|
By Arkadiy Fridman and Ilya Galak, Citizens Magazine Photo: By Ilya Galak C.M: I’ll start with a question about your background…Please tell us a little bit about your life story. J.M: My name is Janine Materna and I’m a 3rd generation Staten Islander with deep roots in the Staten Island community. I am the proud product of public school education by attending: P.S.3, I.S.34, and Tottenville High School. After high school, I attended, and graduated from, Columbia University holding a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science and Environmental Science. Currently, I’m a Management Consultant, working for the past 10 years in the financial services industry consulting Fortune 500 companies both domestically and globally on ways to become more productive and efficient in the workplace. While practicing my profession, I continued my education by earning a certificate from the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University. I also attended St. John’s University to attain a Master’s in Education with a dual certification in Childhood Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities. Currently, I am entering my third year of law school at New York Law School, where I am involved in the evening program. I’m involved in a variety of organizations and proudly serve as the President of the largest Civic Association on the South Shore of Staten Island, the Pleasant Plains, Prince’s Bay, Richmond Valley Civic Association where I’ve had many speakers educate the community on the issues we face. The Civic Association has also implemented traditions for generations to come. Some of these traditions include: Meet the Candidates Forum, We Care Community Clean-Ups, The Annual Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Ceremony, and the Great American Barbecue, demonstrating patriotic pride. I have also worked tirelessly on educating the community on drug addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, transportation issues, organ donation, autism, etc. Along with leading the Civic, I’ve been active with the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York Junior Board, Women’s National Republican Club, Co-Chair the Alumni Representative Committee for Columbia University, New York Junior League, Staten Island Women’s Political Caucus and the Women’s Auxiliary of the Staten Island Historical Society at Historic Richmond Town.  Being a strong believer in giving back, I serve on a variety of fundraising committees for the Jewish Community Center (JCC), American Cancer Society, March of Dimes and serve as a member of Governor Cuomo’s NY Rising Committee as well as volunteer at God’s Love We Deliver and the Bowery Mission, where I orchestrate groups to help feed homeless and hungry New Yorkers. Coming from a family of veterans, I have demonstrated a strong commitment in making sure that our members of the armed forces are respected and continuously recognized for their sacrifices. I have fought for many years to provide better quality roads for the people of Staten Island by starting the Facebook group: Staten Islanders for Pothole Free Roads. I have been a very big advocate of introducing a sustainable product known as asphalt rubber to New York City. Recently, I have been featured as a Republican Strategist on a number of different news networks, including but not limited to: NY1, NBC, NBC Latino and on the Kelly File, hosted by Megan Kelly. Some honors and awards I have received include: Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition in Recognition of Outstanding and Invaluable Service to the Community, New York City Public High School Distinguished Graduate from Mayor Giuliani at Gracie Mansion, New York State Assembly Certificate of Merit & New York City Council Citation. I have decided to run for New York State Assembly representing my hometown the 62nd Assembly district to give voters of the district a choice on who they want representing them. I will be facing a Republican primary on Tuesday, September 13th. C.M: The influences of your family background on your life? J.M: My Italian, Russian, and Polish roots have instilled in me a work ethic that is unmatched. Growing up I learned the value of a dollar and never took anything for granted. I learned that our freedom is something that does not have a dollar value and to be grateful for living in this great country of endless opportunities.  C.M: What are the three accomplishments are you most proud of? J.M:
I have lived in this very District my entire life and been involved in the issues we face for over a decade. My opponent recently moving into the district, he has become close with party bosses through personal relationships with some of the other party insiders, who then selected him for this Assembly seat back in April. When running, he remained on the ballot utterly unopposed, which is unfair and contrary to this nation’s democratic process. This, among many, is one of the reasons why I am challenging both him, and the current local political system on Staten Island.  C.M: What specific plans do you have to help Staten Island’s economy? Small businesses? Construction businesses? J.M: I plan on hosting town halls and forums to understand what issues are most important to small businesses in our community. I pledge to fight to make Staten Island and New York State, in general, a place that is more business friendly by lowering taxes and cutting the red tape. C.M: From Staten Island Advance (Rachel Shapiro): “Those who spent part of their lives in the former Soviet Union remember what it was like to live under a repressive socialist regime, and on Staten Island, some of them are hoping Donald Trump becomes the next American president”. In your opinion, why most of Russian – Speaking immigrants on Staten Island support Trump? J.M: The Russian Speaking population on the island understands and fears the consequences of life under a socialist regime; equal wages regardless of occupation or profession, decimation of ambition in the workplace, lack of foreign resources, rationing, and corruption in every facet of life and the absence of personal freedoms. Their arrival in America marked a drastic change in their lives, it was liberating - to say the least - to live in a country where hard work was rewarded and corruption was curtailed. However, with the last few years, the America that Russian immigrants longed for was no longer the same America that they immigrated to. With years of fiscally liberal spending and egregious foreign policy decisions, Russians have begun to see what many other Americans fail to; a turn towards socialism, which frankly should be everyone’s biggest fear. Russians value this great nation and all the opportunities it gave them, all of which they would be bereft of in the Soviet Union. Trump supports all of the views that America once stood for, and all the values that Russians came to America for, which is exactly why Russians want to make America great again.
