Cultivating Lithuanian unity world-wide:
What YOU can do!

Boris Vytautas Bakunas

By Dr. Boris Vytautas Bakunas, Ph. D., Chicago

A wave of unity swept the international Lithuanian community on March 11th as Lithuanians celebrated the 22nd anniversary of the Lithuanian Parliament’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.  However, the sense of national unity engendered by the celebration could be short-lived.

Human beings have a strong tendency to overgeneralize and succumb to stereotypical us-them distinctions that can shatter even the strongest bonds. We need only search the internet to find examples of divisive thinking at work:

”50 years of Soviet rule has ruined an entire generation of Lithuanian.”

”Those who fled Lithuania during World II were cowards -- and now they come back, flaunt their wealth, and tell us ‘true Lithuanians’ how to live.”

”Lithuanians who work abroad have abandoned their homeland and should be deprived of their Lithuanian citizenship.” 

Could such stereotypical, emotionally-charged accusations be one of the main reasons why relations between Lithuania’s diaspora groups and their countrymen back home have become strained? 

As psychiatrist Dr, Aaron T. Beck and others have noted, accusatory remarks are often perceived as threats by those targeted for verbal attack.  Recriminations follow and escalate into verbal shooting matches that solidify hostilities between individuals and groups that previously enjoyed friendly relations.

Although debate is an inevitable and even desirable characteristic of free democratic societies, inflammatory finger-pointing can undermine a country’s national cohesion, political stability, and economic development.  As individuals, what can we do to curb the spiral of anger-promoting speech that has surfaced within the world-wide Lithuanian community? 

Learn and Teach Tolerance

Anger short-circuits our rational faculties, undermines problem-solving, alienates us from our fellow human beings, and puts us at increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and a host of other illnesses.  By learning to adopt a tolerant attitude towards what others say or do, we not only help ourselves, but we help others.  As Albert Einstein said, "Exampleisn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach."

The next time you feel the impulse to respond angrily to inflammatory accusations, remember that those making them are in the throes of anger themselves. Or they are venting their rage by trying to provoke you.  In either case, what they say or write does not merit being taken seriously. 

We can disengage from inflammatory rhetoric by using our reason to identify the logical fallacies of their statements. To say that Soviet rule has “ruined an entire generation of Lithuanians” is a gross overgeneralization.  As Vilnius-born poet Sergey Kanovich, son of the prominent novelist Grigorijus Kanovicius, has pointed out, “Life is not all black and white…Good people were sometimes brought up in Soviet Lithuania and even led Sajudis.”  Similarly, to characterize all Lithuanian Americans as wealthy cowards is to stereotype a mass of individual human beings -- most of whom are hard-working and far from rich -- with a highly pejorative label.

Instead of responding to slurs, we can simply ignore them. Eleanor Roosevelt said that “nobody can make you inferior without your permission.”  If you do choose to respond, it’s best to state your position objectively, focusing on facts and offering productive solutions. 

Judgmental references to Lithuanians, Lithuanian-Americans, or any other group of people are virtually meaningless unless accompanied by qualifying words like some, many, often, or occasionally. In the absence of qualifiers, people tend to interpret group labels in absolute terms that fail to capture the individuality of others.   By avoiding overgeneralizations and stereotypes, we can curb our human inclination towards impulsive irrational thinking and set an example for others to follow.  

Strengthen Cultural Bonds

Another way we can help reduce divisiveness in the world-wide Lithuanian community is by participating in cultural events and organizations that emphasize what Lithuanians have in common. While political activities often divide people, cultural activities strengthen the bonds that tie them together. 

During an interview at the March 11th Lithuanian independence celebration, Agne Vertelkaite, Cultural and Economic Affairs Officer at Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in Chicago, said that “Cultural events and activities provide Lithuanians abroad and at home with a particularly effective way to preserve their sense of national identity.”  As an example, she cited the Lithuanian youth folk dance group Ugnele from Vilnius which performed in St. Louis on March 9th  and in Chicago on March 11th , 2012 under the sponsorship of the Lithuanian government.  

Cultural activities have long been one of the mainstays of preserving national identity in the Lithuanian Diaspora. The Viltis Theater troupe established under the leadership of Lithuanian actor Petras Steponavičius includes members spanning three generations of Lithuanian emigration.

Just as the internet can spread divisiveness and hate, so it can serve as a tool for opening channels of communication and strengthening national cohesion. .  E-magazines like VilNews as well as Facebook pages like “We Love Lithuania,” “Our Mom’s Lithuanian Recipes,” and  “The National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame” are just a few of the of internet sites where Lithuanian cultural achievements, traditions, and customs are gaining widespread appreciation. 

By taking part in Lithuanian cultural activities, we can refuse to submit to the stereotypical thinking that divides us. Instead of forming in-groups and out-groups, we can transcend negligible and temporary differences and help cultivate a sense of national unity and mutual understanding.  As internationally-renowned American-Lithuanian film-maker Jonas Mekas has pointed out, a small country like Lithuania cannot allow itself to give away her children. 

References:

Beck, A. T. (1999).  The cognitive basis of anger, hostility, and violence.  New York:  Harper Collins. 

Dozier, R. W. (2002).  Why we hate:  Understanding, curbing, and eliminating hate in ourselves and our World.  New York:  McGraw-Hill.

BORIS VYTAUTAS BAKUNAS I’m an educational psychologist and independent consultant whose major goal is to share the learning, thinking, and emotional self-help skills that will help people of all ages achieve the things they want out of life – in school, on the job, and in daily life. I’m also a teacher with over 29 years experience at the junior high, high-school, and college levels. Currently I teach graduate professional development courses for educators at St. Xavier University/International Renewal Institute, where my students say I’m “a knowledgeable, down-to-earth instructor with a great sense of humor.” I say, “If you love what you do, a sense of humor comes naturally.” My formal educational background includes Master's degrees in English and Special Education, and a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. My research and articles have appeared in Applied Psycholinguistics, Learning, Principal, The Clearinghouse, and Education Digest. I’ve been a full member of the American Psychological Association since 1994.