(207) THE FOUNDING AMERICAN IDEALS & RIGHTS BETRAYED: FROM SLAVERY TO ABORTION.........May we make the ideals of our founding fathers a reality in our businesses, communities, and ultimately in our nation.

AMDG

Paintings of the Declaration of Independence (1776) by Trumbull in Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  The signers of the declaration risked their lives and property for freedom which is costly to obtain and then maintain.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, ---” (From the Declaration of Independence https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript).  

        Thomas Jefferson wrote the draft and is considered to be the father of the Declaration of Independence.  He didn’t like his writing to be revised by the cosigners.  The Jesuit educated Catholic Charles Carroll (1737-1832), a plantation owner in Maryland, was one of the 56 signers.

The Constitutional Convention (1787) in Independence Hall, Philadelphia.  In the photo George Washington is recognizable and so is Benjamin Franklin who at 81 had to be carried in.  The original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights can be seen by all in the Archives Building in Washington, D.C.  It has excellent displays that give a panoramic view of United States History. 

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” (Preamble of the Constitution with James Madison the lead author.  There were 39 signers of the final document.  See https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript).

   

As can be seen above, both foundational documents are based upon Christian values.  Thomas Jefferson only had an indirect influence upon the Constitution through letters since he was abroad as the American minister to France.  His best friend, James Madison, whom he mentored, took leadership and is considered to be the Father of the Constitution and the architect of the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments of the Constitution), having drafted much of it and promoted its ratification.  The United States Constitution was the first of its kind in the world and was a model for later constitutions.  Poland framed the second constitution which must have been influenced by Revolutionary War hero, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817), George Washington’s chief engineer and friend of Thomas Jefferson.

The constitutional convention was deadlocked and apparently not going anywhere.  Thus the members decided to take a recess for a few days for prayer and fasting.  When they returned, everything fell into place.  The system of checks and balances is ingenious as are the compromises to satisfy both small and large states.  Our country is indeed a nation under God.  Most of the founding fathers were men of faith as was the country as a whole.

       The French Revolution of 1789 had many of the same ideals, but went in a different direction.  Its basis was the so called secular and godless enlightenment.  It deteriorated into a bloody reign of terror, especially against the former royal aristocracy and the Church.  Many priests and nuns were guillotined for the faith.  Those who could fled.  Five hundred of them got as far as the New World in 1790 and founded the town of Gallipolis, Ohio, the French city.  My own St. Louis Church has its roots in the French 500.
  

     The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were revolutionary for the time.  With the world dominated by monarchies and their aristocracies, the colonies came up with the concept of government by the consent of the governed with basic freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion, etc., due process, trial by an impartial jury, among others.  Have we remained true to these ideals?
 

       Over our history these freedoms applied only to white males.  Women were not permitted to vote or run for public office until the 20^th Century.  Catholics were persecuted although not martyred.  It was intense under the Know Nothing Party when Catholic churches were burnt down in the 1840s.  In 1928 the Catholic candidate for president, Alfred Smith was vehemently opposed by Protestants.  Finally in 1960 a Catholic did become president in a close election, but John Kennedy’s faith was still an issue.
 

Immigrants and Jews were victims of prejudice well into the 20^th Century.  Groups, such as the Ku Klux Clan persecuted minorities while local governments looked the other way.  Unskilled workers were exploited with very low wages and poor working conditions.  None of these groups had equal opportunity for the better jobs and had to fight for their rights.   Nevertheless, they have come a long way and many did achieve the American dream. Paying low wages did provide enough capital for self-sustaining expansion and the economic take off of the U.S. in the late 19^th Century.

Thomas Jefferson’s plantation at Monticello, Virginia.  His home is in the upper left corner.  

A slave cabin.  Jefferson owned about 600 slaves over his life.

