Polonia in Ashes ?

[Jaga]

I found an interesting article in Polish Newsweek:
www.progressforpoland.com/artykuly.php?id=00030000000001652
you can read it in Polish

which was translated into English and posted in several magazines, also in Polish-American Journal.

The authors state that Polonia suffers the lack of dedicated leaders. Its role in America is very small in spite of the fact that Polish Americans are the 8th biggest ethnic group here.

Polonia celebrated 400th anniversary of arriving of Poles in Jamestown but neither Obama nor McCain attended any of the celebrations

[Jaga]

There is less and less Americans that admit Polish origin. There are almost 300 different Polish organizations but they do not have good leaders and they are not really united.

We had only three senators of Polish origin: Barbara Mikulski, Lisa Murkowski and retired Chuck Hagel.

Among 435 representatives there are three Americans of Polish origin: John Dingell, Ted Kulongowski and Tim Pawlenty

[Jaga]

does any of you is an active member of the Polonia organization?

[Jaga]

Here is another Slavic-American, Congressman Joe Sestak, discussing with right-wing Shawn Hannity the stimulus package:

www.newshounds.us/2009/02/25/rep_joe_sestak_refutes_hannitys_false_gop_talking_points.php#more

Sestac is from Slovakia, here is more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_A._Sestak

he is also is a retired United States Navy vice admiral


Philadelphia, PA – Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) attended the Kosciuszko Ceremony, hosted by the Polish American Community, today. The event celebrates the life of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, an American Revolutionary War Hero and a Freedom Fighter for Poland. The event also included a presentation of colors by Frankford High School ROTC. During the event, the Congressman spoke about the monumental contributions from Polish-American throughout the United States history. There are nearly 40,000 Polish-Americans in the 7th Congressional District, which represents almost 6% of the total citizenry.

“It was approximately 400 years ago that the first Polish settlers arrived in what is now the United States, and their contributions to American society over these centuries are too numerous to count,” said the Congressman. “They range from Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who came from his native Poland hundreds of years ago to help the American colonists fight for freedom to Frank Piasecki, an aviation engineer who pioneered dual-rotor helicopters. I look forward to the many accomplishments that are to come from this vibrant community. Sto lat!”

The life of Mr. Kosciuszko is particularly interesting. He was born in Poland on February 4, 1746, son of Ludwik and Tekla Kosciuszko. He attended school in Lubieszow and then the Cadet Academy in Warsaw before continuing his engineering studies in Paris, France. By the time Kosciuszko arrived in America from Poland in 1776, he was a skilled engineer who came to offer his services to the American colonies in their struggle for independence. His contributions to American independence are particularly noteworthy and the event appropriately commemorated his valor, determination, and spirit.

Congressman Sestak concluded the event exclaiming proudly, “I was proud to this ceremony today with so many of my constituents” noted Joe. “Whether it’s meeting with the Polish-American community, the Chinese-American community, the Irish community, the Asian-Pacific American community, or other communities, our District has a rich cultural heritage and the Polish-American community is a strong part of it. Today’s memorial event demonstrates the tremendous work this community does to organize patriotic, historical, education, and civic events that enhance positive public awareness of Polish causes, traditions, and the many contributions of persons of Polish descent.”

sestakforcongress.com/?cat=4

[author]

Regarding popularly of being Polish in the USA. I can only speak of the period from 1964 in Portland Oregon. Up to 1989 most people hid the fact that they were Polish. This was due a lot of social pressure against being Polish. Two things changed this 1) Polish Pope 2) Solidarity. All of a sudden being Polish was not taboo. In Portland, which has had an active Polish community for over a hundred years, the activity of the Polish community started to revive around fifteen years ago. I was a member of the Polish library and was a part of starting the Polish Festival which attracts about 15,000 people to a small neighborhood. This helped revive the spirit and pride of the Polish community.