War and Peace

Lot of war being waged these days.

The Republicans are at war with women over birth control. The Obama administration is at war with the Catholic Church over religious freedom. Two cases of unruly college basketball fans shouting “USA” and “where’s your green card” to opposing Hispanic players prompted a Hispanic representative from the state of Illinois to ask if there is a war on Hispanics in this country. The Trayvon Martin case highlighted the war on hoodies. The atmosphere is ripe for the next struggle. I am constantly losing the war against hair loss.

Is there a war on Polonia? I hope not but we seem to be embroiled in our own share of battles. Very seldom are the attacks national news and confrontations take more of a psychological toll based on what attitude is being copped or on what is going to happen to us next. Those of us that still cling to the reality of a Polish ethnic parish watch with baited breathe to hear what bishop will close, merge, or tear down another Polish congregation. We were all disgusted by the bigoted slur by the president of Ohio State University. I get anxious about each new movie or sitcom coming out of Hollywood. Then there are those beloved DJs that cannot resist a jab or insult when any news is reported out of Poland or when a person’s name is Polish or Eastern European. Last week, a guy I listen to regularly stumbled over pronouncing “St.Stanislaus.”

I get into arguments and will debate anyone over the extent of the punishment meted out for Rob Blagojevich, the ex-governor of Illinois. Though he is not Polish the sentiments are with us as he is of Eastern European extraction. I could throw in Martha Stewart (insider trading) and Dennis Kozlowski (former CEO of Tyco, International) for this argument. The spin is all of them were being used as “examples” but please give me the names of all the other “examples” out there. Their behavior ranged from irresponsible and outlandish and by legal definition, I think, they broke the law. For me, it is a question of degree and I’m sorry but the punishment does not fit the crime. It seems like others with similar charges and situations did not get as harsh treatment and time in the slammer. I hope I am not getting a complex, but I am getting a vibe.

Switching to positive gears, I am watching a 60 Minutes spot about Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The online school was founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology grad Salman Khan with the “goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.” He accomplishes this by putting a wide range of classes online, free of charge, for students, teachers, parents, and anyone in search of learning. There are over 3100 lessons covering subjects in math, history, science, and other academic fields. As Salman says, “I teach the way that I wish I was taught. The lectures are coming from me, an actual human being who is fascinated by the world around him.” He has taught or has assisted teaching millions of children and adults since he began his school.

Two concepts emerge that are worth noting: innovation and service. And of course my mind immediately morphed Khan into Kosciuszko. Even without channeling Khan, there is an increasing capacity in Polonia for sharing our resources with our American friends and also with our Polish brothers and sisters in the rest of the world, including Poland. I can think of many ways to reach out and let me suggest a few:

1)  I do not know what the statistics are but there are most likely a large number of children in Poland who are very adept with information technology. A nice project would be donating either funds or equipment to schools so more children can benefit from Khan or a whole host of online educational resources for those without internet.

2)  We worry about what is going to happen to our churches but perhaps it would be in our interest to utilize these facilities with another ethnic group or use our churches in other ways such as food pantries, clinics, or community centers. Multiple purpose facilities might be less enticing to closures or merges while protecting the heritage and the church at the same time. The Polish Heritage Center located at St.Stanislaus Church in St.Louis provides banquet facilities to people, a large portion of which are African American, with a convenient and reasonably priced place for weddings, business meetings, etc.

There are hundreds if not thousands of other examples of how Polonia is currently reaching out or can do so in the future.

Question for May, can you walk and chew gum at the same time? I do admire the folks in our community that are open to giving a small amount or a great deal of what we have learned or earned or have been blessed with. That can mean sharing our heritage, our property, our education, or our material wealth. I do admire the folks in our community that call foul, push back, or slug it out when appropriate. The battles it seems will always be with us and are a drain but I hope we are at a place that allows us to rearrange that monkey on our psychological and emotional back and step to the next level. I do want what is on the next level and resting on that level is innovation and service. Take it, dust it off, and try it.

Models!!

A list of the fifty top models can be found at http://www.models.com/model_culture/50topmodels/top50.cfm?fnumber=5&lnumber=1. Five of them were born in Poland and another two have Polish names but the list updates weekly and I did not check it for March 19, 2012. (On the March 19 list though, Anja Rubik is currently in the number three slot; Natasha Poly ‘Polevshchikova’ is in the number two place and was born in Russia. See if you can find the other six.)

There are two models listed under many of the numbers and therefore it is possible the top 50 could be the top 100. So, roughly speaking, about 10% of all the models in the world according to models.com come from Poland or have Polish names. The Russians produce gymnasts, the Czechs give us tennis players, and the Poles generate a slew of beautiful women. Aren’t high cheekbones some kind of sport?

Polish or Not?

1)  Concerning models, Elle “The Body” Macpherson, former model, was born Eleanor Nancy Gow in Sydney Australia (http://www.biography.com/people/elle-macpherson-9542464). Is “Gow” short for “Gowronski” making Elle a piekny Polski dziewczyna?

2)  Does Khan have any Polish in him? I know the man Salman Khan doesn’t but what about the academy? I did not check the course list so I am wondering if there is a Poland section and if so, is it accurate and positive? Sorry to say but I have experienced at least one disaster for non-Poles teaching Polish history and culture.  

Happy Trzeciego Maja (Polish Constitution Day) to all of the PAJ readers. I hope you have a great one and be safe. If you have a thought about this month’s topic, an answer to the question, a question of your own, or interesting facts to share, contact me at: Edward Poniewaz, 6432 Marmaduke Avenue, St. Louis , MO 63139 ; eMail alinabrig@yahoo.com.

N.B. If you send eMail, reference the Polish American Journal or the Pondering Pole in the subject line. I will not open an eMail if I do not recognize the subject or the sender.