0 Comments
I am immigrant from the former Soviet Union, state… By Ilya Galak, Citizens Magazine (Russian speaking resident of Staten Island, NY) A collective letter, compiled from letters of Russian speaking residents of New York, sent to «Citizens Magazine». I value my personal freedom, freedom that I never had under the triumphant socialist system in my former country.I love having an autonomous and seemingly unlimited choice of partners, religions, political parties and lifestyles.I love that I am personally responsible for the care and well-being of my wife, my children and myself.I love that in America we are individuals, and recognize that people are different by nature and it is harmful to generalize, as if one size fits all.I am for equality of opportunity rather than equality of wages.I’m happy for my neighbor who buys a Mercedes 600 with money earned in the free-market, and not stolen from me and people like me, while pushing our country to ruinous inflation and ultimately, bankruptcy.I am proud of the Americans who were able to create, store and convey to their posterity both mate-rial and the spiritual assets, despite the intractable resistance of many professional politicians who care only about their re-election I am proud of the country where all people, regardless of race or religion, have the opportunity to prove themselves and take their rightful place on Earth. I bow to both Republican President Abraham Lincoln and African-American preacher, Martin Luther King for championing these cause, causes for which they paid with their lives. I do not accept the monopoly of the lazy that claims the right to speak on behalf of the state. I hate it when they tell me how to spend my money, what books to read in school, what products to buy in the stores, or how to travel when visiting friends abroad. I will not accept the dictates of poli-ticians, who believe that they canmanage and trade what is not theirs— my life, liberty, property and thefuture of my children.Socialists call me «opportunist»and «capitalist» because I workfrom morning till night, rather thanlay all day on the couch with a bottleof beer demanding that my electedofficials provide me with my equalshare of the pie.My sweat, muscle, time andmoney — these are the contribu-tions I want to make to earn my wayin society. But the choices of bu-reaucrats and sycophants are flat-tery, demands, organizing protestrallies. This form of exchange is notsatisfying for me — but I am forcedto participate, as they say this lieand tell me that this is good for society, nation and state.What is the difference whichmethods are used to take up mytime and steal my money? The society that abuses its productive citizens is immoral.No, I’m not for anarchy. A government must exist! But if the greedy professional politicians, labor unions and specific community-based organizations for the benefit of that government and not for me,what purpose is the state serving?In this sense it is worst of all possible worlds, because it enslaves,beguiles and humiliates its citizens— and not so much the rich as the poor. And in the course of the doing, politicians focus their innocent eyes and point their fingers at the«money-hungry businessmen», entrepreneurs and ordinary, decent people. www.citizensmagazine.com - 8 -№ 8 August 2010I am envied because I drive a good car, live in anice house, provide my children with opportunities fora good education and every year take my family onvacation.I refuse to apologize for these things — I have workedvery hard in order to support myself and my family. Norwill I apologize for being a consumer of the finer thingsthat life can provide. Why? Well, because I’m a worka-holic. Because I put all of my soul into my own businessand in my work! Because my brain is constantly workingon ideas and methods to improve productivity.I refuse to apologize for being professional in mywork and doing it better than others. I do not think thatbecause more people voluntarily hire me — rather thanmy competitors — is somehow to be considered a fault.I am not forcing them to do so — they hire me becauseit is beneficial to them. I refuse to apologize for my suc-cess, for my talents or my money. The source of my suc-cess lies not in my connections with bureaucrats, but inmeeting the needs of people who hire me.We do not need a middleman to sell services andgoods; he is always cranking rates and increasing therisk of fraud to both seller and buyer. I do not need amediator to help people build temples, dress orphans orsupport old age homes.I voluntarily give my resources to the fight againstpoverty, because without money and education mangoes out to rob or kill. I understand that, and readilysupport teachers, hospitals and police. But when thelast shirt is torn off your back and you are charged withthe obligation to share with professional beggars in thestreets and in the office, you scoff at this form of en-forced charity. Here are my principles; I am not forcing youto take them on. I never force — I propose a«product» of material and spiritual values, ser- vices, or simply gifts and donations. If there issomething you do not like, then do not buy,exchange, or accept. MARKET PRICE will tell me your choice and the degree of your satisfac-tion. 1. Don’t ask the politician to take from a neighborwhat you personally are ashamed