Link to Part 1: https://rusynsociety.com/2021/02/10/challenges-from-globalization-to-the-rusyn-people/
In the 21st century, despite massive gains in the resurrecting of culture among Rusyns in the homeland, there has been a distinct lack of living cultural development in the diaspora within Western Europe and North America. The Rusyn diaspora in general suffers from an overall inability to meet fellow Rusyns who deeply share their cultural identity and truly live as Rusyns in their daily life. Within an average member of our diaspora’s life, it is common for them to only meet a handful of other diaspora Rusyns. When they do, they usually find that most of them have become fully westernized, with the only identifiable Rusyn aspect being at best their Eastern Christian faith & family name.
This lack of real-life interactions with others of the same heritage is a distinct challenge in the diaspora where finding a Rusyn outside of traditional ethnic centers (former mining and industrial sectors of the eastern half of North America) can be next to impossible. With this, finding someone who truly cares about their culture is an even more remote possibility.
In traditional Rusyn communities within the diaspora, the majority of Rusyn neighborhoods found within urban areas have been completely destroyed through the exodus of its members within these neighborhoods to other areas of the city. In addition to this, like the Rusyns in the homeland, there is a high rate of internal migration within the United States to places such as the southern half of the country for various economic, social, and political reasons. This internal migration of Rusyns from their traditional diaspora centers will continue for the foreseeable future due to the deteriorating economic conditions of the Northeastern United States. Culture is learned primarily through a shared homogenous community, and Rusyns within the diaspora are oftentimes relegated to culture found in books, movies, and films instead of living out their culture in daily life. Within the diaspora, this has been one of the primary reasons for the lack of cultural development in Rusyn culture and, if not properly addressed immediately, will result in the culture of the diaspora being relegated to a relic in a museum instead of a living, burning tradition.
In the daily lives of the majority of Rusyns, there is little that can be seen externally that would distinguish them from the rest of the population both in the homeland and outside of it. This can be first seen with the globalization of the clothes worn by Rusyns, which are no different from anybody else in the western world. Instead of incorporating an aspect of folk dress into their everyday wardrobes (hat, shirt, pants, scarf, etc.), Rusyns only wear their traditional folk clothes that mark them as Rusyns on special occasions such as a folk festival, wedding, or other events. In the majority of Rusyn homes, the inside and exterior of the home has become fully globalized, with little to no indication that a Rusyn resides within it.
On the outside of Rusyn houses (generally), specific aspects of Rusyn architecture have not been incorporated, and instead, people have adopted the cheapest, most modern utilitarian external styles possible that are devoid of all beauty. Within the homes of Rusyns, seldom is seen to varying degrees traditional paintings on the walls, traditional tablecloths, Rusyn wood furniture, Rusyn symbols such as the rosette on crossbeams, and in the case of secularized Rusyns, no icon corner. Within the homeland, there are few efforts by local governments to preserve distinctive Rusyn architecture outside of folk museums. Because of economic necessity & convenience, people in our community are forced to make their homes modernized and have lost a key element of the Rusyn culture that can be enjoyed in daily life.
The next challenge to the Rusyn people caused by globalization that will be analyzed is the challenge posed by technology since the 21st century. In the era of globalization, the dominance of technology has shaped every aspect of a Rusyns life. As shown in the past ten years with an explosion in technology addiction by the majority of Rusyns in the homeland and in the diaspora. It is of course not uncommon to any other community with access to these new devices to have these same issues. This has resulted in what can be dubbed “technology zombies” who are distracted in every aspect of their life because of these strong new addictions. This phenomenon manifests itself in multiple ways with “zombie Rusyns,” who, for example, are not able to communicate to one another properly in a real-life conversation because of being constantly distracted by their smartphones.
Another example of the negative effect of technology can be seen with Rusyns engaging in vital aspects of Rusyn entertainment culture significantly less than in historical times. Technology addicted Rusyns spend their free and idle time engrossed in binge-watching television shows, participating in various forms of social media, and in multiple other modern entertainment outlets. Next to no free time is spent by “zombified” Rusyns in reading Rusyn literature, learning how to play music and other traditional pre-modern forms of entertainment that are rooted in Rusyn culture. Like within our homes, the flame that keeps the Rusyn culture alive such as our traditional music, is increasingly relegated to museums, festivals, and YouTube videos in the 21st century.
In conclusion, there are numerous challenges that globalization has posed in the 21st century for the Rusyn community, which if not properly tackled, will cause this already small ethnic culture to vanish within the next few generations. The negatives associated with globalization have impacted to varying degrees the Rusyn homeland and diaspora, who thus far have not fully understood the threat posed by this new force. It is my hope that through these articles a higher understanding of this threat has been achieved so that proper, practical solutions can be formulated to address these problems.
In the near future I will write another multi-part article on practical solutions to each of the challenges mentioned within these past two writings. It is my hope that these proposed solutions will inspire the Rusyn community throughout the world into taking concrete steps in fighting against the negative effects of globalization. As well as taking advantage of opportunities that globalization has brought to the Rusyn community, which has the potential for a deep cultural revival throughout the world.