Re “The Great Divide”, The New Pathway, page 7, Issue 47, Dec. 6, 2012

I have taken issue with the latest issue from Volodymyr Kish: www.infoukes.com/newpathway/47-2012-Page-7-1.html.

In it, Mr. Kish falsely asserts that "you will find yourself forced to choose which side you are on. This will apply to almost every aspect of your life – politics, religion, marriage, traditions, cooking, you name it."

Later, Mr. Kish makes an offending claim that Catholics are less intelligent, informed and Ukrainian: ‘Despite the fact that Poland no longer rules any part of Ukraine, most of these Catholics have chosen to remain Catholic, despite the fact that few if any of them have any understanding of the Union of Brest of 1596 that coerced their ancestors to swear allegiance to the Pope in Rome. How can someone make the claim that out of an entire religious group of millions, none of them understand their faith?

Why does this type of xenophobic rhetoric even get published and represent our community? It contributes nothing and perpetuates the kind of divisibility the article presents but ironically fails to learn from its own teachings. "An unfortunate consequence of this arcane historical feud has been that it has succeeded in alienating succeeding generations of young Ukrainians who see little purpose or relevance to the prolongation of this obsolete political conflict."

It reflects poorly on our community to have these petty squabbles in our newspapers. I was also rather disappointed that there was no kind of logical conclusion that is the norm with most writing of even mediocre quality. Ukrainians, while varied, have pulled together to get their independence, recognized the Holodomor, and started the Orange Revolution, but from reading the article you’d think the community is still stuck in the decades-old feuds from the outdated anecdotes the author provides.

Andrew UkrCdn - Toronto ON

What a great article by Mr. Kish. He mixes historical facts with the national characteristics of Ukrainians and makes them look and laugh at themselves. Hopefully, this will all change one day because we all love and want the same thing, a democratic Ukraine with a government working for it. Iris Sopinka – Etobicoke, Ont.