    Slaves were excluded all together, treated as subhuman property with no liberty and no rights at all.  The slave owners believed that they had the right to beat their slaves into submission, break up families in the slave trade, and even rape the women.  They kept most slaves unskilled and illiterate.  The universal Church condemned the slave trade, but the American Church, powerless to do much, lived with the status quo.  Slavery is one of the biggest blots on our history, a national historical sin begging forgiveness.

Slaves at work picking cotton.

A slave family in the old South.

      Many of the framers of the Constitution struggled with the issue of slavery or were opposed to it, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, but they still owned slaves.  Only George Washington provided for freeing all of his slaves in his will.  General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a hero of the American Revolution as well as in Poland’s fight with  Czarist Russia to exist as a country in the early 1790s, walked the walk.  His love of liberty was so intense that he bought slaves and gave them their freedom.  In addition he provided money in his will for freeing and educating slaves.

The Slave Trade - an advertisement posted in a public place.

        Since the founding fathers knew that the southern states would never join the union if slavery were abolished, they left it up to future generations to deal with it.  Slavery was too ingrained in the culture.  They considered slavery to be an economic necessity to maintain their life style.  The slave owners rationalized that they were “taking care of these ‘uncivilized inferior’ people who are incapable of taking care of themselves and treating them well”.  “We love our nigras”.  Thomas Jefferson, for example, had some of his male slaves learn to read and write and acquire other skills such as blacksmithing.

The permanent scars of brutal beatings.

     Don’t we also make ridiculous rationalizations regarding the unborn?…..that the fetus is just a blob of tissue; they aren’t human beings or persons yet; that women can do anything they want with their bodies; these babies would be neglected; they would be an economic burden, an inconvenience, etc.  These rationalizations are made to maintain hedonistic life styles while working toward or maintaining a career.

Are we even more cruel in depriving unborn babies of their right to life, using painful saline solution to extinguish their lives, dismembering their bodies in the womb even though they can feel pain and according to ultra sound videos resist and fight for their lives, (16^th Century England called it quartering in the persecution of Catholics).  Do we claim to be gods in deciding which unborn baby should live and which pregnancies should be terminated (using abortionist language)…….in reality life exterminated?  How many gifted people, even geniuses, possible saints, and potential Hall of Fame athletes have we deprived of the right to live?   We can only imagine what they would have contributed to society, perhaps a cancer cure.  Who knows?

   

 Sin Has Consequences.  Thomas Jefferson saw slavery as depravity and predicted that our country would suffer the consequences for many years to come.  It was a prophecy come true.  Our country had to suffer through a long and bloody Civil War that almost destroyed the union.  Following that, we had years of segregation plus racial prejudice and strife that continue to this day.  That calls to mind how the Jews suffered through the breakup of the kingdom after King Solomon's sins of offering sacrifices to the pagan gods of his wives.

 

Will our nation suffer the consequences of having killed over 50 million babies since 1973?  Will we have a severe shortage of young people needed to support the old people?  China and Europe already have this problem.  Refusing to follow God and the resulting sins have consequences.  God doesn’t have to punish us; we punish ourselves.

                 

Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Staunton, Virginia.  After so many years of slavery, segregation, and racism, it was beautiful to assist at Mass presided by Fr. Joseph Wamala, who was born in Uganda.  To see an essentially white congregation of 600 families accepting a black pastor shows how far the Deep South has come, considering that even in Catholic churches blacks once had to sit in the back.  Who knows?  Some of Fr. Wamala’s distant relatives may have been slaves.  For years we sent missionaries to Africa; now they're sending missionaries to us because of a lack of vocations.

 

This  vibrant parish has a Crisis Pregnancy Center in the struggle for life, a boy scout troop, a Knights of Columbus council, library, and daily Eucharistic Adoration, averaging almost ten hours per day.  It is unbelievable how well dressed the congregation was at a well attended 7:15 am Sunday Mass.  The men wore suits and the women wore a head covering.  See http://stfrancisparish.org.

