First, our leadership is reactive, not proactive. Protesting the
Bush Administration’s cowardly and cynical decision on FYROM’s
denomination was necessary; however, even reasoned protests can not
undo the damage in American-Greek relations, nor will they reverse
this unfortunate decision. If the Administration took the Greek American
leadership seriously, we would not be in the situation we are in today.
Here’s the bottom line: Look at the leadership and the political
clout of the Jewish American community. You will understand why photo
ops with government officials and political fundraisers without any
expectations are not enough. Setting a clear political agenda, communicating
with public officials at all levels between elections, and holding
these officials accountable on Election Day, is the only way to avoid
the next FYROM fiasco.
Second, certain "leaders" claim that we can not "offend"
official Washington by taking "hard-line" positions on issues
of concern to our community. Instead, Washington’s apologists
argue that "we need to speak Washington’s language"
in order to be accepted there. That line of thinking brought us to
the toleration of Turkey’s revisionism in the Aegean and in
Cyprus, and to the crocodile tears shed by these "leaders"
about the "missed historic opportunity" of the Annan Plan
in Cyprus.
Third, the FYROM experience should be a wake-up call to our community.
The Greek American community is now in its fifth, possibly its sixth,
generation in the United States. Without disparaging the important
role of the Orthodox Church in our community’s life, its role
is not, and should not be, political. The issues of FYROM, Turkey
and Cyprus are. We are a community that is mature, educated, wealthy
and present in every field of endeavor. This is why there is no place
for the ethnarchic role of the Church in the 21st century.
The time has come to focus on the power of political organization,
participation and political accountability. That is clearly a secular,
lay function. In turn, lay leaders must devote the time and be given
the financial and organizational resources required to be effective,
and to be heard in Washington. If our community is serious in its
concern about the national issues facing us, then it must provide
the resources which will make political influence possible. Otherwise,
we will remain in the situation we are in today.
The Greek American community is well represented at all levels of
government, in business, in the media, in the professions, and in
academia. The time has come to pool our resources together and define
common goals and strategies for the benefit of Hellenism in America,
and for improving relations between our country, Greece and Cyprus.
Respectfully submitted,
Van Coufoudakis, Ph.D.
Dr. Coufoudakis is Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts
& Sciences at Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has
written extensively on post-World War II U.S. foreign policy, as well
as on the politics and foreign and defense policies of Greece, Turkey
and Cyprus. His work has appeared in books and professional journals
in the U.S., U.K., Belgium, Italy, Greece and Cyprus.
