Senator Ted Kennedy’s life as the liberal lion from the US Northeast proved to me that what seemed impossible, if not ironic, can actually be done in American society: championing progressive causes to benefit the common man and the working class.
Having been born and raised in the Third World, I was swamped, along with my generation, with primetime news about protests against “US imperialism” to the extent that such political actions became permanent street fixtures nobody cared about them anymore.
But the constant bombardment in our brains of that image of America made us think that being an “activist”, Philippine-style, in the US, is an oxymoron. This thought also made me question that can the land of the free and the home of the brave be really a place where all politicians are self-centered right-winger conservative bigots out to dominate the world? I mean, by God, considering America’s power and might, then we are indeed in deep s__t.
Fortunately, being exposed to different aspects of American politics, and society in genera,l as a union organizer and representative over these years rectified my generation’s wrong impression. There could really be, after all, a Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy and a few like him (however, he was primus interpares, first among equals, I would say) who are sincerely and genuinely fighting for what can be construed solely as a leftist agenda: higher minimum wages, immigration rights, education, equal employment opportunities, and of course, health care reform.
The issues he espoused may perhaps be seen only as a “leftist liberal cause’ to critics but beyond name labeling, these issues resonate with the underprivileged and are among the most important debates in today’s American society and the country can not move forward without confronting them head-on.
Ted Kennedy, like his brothers JFK and Bobby before him, gave Americans and the world the hope that some giants in US politics still really care about the small man on the street; that a few bigwigs in DC can not sleep at night when 50 million Americans, in the richest country in the world, are without health insurance; that some superstars in Capitol Hill think about how unions can improve workers’ lives; that some in the moneyed elite of American society are genuinely concerned about how minimum wages actually translate to food on the table; that there are a few good men like the Kennedys who give a damn about the welfare of the masses.
Tell me if that is not ironic especially if Senator Ted could have chosen a life of leisure but instead opted for public service. Replicating this in Philippine society, except perhaps with the exception of Cory Aquino, will probably remain a dream for decades.
I do not know Ted Kennedy nor ever even saw him. All I knew is that he was always at the forefront of the people’s struggles, especially health care reform that is also being pushed strongly by our union, the Service Employees International Union, the largest union in the US so far. But learning about his life indeed proved that progressive ideas and actions have a place and can flourish in the land of the free and home of the brave. That the market of ideas would not have as much difficulty prospering in the US as in the Philippines where people get shot if their ideology is different from the others. Perhaps Joma and his communist comrades and minions, including their front organizations that pretend to be people’s groups, can take cue from Ted Kennedy’s life.
It is even an insult to compare the great Ted to the psycho in the Netherlands but if only to put a stop to the violence Joma, et. Al espouses in their quest for seizing and capturing political power (I have a flash for these communists: It ain’t happening), it is really helpful to reflect on the fights Senator Ted carried out. And he made America and Americans and perhaps the world a lot better without Philippine-style bloodshed.
Having been born and raised in the Third World, I was swamped, along with my generation, with primetime news about protests against “US imperialism” to the extent that such political actions became permanent street fixtures nobody cared about them anymore.
But the constant bombardment in our brains of that image of America made us think that being an “activist”, Philippine-style, in the US, is an oxymoron. This thought also made me question that can the land of the free and the home of the brave be really a place where all politicians are self-centered right-winger conservative bigots out to dominate the world? I mean, by God, considering America’s power and might, then we are indeed in deep s__t.
Fortunately, being exposed to different aspects of American politics, and society in genera,l as a union organizer and representative over these years rectified my generation’s wrong impression. There could really be, after all, a Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy and a few like him (however, he was primus interpares, first among equals, I would say) who are sincerely and genuinely fighting for what can be construed solely as a leftist agenda: higher minimum wages, immigration rights, education, equal employment opportunities, and of course, health care reform.
The issues he espoused may perhaps be seen only as a “leftist liberal cause’ to critics but beyond name labeling, these issues resonate with the underprivileged and are among the most important debates in today’s American society and the country can not move forward without confronting them head-on.
Ted Kennedy, like his brothers JFK and Bobby before him, gave Americans and the world the hope that some giants in US politics still really care about the small man on the street; that a few bigwigs in DC can not sleep at night when 50 million Americans, in the richest country in the world, are without health insurance; that some superstars in Capitol Hill think about how unions can improve workers’ lives; that some in the moneyed elite of American society are genuinely concerned about how minimum wages actually translate to food on the table; that there are a few good men like the Kennedys who give a damn about the welfare of the masses.
Tell me if that is not ironic especially if Senator Ted could have chosen a life of leisure but instead opted for public service. Replicating this in Philippine society, except perhaps with the exception of Cory Aquino, will probably remain a dream for decades.
I do not know Ted Kennedy nor ever even saw him. All I knew is that he was always at the forefront of the people’s struggles, especially health care reform that is also being pushed strongly by our union, the Service Employees International Union, the largest union in the US so far. But learning about his life indeed proved that progressive ideas and actions have a place and can flourish in the land of the free and home of the brave. That the market of ideas would not have as much difficulty prospering in the US as in the Philippines where people get shot if their ideology is different from the others. Perhaps Joma and his communist comrades and minions, including their front organizations that pretend to be people’s groups, can take cue from Ted Kennedy’s life.
It is even an insult to compare the great Ted to the psycho in the Netherlands but if only to put a stop to the violence Joma, et. Al espouses in their quest for seizing and capturing political power (I have a flash for these communists: It ain’t happening), it is really helpful to reflect on the fights Senator Ted carried out. And he made America and Americans and perhaps the world a lot better without Philippine-style bloodshed.
