The Day will name the fifth laureate of the James Mace Civic Stand Prize on November 20

As is well known, the James Mace Award, to be bestowed for the fifth time this year, is a recognition of journalistic works that exemplify active citizenship. I would like to discuss this very notion while honoring this year’s winners, whose achievements are, undoubtedly, worthy of the highest respect and whose works meet all the strict criteria of the award’s statute.

 So, what does active citizenship mean? One can resort to lengthy scientific definitions, or draw on research done by sociologists, philosophers, political scientists, historians, etc. However, a simpler way is to describe it as a desire, aspiration, intellectual and moral ability to write the truth.Is it easy for a modern Ukrainian journalist to be this way? The question can justly be seen as a rhetorical one, because the answer is too obvious. To be more precise, just in case, we are not speaking here about the reliable reporting of facts, quotes, dates, and proper names. What we need is, first of all, a lack of internal self-censorship, at a time when it looks like our authorities, seemingly determined to further the cause of European integration for Ukraine, are actively developing a classic system of external censorship. Further to it, we need to realize the deathly danger of omissions and sly half-truths that are worse than straight lies, or of refined Jesuitism when one knows that one is intentionally leaving in the shadow very important facets of the matter under consideration, and still does it. Self-deception may be not as terrible as deliberate deception of the reader. So what?

One can cite specific examples, too. Mace’s concept of post-genocidal society, seemingly accepted by everyone (is it, really?), is the fruit of the prominent scholar’s multiyear creative and spiritual throes. Now, what did our own scholars and journalists do to develop this concept, ‘polish’ Mace’s findings, to check his thoughts on the realities of the year 2013? Are these tasks really minor, unimportant, purely abstract and academic for us? Meanwhile, it was Mace who gave us a spectacular example that everything should be called its true name, so that a genocide would be known as a genocide, a tragedy as a tragedy, a treason as a treason, and a demoralized, intimidated, schizophrenic and depressive society seen as such!

He did it, because he knew that only people who adhere to the strictest truth can walk the path to the Future and Hope. These are his criteria, equally applying to the award of his name.