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OUR LIFE Monthly, published by Ukrainian National Women s League of America VOL. XLV NOVEMBER, 1988 Editor: Marta Baczynsky THE LEGACY OF OUR FREEDOM FIGHTERS Each year, on November 1, we recall our freedom fighters, those who on this date in the year 1918 raised our flag in the Lviv town hall. They were the vanguard, whose courageous and patriotic act served as a mile stone for the generations that followed and paved the way for future battles in the struggle for freedom. As we celebrate this date and honor the freedom fight ers of 1918, we should be aware that often we spend more time lamenting our heroes’ deaths than appreciat ing their deeds. But the true meaning of our annual celebrations lies not in sentimentalizing the past, but in an active rather than passive, maudlin patriotic love. Partly this involves recalling history with a deeper understanding of those who moved and shaped it. Undeniably they would have wished this as well. The younger generation especially, if they were adequately informed, would surely feel not only empathy and admi ration for their predecessors, but also a desire to con tinue the struggle, to carry on the legacy, which has many other forms and functions beyond the isolated heroic act or military deed. Too often the young, and even sometimes historians and academics lose perspec tive, denigrating our past, criticizing us as a nation. But if one takes into account the general political and stra tegic situation then existing in the world, as well as the dire circumstances Ukraine found herself in, then per haps the events of that period would be interpreted in a different light. In order to understand the actions of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, it is necessary to analyze the background history. Then it becomes clearer how truly unusual it was to accomplish what we today call the November coup. We need to be aware of another determining fac tor, that is, the national consciousness of our people was not yet fully developed, not to mention a political consciousness. The will to demand freedom to live under one’s own independent government had not yet been awakened. In their campaigns and expeditions throughout Ukra inian territories, the Sich Riflemen not only fulfilled their military duties but also carried with them the message of hope in a national rebirth, which they transmitted to all the villages and towns they passed through. This served to strengthen any existing national sentiment and to ignite a spark of patriotic love while spreading the wish for national independence. Many chose to answer the call to arms, to join the struggle and partici pate in the quest for statehood. Notwithstanding our ancient culture and its wealth of traditions, as a political entity, as a conscientious nation, we as a people are still neophytes. Yet this can be a positive phenomenon, for we are building anew. Still, we need to rid ourselves of a persistent inferior ity complex. For example, often in our community we blame ourselves for the fate of our nation, which pas- Вид на місто Львів. View of the city of Lviv. Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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