 

     We have come a long way in achieving racial and social justice while the pro-life vs. pro-abortion war still rages, but we still have a long way to go to truly achieve and maintain one nation under God with liberty and justice for all……born and unborn regardless of race, color, religion, ethnicity, or gender.  At least by prayer and example, in big ways or little ways……let’s do our part as citizens and leaders to make the ideals of our founding fathers a reality, first in your business and your community……and ultimately in our nation.  Then America will be truly great! 

(206) Discovering and Visiting Our Long Lost Hungarian Relatives in the Ukraine

AMDG

From left to right are Ella & Disiderius (Dezső) Voloszinovich, Rev. Vladimir & Olga Mihalich.  Behind them are Irene, Martha, Stephanie, and Lilly on the extreme right.   The picture was taken in 1918 or so in present day Slovakia, then part of Austria-Hungary.

        My grandfather, Rev. Vladimir Mihalich (1874-
1943) and his wife Olga Podhajezky (1881-1964) 
had five daughters: Ella (1900-1982), Lilly 
(1902-1987), Irene (1904-2005), Martha (1907-1994),
and the baby of the family, Stephanie (1908-2006).
Because of conditions after World War I, they
immigrated to the land of opportunity, the United 
States in 1921.  However, they left Ella behind since 
she had married Disiderius (Dezső) Voloszinovich 
(1897-1974), a seminarian in 1918 and already had 
two children, Helen (1919 - ?) and Catarina 
(1921 - ?).  Later Ella had two more children, 
Alexander (1924 - ?) and finally the baby Erzsébet or 
Elizabeth (born 1929).
    

Abandoned by her husband in the early 1930s, Ella 
heroically managed with faith, courage, and 
determination to raise the four children by herself.  
She moved them to Ushgorod for a better 
education.  It’s amazing how she managed.  
What a terrible legacy that the weakness of
Dezső left, extending to at least the fourth generation!
Erzse did reconcile with him and forgave him before
his death.  Ella never did.

I never met my Aunt Ella, but she knew all about us.  Ella was always part of our extended family.  At least we were able to visit her grave and place some flowers on it as a tribute to a heroic woman.  May she rest in peace.

       Helen married Tibor Gyumoles in 1944 and had three children, Olga (b 1945), Istvan (b 1948), and Kathy (b 1952).  Catarina married Nicolos Timco in 1946 and had three children, George (b 1947), Kathy (b 1949), and Magdaline (b 1950).  Alexander married Margaret Povsik in 1949 and had two children, Margaret (b 1950) and Alexander (b 1958).

       Alexander probably missed serving in the army during World War II since the Ukraine was under German occupation when he reached his 18th birthday in 1942.

 

       Only Erzsé, Ella’s youngest daughter, is still living, a spry, mentally sharp, and charming 88 years old.  Erzsé, married Istvan Borosh I (1922 - ?) in 1955, with whom she has a daughter, Elizabeth (b 1956) and a son, Istvan II (b 1960), who married Gertrud (Greti), the parents of Istvan III (b 1989) and Viktoria (b 1983) who married Jaroslav Ihnatenko.  Viktoria and Jaroslav have a six year old son, Dennis and live in Kiev. 

  

Lost and Found. Grandma Stephanie (my mother) kept contact with her oldest sister, Aunt Ella, After World War II Stephanie and her parents sent packages to help her in the years of scarcity under a shattered economy after World War II.  After Aunt Ella died in 1982, Stephanie continued to correspond with her neice Erzsé and sent photos of her children and grandchildren.  Tim (Irene’s grandson) and Barbara Loya did some pathfinding and visited the Borosh family in 1993, but Erzsé was not at home that day.  They inspired us to do the same.  Istvan III was little more than a toddler as seen in the photo below.  Since Grandma Stephanie’s death in 2006 (well before that Mom had less energy and did not correspond as much), we lost contact and the Borosh family became lost relatives.

Tim and Barbara Loya were the first pioneers or pathfinders in finding the Borosh family in 1993,  In the photo is Baby Istvan III 25 years ago, being held by his mother, Greti.  To the right is her husband Istvan II, our cousin Ilus (Erzsé’s older sister), and young Tim Loya.  Barbara is behind the camera.

