No Alibi!

We do not favor endless celebrating, so we decided to mark our anniversary in Den’s spirit. First, it is our traditional photo exhibit, opened September 13 at the Ukrainian Home for a close circle of friends and going public the following day. Second, it is the appearance of the book Ukraine Incognita. We are especially proud to announce the event, believing that we have accomplished something important. We had on more than one occasion heard from our readers that they make clippings of the Den’/The Day, being interested in historical subjects. And so we decided to make things easier for all those interested in our views on national history. Ukraine Incognita offers our best publications (See more on page DAY AFTER DAY). Far from all newspapers would risk compiling their articles in a single edition, because time tends to come up with dangerous exposes. We have nothing to worry about because we believe that we have chosen the right angle to look at our history. We wanted to make Ukrainian heroes present in our life. Even if we have problems finding moral bearings in our society, the reason must be that some of the actual personae often do not measure up to historical figures. Anyway, we sought historical heroes to feature their life stories and through them to show what problems existed at the time, how they were resolved, what mistakes were made, and what happened afterward. We hope that Ukraine Incognita will make this country more cognizable for both foreigners and our fellow countrymen.

We do not overstate the importance of this publication, and nor do we underestimate it. It is very difficult to uphold such traditions in journalism. Quite a few are prepare to act heroically on the spur of the moment, yet working on something painstakingly, for years on end, proves a much harder task. We further believe that Ukrainian traditions need some modernizing. Against what we have preserved and about which we have every reason to feel proud, we must instill in ourselves a meticulous approach to, and respect for, high standards. And we must adhere to them on a permanent basis, rather than off and on. We see our main task in this. There must be no excuses, like we didn’t know, no one told us — incidentally, an attitude adopted by most our politicians. Therefore, no alibi!