 New Year Greetings
February 1, 2009
This is very late for secular New Year and a bit late for Lunar New Year, but I want to issue my first formal greeting as your new Co-President for 2009. With so much activity going on in January with the Inauguration of President Barack Obama and the celebrations of the Lunar New Year, our community has been very engaged and consequently, I have not taken the time and effort to tend to this matter of speaking to our OCA-DC membership. So, I issue a warm “Hello” to all and state that I am looking forward to leading our chapter along with Co-President Stan Tsai in 2009!
The events surrounding the Inauguration and the Lunar New Year of the Ox have given the air that we have hope and confidence that we will be able to overcome these troubled times. Many of us seem to be saying that if we work hard, watch out for those who are disadvantaged, and make self-sacrifices, our world will become a better place in which we can live happily. I sense that no one wants to keep on looking back and try to assess blame for our past failures, but that we want to embrace “change” that will benefit us all to have a better quality of life. We want to break the selfish and harmful patterns that have done harm to our world and adopt better ways to live and serve.
This is the tone in which I wish that our chapter will conduct itself. I’m not unhappy with how our chapter and our national center have conducted business in the past. In fact, I joined OCA because of what the organization has accomplished and has stood for. At the recent National Board meeting, there were some expressions of dissatisfaction and frustrations that OCA has not been more vocal and visible in its advocacy for issues that affect the Asian American community. I agree that OCA should always be present and represented in advocacies for social justice in our community. However, we can strive for social justice in many other ways than in fighting civil rights issues, which are typically high-profile and bring attention. Our mission in “advancing the social, political, and economic well being” of our community also involves promotion of civic participation, education, and leadership, advancement of community building, and fostering cultural heritage. I submit that there is much we can do in order to remain as a high-profile organization in the Asian American community. There is no magic formula that we can follow to become a more effective and more meaningful organization. I think the first thing we should consider as we look for issues to address is to question whether our actions will benefit our community and advance our status in the American culture.
These considerations are foremost in my own journey to serve. As I view the place of our local Asian American community, I see that Health Care is an immediate area in which we can help. The older members of the community need to be given more care and attention in this area. This was highlighted at the Health Fair that chapter members from the medical field conducted last summer at the National Convention. Of course, there are many other areas in which we can provide our service. I will plan to discuss these as I write on our blog on our website. I invite you to join me in these discussions on the blog and in personal contacts.
I’m looking forward to an interesting and productive year.
Stan Lou
OCA-DC Co-president
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