However, Aunt Ella’s great-grandson Istvan III, through his grandmother Erzsé learned about us and, being very resourceful, found our daughter Naomi on Facebook in 2016.  Naomi got his e-mail address for me and we were in full contact.  His English is good; his very intelligent and beautiful wife Anita’s English is excellent.

       Jaga and I just got back from the Holy Land to Rzeszów which is about six hours from their home in Uzhgorod in the Ukraine.  So we had to take advantage of the opportunity to visit our long lost relatives and bring the Mihalich Extended Family East and West, Old World and New World together.  So we visited Aunt Ella’s great grandson Istvan III & his lovely wife Anita, his parents, Istvan II & wife Greti, and my first cousin Erzsé, all of whom live in the same house.

 

       Before and after our pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we stayed with our wonderful friends, the Kaplita family.  After living in Allentown, Pennsylvania (USA) for a couple of years, they decided to return to Poland.  Their two lovely daughters speak excellent English.  Asia teaches it.  We were supposed to meet Janusz and drive to Uzhgorod, but he took sick.  Janek Kaplita heroically did us a huge favor by driving us for over two hours to a major city in the middle of Slovakia from where we caught a bus to Uzhgorod.  Jaga spoke Polish and the Slovakians understood.

       Benefits of the European Union.  We drove from Poland to Slovakia as though traveling from Pennsylvania to its neighboring state of Ohio.  Passports are not required.  However, the Ukraine is not a member of the European Union.  Thus crossing the border in our bus involved over an hour wait to pass through customs.  Crossing from the Ukraine back to Poland, we were stuck at the border checkpoint for over three hours since they inspected our suitcases.  It’s much worse with passenger cars.

Uzhgorod was first settled by Slavs who built a fortress there.  It was then conquered by Hungarian tribes under Arpad.  Thus the region was part of Hungary as Hungvar since the year 895, but became a part of the Austrian Empire by conquest (1804 – 1867), then under a political compromise, the empire was called Austria-Hungary (1867 – 1918).  The victorious allies carved up Europe after World War I and gave Hungvar to Czechoslovakia (1919 -1938) who changed the name to Uzhgorod.  Germany gave it back to Hungary (1938 – 1944), but the conquering Soviet Union annexed it to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine (1944 – 1991).  When Communism was overthrown, Uzhgorod remained part of a free Ukraine (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzhhorod).

       Uzhgorod was very Hungarian for over a thousand years.  According to the 1910 census, 80.3% of the 17,000 inhabitants were Hungarian.  About 30% of that population was also Jewish, but the Nazis first forced them into ghettos and later sent them to Auschwitz for extermination.  The Soviets did ethnic cleansing by deporting, jailing, or murdering most of the Hungarians.  Nevertheless, Uzhgorod’s roots are still Hungarian.  The Borosh family speaks Hungarian at home and even has its clocks there on Budapest time (one hour behind) to be in sync with the Hungarian TV programs they receive on by satellite ?.  A statue of the great poet, Sandor Petofi below is one of the indications of Hungarian roots of Uzhgorod.  My father would rave about him and show us with pride the book of his poems he won for being best student as a kid.  

We finally arrived and waited in the intercity bus station of Uzhgorod.  Istvan and Anita  only knew that we would be arriving in the late afternoon or evening.  They were looking for us at the border since crossing would be so complicated.  How do we contact them?  I had my laptop and the little bus station had Wy Fy.  They had their i-phones.  So Istvan and Anita received our e-mail and within ten minutes they couldn’t miss those two foreigners with their suitcases straight from the Holy Land and Rzeszow, Poland.  It was a happy meeting.  Amidst the hugs, I exclaimed: “She’s beautiful”.