to beg for. Relyon yourself. If you did well — enjoy yourself. If youdid poorly — accept the loss or bankruptcy or lack offriends and relatives. But do not blame the neighbor, ifyou yourself are lazy, if you have children from threemarriages and can’t normally dress them, because youprefer drugs or beer to a normal upbringing of yourchildren. Look in the mirror more often. Respect your-self, but do not blame your neighbor for your healthproblems.2. When you lend money, requires an account. It Midland Bach, Statn Island does not matter whether a few cents to buy a roll for ason or a couple of million to pay in taxes to the state.You must know specifically who, what and how muchis spent. Always compare and think, would this job bedone at another place for less. Do not be shy to inviteprofessional controllers. Only they can reveal profes-sional crooks. Look to the results when judging politi-cians: another term, or behind bars.3. Don’t trade in your conscience and principles. Donot cheat your neighbor or they will delight in deceivingyou. It is fine to compromise, but only with small things.By stealing, raping, or betraying a partner, client, cus-tomer, taxpayer just once — you can put a stamp onyourself for a long time.4. Judge or be judged. Always be able to defendyour point of view. Tell the jerk that he is a jerk, tell thescoundrel that he is a scoundrel. Silence is all it takesfor evil to rule the day. Do not be afraid to vote against, - 9 - www.citizensmagazine.com № 8 August 2010even if everyone else votes in favor.Perhaps it is not you; perhaps thewhole world has gone mad. If youhave something to say — speak up!It is easier for self-appointed revo-lutionaries or community organiz-ers to use the silent, submissive ma-jority. Form your own opinions, butdo not think that it’s always right, beopen to listen to the ideas of others.Do not pity the weak and dishon-ored, better to teach them how tobe strong and find themselves.5. Think! It does not hurt! To sur-vive, nature has given you brains --the ability to think. You don’t haveto think, either — nobody’s forcingyou — but if you don’t think, youwill not enjoy work, or beer, or thespa, socializing, or sex. Why wouldyou need this life? The sooner youlearn to think, the quicker and morelikely your find yourself on top ofthe human pyramid.6. First, learn to think small. Ex-periment. Find partners and friendsamong the professionals, not thesycophants. Professionals alwayshave something to offer in returnfor your brain, heart, or capital. Be-ware of the professional beggars inthe streets and in the offices — theyare only capable of solicitation andblasphemy. They will always bitethe extended hand, because theyhate the state of dependence, butcannot and do not want to shakeoff the sloth in order to change any-thing.7. Respect tradition, but don’tstress yourself if you violate them.Customs and traditions were in-vented by people who, hundredsof years ago, had a pool of infor-mation that was vastly different. It’ssilly to require implementation ofcertain universal rules of conduct,particularly within the family.8. Do not hide in the face andchallenges of real life. It is not im-portant what the problems are,because for many, you can onlyblame yourself. You made thewrong choice. In many cases, youdid not control the situation. It isimportant to quickly begin to solvethe problems rather than to pre-tend they don’t exist. Gather yourforces, the means, the will, a planof action. If necessary, form a team— and move forward. If somethingis not working, then ask a profes-sional, rather than attempt to rein-vent the wheel. You see, in this lifeit is hard to find a unique problem.Everything has already happenedsomewhere to someone. Just don’t drink beer if you wantto get rid of a hangover. Do not eat7 times a day and before bedtime,if you want to lose weight. Do notwaste your money, which you do nothave, using endless supply of creditcards and mortgages. Payback timewill come eventually. This applies toboth individuals and businesses andeven the whole government.9. Do not try to change nature.Tractors with vertical takeoff andturning back of rivers already tookplace in the former Soviet Union.You do not have a magic wand, aflying carpet and a golden fish.10. Do not walk past someoneelse’s misfortune. When you help aneighbor — help, do not spit in hiswell, he needs it to drink. A poisonedwell is of no service to anyone.11. War is always the destruc-tion, not creation of wealth. But ifyou are attacked, if they want to de-stroy all your values to impose theirown, you should be ready and ableto defend yourself.12. Government, as a rule, isusually a negative factor in the fam-ily budget. Not everything in thisworld has a market price. Often,the pleasure derived from a gratefulelderly or from your children mayfar exceed the profits earned frombusiness dealings. At the same time,don’t forget that in order to be ableto give, you first must earn.13. Man does not live on breadalone. Don’t sponge off the chari-ties; just get up and help. Becauseit is what you need. Because tomor-row, even you’ll be old and feeble.Because it is an investment in yourpersonal future. Because peopleare not bastards by nature. Bas-tards they become willingly and ingood faith of the divinity of the mostdivine of all gods — PROFESSION-AL POLITICIANS. People are good,honest, and responsive. I am an immigrant from theformer Soviet Union, I believein man. I love people. I love America. I have every reasonto believe that it is mutu  By Ilya Galak and Michael Califra
