal, we must search our hearts and find the definition of what makes us Americans of Polish descent and take all of the steps necessary to protect our history, our heritage, our Community from these exploiters. Only then will our young people see the true value of pride in our Polish heritage and show an interest in accepting a more active role in our Community. Failure in this endeavor will be the death knell of Polonia as we know it. Our future is in our hands.