Aunt Ella had moved her four children from Presov to Uzhgorod in 1936.  She was very resourceful and hard working, being especially good in sewing and crocheting.  Thus Ella was able to purchase a small house.  Later Erzsé’s family of four lived in it.  The next generation, Erszé’s son Istvan II and his family of four lived there with his mother.  Today Istvan II and Greti take care of his mother Erzsé, while Istvan III and his wife Anita live upstairs.  Along the way the family added on rooms.  It’s so beautiful how Erzsé took care of her mother Ella and now her son Istvan II and Greti take care of his mother…..all in the same house.  A nursing home was out of the question.  Isn’t that the way it should be if at all possible?

          






















From left to right, Erzsé, Istvan II & Gertrud (Greti) Borosh,  Paul & Jaga, 
and Anita & Istvan III Borosh.  

           

   

Erzsé shows us her album of old family pictures, including all the ones that Mom sent her.
Aunt Ella’s picture is just below the old picture of the Mihalich family.

It was such a wonderful time we had together.  Sunday evening we had supper together with Erzsé, her son Istvan II & daughter-in-law Greti, and Istvan III & his wife Anita.  To my great surprise Erzsé had a family album that included my parents and American extended family (Sebastians, Foleys, and Elds when we were growing up).  It even had a 1933 picture of my mother when she was Maid of Honor for the Martha & Aksel Eld wedding, and my parents’ wedding picture in 1934.  

Because of my mother’s letters and included photos, Erzsé knew about me, Jaga, and our children as well as John and his family.  She knew about the great job that Jaga did in taking care of my mother.  It was such a thrill to meet them all, especially Erzsé, my first cousin.  They gave us great bag of gifts and souvenirs to bring back to the United States.  The conversation was English – Hungarian – English, no Ukranian, although they all speak it.  It was a joy to hear Hungarian, which I have been getting away from.  What little Hungarian I know came back to me.
   

I had hoped to spend more time with Erzsé on Monday, but she wasn’t feeling well.  I think that we exhausted her the night before.  Tuesday we had to leave for Lviv and back to Kielce, Poland and the home of Jaga’s sister Marysia and husband Janusz.  We did learn a lot about Aunt Ella’s extended family.  Anita did a masterful job of translating from English to Hungarian and vice versa.  Since her father was a Russian army officer stationed in Germany, she never lived in Russia.  Her mother is Hungarian.

Their family business. Istvan II took advantage of an opportunity to be the representative and distributor of building materials produced by a Hungarian company in Budapest.  The distributorship became a family business with his wife, while Istvan III, and Anita having important roles.  Istvan III was interrupted by several phone calls while taking us on a tour of Uzhgorod.  They’ve built up the business, providing work for people, and it has been rather successful.  This is just another example where people, once under Communist domination, can prosper when they are free to be enterprising and creative.  I wish we had time to visit the business.  On Monday evening I commented to Istvan II that he had a long day.  He voiced his frustration: “It’s difficult doing business in the Ukraine because of so much corruption”.  That is the legacy of Communism……..do whatever it takes to get around the bureaucracy.

  

The Ukraine is still far behind Poland and Hungary in its economic development, but there’s tremendous potential.  The Ukraine is progressing.  Potholed streets and roads are common.  The highway between Uzhgorod and Lviv is very substandard…..bumpy and narrow.  At the rest stop, the rest room was   squatting only like I remember years ago in France of the 1960s.  Lviv, sometimes called the “Little Paris of the East”, a big cultural center and very European, seemed to be doing well with construction projects going on.  

Probably the biggest obstacle to development is the mentality inherited from Communism and centuries of Russian domination.  It is manifested in corruption, bureaucracy, inefficiency, and dependence upon government and welfare.  I noticed much of the same in Poland, but they are overcoming it with rapid development.  Another big obstacle is the fact that the Ukraine is fighting a war against Russian speaking separatists in eastern Ukraine who want to be annexed by Russia.  Vladimir Putin, of course, is all for it and helping them.  In Lviv we noticed that there were many soldiers coming and going at the railroad/bus station.

The dollar goes a long way in the Ukraine since their currency is weak.  The century old hotel, five star in its day, but very good today, only cost about $25 per night.  A taxi only costs a couple of dollars.