Staten Island, NY “Not only the wealth, but the independence and security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufacturers. Every nation, with a view to those great objects, ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the essentials of national supply. These comprise the means of subsistence, habitation, clothing, and defense” – Alexander Hamilton NYC and New York State should use their spending power to bring back manufacturing and revive the middle class. Once the envy of the world and the great engine of prosperity that drove our national economy to new heights, the American middle class has been under pressure for more than thirty years. The offshoring of good-paying manufacturing jobs along with decades of stagnant wages and soaring costs of everything from energy to health care and a college education has left millions of Americans one economic shock away from tumbling out of the middle class. Every time an American job is outsourced to China or other slave-wage counties the American economy loses the spending power that worker’s job generated. Every time an American worker is forced into a low-paying service job, that worker’s disposable income shrinks, making it harder to stay in the middle class and decreasing demand across the economy. The result is a middle class that has been hollowed out, is mired in debt, and a national economy that grows through the formation of asset bubbles instead of growing wages. When those bubbles pop, as they inevitably do, more middle class wealth is destroyed and more people are thrown into the ranks of the working poor. All this has made the United States the country with the highest income inequality of any advanced nation; a country where the gap between the wealthiest and everyone is else larger than it’s been since the Gilded Age. The loss of manufacturing has been particularly brutal for New York State. Between 1970 and 2011 the Empire State seen a more than 75 percent decline in manufacturing jobs – from 1.8 million to 458,000. New York City experienced the hollowing out of its manufacturing base even earlier than the rest of the nation as those jobs fled to the open spaces of Long Island or other states as early as the 1950s. Yet the exodus continues still. Since the year 2000, NYC has lost more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs. What does that mean for the middle class or people aspiring to it? According the New York State Department of Labor, the average annual wage for a manufacturing worker is over $53,000, compared to $36,000 for retail work and $24,500 for employment in food service. In other words, a plunging standard of living. For residents of NYC that increasingly means being forced out of the city they love and have always called home. The time has come to decide what kind of city New York wants to be. Will we be a home for all who want to live here, or will we become a city exclusively of and for the wealthy? The further concentration of wealth at the top income brackets combined with the shipping of our middle class prosperity abroad, often to countries with regimes known for abusing their own people, are not good for our democracy and just as toxic for the democratic ideal of New York City. If we are to continue to be a place where people can raise families; a place that invites everyone to pursue their dreams, no matter who they are or where they come from, it is time to address the economic inequality that has taken hold here. And there is simply no way to address these issues without bringing back manufacturing or a developing a plan to replace lost jobs with new industries. There is good news: more and more companies are finding out that making it in the USA is good for businesses. An often-cited 2011 study by the consulting firm Accenture, which included a survey of 287 major companies, found that nearly half are plagued by “cycle or delivery time” problems and quality issues due to offshoring. An advantage of “Made in the USA” is that domestic production makes companies more nimble and better equipped to meet their customers’ needs. For example, instead of shipping more cars from Germany and Japan to meet growing U.S. demand, it made sense for BMW and Nissan to build plants in South Carolina and Tennessee. Those economic realities have meant a mini renaissance for American manufacturing. But while manufacturing gained about 530,000 jobs nationally between January 2010 and December 2012, America is still 7.5 million manufacturing jobs down from its last peak in 1979. Much needs to be done, especially in New York. New Yorkers are tired of watching helplessly as manufacturing comes to the US only to bypass our state and city and settle elsewhere. If we can’t compete with South Carolina and Tennessee, how can we hope to compete with the Chinese? Yet Albany seems to have thrown in the towel. As New Yorkers, we should not be satisfied with a slow return to the label, Made in the USA; our goal should be the label, Made in New York by New Yorkers. New York’s focus on tax-free enterprise zones is misguided and weak. Considering the size of the task ahead the city and state must take bold initiatives and not simply rely on stale policies, which have never produced adequate results anywhere they been tried. We have developed the following policy recommendations, which are centered on using the purchasing power of New York to meet the goal of reviving manufacturing, starting with NYC while at the same time saving taxpayer money. How can we bring manufacturing back the Big Apple? 