 

Istvan III and Anita were most gracious in taking us on a tour of Uzhgorod and then helping us with booking transportation to Lviv and Poland.  For a video tour of Uzhgorod click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNRp_lvsFcE.  It describes Uzhgorod as “Located on the border with Slovakia, Uzhgorod is one of the less known gems of Europe.”  

On Sunday evening we walked in the old city among the shops, restaurants with outside tables, and street vendors.  Some sort of festival was going on.  The beautiful Uzh River (not navigable) skirts the city.  The next day we walked across one of its bridges.  The city is very quaint with an old European flavor.  It made me think: “That’s how it was when my father lived in Austria-Hungary from 1899 until 1924 when he immigrated to the United States. 

  The next day Istvan and Anita took us to the Divine Liturgy of the Greek Catholic Church.  It was probably offered for a deceased loved one since attendance for a Monday was very good.  The singing in old Slav is so much more impressive than its adaptation to English.  Since Istvan I was Roman Catholic, Erzsé followed; my mother changed rites for the same reason.  Although we are of the Latin Rite, part of our heritage is Greek Catholic (Byzantine Rite) and we’re proud of it.

                 

The Holy    Cross Greek Catholic Cathedral in Uzhgorod and the beautiful interior.  Churches are being
restored now.

  Then they took us to the old Uzhgorod Castle pictured.  It was part of the defense of the city in medieval times.  Then we visited the neighboring Museum of Folk Architecture and Life that depicted country life in the 19^th Century and before.  The original buildings were moved here from the country.  Fr. Vladimir Mihalich was pastor of five rural churches similar to the one below before immigrating to the United States.  He would travel from church to church by horse and buggy.  Following that, we had a traditional dinner at the restaurant there.

In the afternoon we did some shopping, visited a wine cellar, and the local university which is old and lacking in resources.  We also visited Aunt Ella’s grave.  That’s the closest I’ll get to her on this side of eternity.  Someday in eternity, we’ll all be together for a reunion even more beautiful as the one we had with her daughter Erzsé.

       
I’m so grateful to Istvan III for uniting our extended family.  It was an exciting trip.  Anita arranged for us to travel by a local bus to Lviv and change to an international bus to Kielce, Poland.  We had about seven hours to get acquainted with Lviv the great cultural center that changed hands over the years between Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine.  For some videos on Lviv, click on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f1yGpU0zwQ.

We tried taking a taxi to the center of the city, but that was a negative experience.  I didn’t notice, but Jaga sensed that we might be robbed.  The taxi driver signaled somebody and then made a phone call while being very nervous…….all very suspicious.  To make sure, Jaga said she had to go badly to the bathroom, paid the guy and got me out.  It would be very easy for a taxi driver to take us to some abandoned place.  However, that was cancelled out by a random act of kindness.  We checked our baggage at the railway station, but did not have enough Ukrainian money.  The person next in line so kindly paid for it.  So we traveled by trolley.  Jaga was a huge help in us getting around.  She simply spoke in Polish and the Ukrainians understood.  The languages are very close.

There seems to be a religious revival going on in the Ukraine.   I noticed a disproportionate number of groups from the Ukraine visiting the Holy Land.  Uzhgorod has Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Orthodox churches.  In Lviv we stumbled upon a beautiful 18^th Century Jesuit church, St. Peter & Paul Garrison Church for the military.  The Soviets shut it down and converted it into a book depository.  It fell into disrepair.  When the Ukraine obtained its freedom in 1991, the Government gave it to the Greek Catholic Church.  Now they are restoring it to its former beauty.  This vividly brought to mind the words of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew 16:18……..“THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT”.

    

Around 5 pm we took an international bus across the border through customs and finally the bus left us off in Kielce, Poland at about 3 am.  It was all such a great experience and an adventure. 

I really hope that many of our relatives become facebook friends with Istvan.  All it takes is for either Istvan or one of the relatives to make a friend request.