1- City Hall should unleash its purchasing power on the City. NYC spends billions of dollars each and every year on construction projects. We should require that all procurement contracts go first to NYC or NYS businesses through a transparent bidding process. If there are no businesses in the City or State that can fulfill the contracts we should mandate that out-of-state manufactures set up shop in the City if they want our business. If a company located in Texas, for example, wants a NYC contract, they should be required to open a manufacturing facility here and produce everything for in NY, or at a minimum assemble it here. 2- NYC and NYS needs to shamelessly court companies – domestic and foreign – to get them to set up shop in the state and help them expand when they get here. Other states do this. Alabama recently lured Airbus for its new North American assembly plant. Did New York State, with its proud aerospace heritage, which includes the design and manufacture on Long Island of the only craft ever to land humans on another world, even try bringing Airbus here? We should not be celebrating the creation of low-paying service jobs that casinos bring when foreign industrial corporations are setting up large manufacturing facilities in other parts of the country. Yes, competing against the South and Midwest is tough, but there is more to attracting industries than low wages. Just look at Germany’s manufacturing success. That country’s manufacturing sector is among the world’s best, employing one-fifth of German workers while paying an average of $46 an hour (versus $33 an hour here). New York offers access to great universities and the educated labor force they produce in addition to our world-class research facilities and fine shipping infrastructure just to name a few of our advantages. Albany has been touting a decade of tax relief for companies that set up shop in certain areas of the state. NYC should become one big tax-free zone if manufacturing is involved. 3- Attack the “dark side” – business practices such as bid rigging, outright extortion and other illegal practices that drive up the costs of doing business in New York. If we are going to revive manufacturing here, we must not only be prepared to upset established business practices that have been producing headwinds for investment, but also revise the State’s antiquated and complex procurement laws and regulations, which prohibit many companies from competing to do work with the NYS and local governments. Construction regulations, too, need to be reformed. Contractors should be required to conform to, but not exceed, local building, electrical and fire codes. In circumstances where a project might not be covered by local codes, the US code should apply. It is also important for NYC, and all other cities in the State, to revamp complex, arcane, and redundant construction codes that have grown voluminous over decades, yet add nothing to safety. These unnecessary regulations drive up construction costs, which are then passed on in the form of higher rents, giving businesses, and people, yet one more excuse to locate elsewhere. 4- New York should end the practice of contracting foreign companies to do the work American companies can do, as the MTA did when it contracted Chinese companies for the Verrazano Bridge and Staten Island Expressway projects. 5- Bring MARS to NY. Establish an independent, privately-financed agency: New York Made in America Rating System* (MARS) to develop minimum standards qualifying products as Made in USA, and/or NYS, for all companies doing business here. MARS would be similar to the UL rating of manufacturing companies and to the LEED rating system for sustainable buildings. A minimum rating should be a required for public construction projects in NYC. Full transparency and the requirement that MARS be a strictly independent rating agency are crucial. Its board of directors should include representatives from taxpayers’ organizations, manufacturers, trade unions, developers and City and State officials. Ratings should include minimum content provisions to qualify for the label “Made in NYS” and “Made in USA” and products earning those labels should be preferred in NYS. 6- More efficient use of state subsidies. A recent report by the Alliance for a Greater New York showed subsidy spending is largely uncoordinated and inefficient, with the state’s regional economic development councils coordinating only about 6 percent of the $7 billion spent each year in New York on corporate tax subsidies. According to the findings, big businesses were most likely to take advantage of multiple, uncoordinated subsidy programs. For example, Target Corp. is currently receiving 14 separate subsidies across New York for their retail stores and warehouses, and this only takes into account the seven programs with regional data. Only a tiny fraction of New York’s businesses are accessing economic development subsidies. The report determined that 96 percent of businesses are shouldering the tax burden for the 4 percent that get the subsidies. That is not only unfair, it is unproductive. The State should not be spending so much to subsidize low-wage service jobs; it should be using that money to invest in new industries such as renewable energy that will generate the good-paying manufacturing jobs we need. And what is true for the State is also true for the City. Tax breaks should not be granted to companies like Fresh Direct whenever they simply threaten to move to New Jersey, even if the basic economics of such are blatantly nonsensical. By ARKADIY FRIDMAN and ILYA GALAK
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In the end, the vote was overwhelming. “For far too long, dozens of thousands of the Russian-American senior citizens of New York have been shut out of the voting process unfairly because of the language barrier,” pontificated State Sen. Carl Kruger when he introduced the legislation. Passed by the New York state Senate 48 to14 on May 28, the bill, known as S. 552 - An act to amend the election law in relation to providing Russian-language voting materials” passed the state Assembly with only 23 members dissenting out of 132 votes cast. Russian was thereby added to the list of existing alternate languages in which election material must be printed, the others being Spanish, Chinese and Korean. Those who argued for the passage of the law — and New York’s City Hall was not among them because of the tremendous expense complying with the law would entail — pointed to the 1 to 1.5 million Russian-speaking residents of the New York metropolitan area; part of a community in which 320,000 were born in Russia or other countries of the Soviet Union. Some districts boasted Russian-speaking populations of more than 20 percent, who the politicians felt were being disenfranchised by the lack of Russian language voting materials. Those officials felt that they weren’t being given an opportunity to represent ALL citizens in their district, because those who could not read English could not register to vote. The act purported to enfranchise “another of [New York’s] culturally diverse immigrant populations, like many that have come before it.” A CLOSER LOOK Questions arise, however, about whether the bill was justifiable in these tough economic times — or even necessary. Those who are even more skeptical will point to such a bill and call it a bribe, buying the votes of a growing and powerful minority. What other reason could there be to spend money on such a bill, when unemployment hovers around 10 percent and deficits stretch as far as the eye can see? There are other reasons to oppose this bill. Political writer and founder of the Eagle Forum, Phyllis Schlafly, reminds us that to become a citizen our laws require that you demonstrate “an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write and speak ... simple words and phrases ... in ordinary usage in the English language.” When discussing the wisdom of translating election material, Schlafly issued a stern warning: “Printing ballots in foreign languages is fundamentally anti-democratic because fair elections depend on public debate on the issues and candidates. People who don’t understand the public debate are subject to manipulation by political-action groups that can mislead them in language translations and then tell them how to vote.” The underlying theme here is to accept or reject the value of assimilation; the willingness of a minority population to cast off the culture of his or her birth and embrace the culture of their newly-chosen country. One could argue that the America that was the great “Melting Pot” produced the strongest and greatest country in the world, as diverse populations and ethnicities melded to form a people with a strong, blue-collar work ethic, a belief in the importance of education and advancement, a love of democracy that would keep Europe free through two world wars, and a willingness to create a military that would be the liberators of millions. RIGHT TO THE POINT Perhaps no one has ever said it more elegantly, and more directly, than President Theodore Roosevelt. He wrote these words in a letter to the president of the American Defense Society on January 3, 1919, just three days before he died: “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American. ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag. ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language. ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” As Teddy Roosevelt grew older, he increasingly seized on the theme of “Americanization.” He warned of the dangers of “hyphenated-Americans” and predicted disaster for the United State if it were to become a “tangle of squabbling nationalities” He wanted the English language to become compulsory learning. “Every immigrant who comes here,” he said, “should be required within five years to learn English or to leave the country.” In a statement to the Kansas City Star in 1918 he said, “English should be the only language taught or used in the public schools.” He also insisted, on more than one occasion, that America has no room for what he called “fifty-fifty allegiance.” In a speech made in 1917 he said, “It is our boast that we admit the immigrant to full fellowship and equality with the native-born. In return we demand that he shall share our undivided allegiance to the one flag which floats over all of us.” AN INFORMAL SURVEY In an effort to gauge the feelings of the Russian community, I engaged people on the streets of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, one of the oldest Russian enclaves in New York, and still as vibrant and thriving as ever. I followed a simple methodology: I went out on the street, introduced myself as a journalist and began to ask elderly people, for whom this law was passed, what they felt about the bill. Admittedly, I did not act by all the rules of statistical science, but it didn’t take long for the attitude of those I interviewed to become clear. The first thing I realized was that pride was a factor in those who applauded the measure — perhaps even more so than necessity. The passage of the bill was a sign of “respect” to some of those I interviewed, a manifestation of political clout, recognition that the Russian community was a force to be reckoned with — or at least paid attention to. But many saw the bill as disrespectful and hypocritical. When asked if the law was necessary, a common answer was, simply, “No.” After all they speak English — and they are the OVERWHELMING majority. Doctors, lawyers, programmers, engineers, government employees, skilled workers, policemen — why do they need any of this? More than that, I feel bad for our children. With the instatement of this law, in a way, they become second class citizens. I doubt that those people born in the U.S. will treat them better after this. On the contrary, the society presently is very politicized and all are watching how government money is appropriated. And by so much noise being made out of something like this, then by passing this law, our children are being thrown under the bus. Even the elderly, who have a difficult time learning a new language, have outlets from which they get their news and current events: We have the privately owned Russian-speaking Davidson radio, oriented especially toward those people who speak English poorly. This radio copes perfectly with those functions, which the politicians want to take upon themselves. This radio, at the cost of its owners, informs us regarding all local political news. Here politicians present their pre-election speeches, accounting for the work they have done. That is where everything is explained to us, I would even say — everything relative to an election is broken down to its smallest components. A SIMPLE CONCLUSION In conclusion, we don’t really have a need for these translations. I don’t know who is going to be reading them, when all this can be heard on the radio in a form that is a lot more interesting and less officious. Other than that, I have never had any problems at the voting polls. Respectful Russian–speaking volunteers showed and explained everything. It appears that the motivation behind this bill was painfully transparent — it was a dishonest and disrespectful misjudging of the Russian community by the politicians. “In my humble opinion, I just don’t understand real purpose of this bill,” immigrant Boris Borovoy states flatly. “The majority of politically active Russian-Americans are fluent in English and have no need for a Russian translation; to me it’s another pork barrel, another waste of taxpayers’ money for a mostly symbolic purpose. And for hard-working, middle-class Russian-Americans it’s real slap in a face. “Want to make some important political decisions? Learn English, comrade. That’s as simple as it gets”. Lucy Gunderson translated an article title “Voluntary Segregation” by Yevgeny Novitsky, published in the newspaper Russian Bazaar. In the article, Novitsky analyzes the bill and laments that “lack of English completely cuts people off from the real America. They are forced to communicate with people who have a very limited range of interests.” Novitsky’s analysis cuts like a knife to the heart of the matter, expressing his pity at those who would consider the bill to be an historic event. And in a final declaration of the independent American people of Russian descent, he cries: “I would be far happier if one fine day New York officials were to announce that the Russian-speaking community no longer existed. Then Gov. Paterson would say something like, ‘Russian-speaking immigrants have melded so seamlessly into American life that it is no longer possible to separate them into a distinct ethnic enclave. We can now proudly call them Americans of Russian descent.’ “Then the group of loud enthusiasts who call themselves ‘community leaders’ would stop speaking on behalf of the entire Russian-language community. Redundant associations and coalitions that exist mostly because of the language barrier would disappear. And to the proposals by officials to translate materials into Russian, every one of ‘our’ U.S. citizens would answer indignantly but proudly, “Who do you take me for? I AM AN AMERICAN.” Arkadiy Fridman , a former Soviet Army officer who came to the United States in 1992, heads the not-for-profit Staten Island Community Center in Dongan Hills and is the president of Citizens magazine. Ilya Galak, an electrical engineer, has been in the United States since 1989 and is on the staff of Citizens magazine. |
