Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A TALE OF TWO CONVENTIONS: The Past and the Future (1)

Gee, why didn't I think of that?

byDave in AZFollowforBaja Arizona Kossacks

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It was a simple line in the Democratic National Convention Keynote address by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. But for me it really defines the difference between Mitt Romney and the Democratic Party. Mr. Castro was referring to remarks Romney made at a university in Ohio, urging students to "start a business". "But how?", one student asked. "Borrow money from your parents if you have to", Romney told them. That's when Julian said, shaking his head and smiling broadly said "Gee, why didn't I think of that?". Smiling, because he and his twin brother Joaquin were raised by their grandmother and mother, who had no money to loan him. "My grandmother never owned a house," Julian explained. "She cleaned other people's houses so she could afford to rent her own. But she saw her daughter become the first in her family to graduate from college. And my mother fought hard for civil rights so that instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone". Shaking his head because Willard M. Romney doesn't get that.

A son of privilege, Romney went to private schools and never had to worry about excelling and outperforming his classmates so he could get a scholarship enabling him to attend Stanford like Julian and Joaquin did. Romney's dad paid his tuition. There's certainly nothing wrong with that - George Romney earned his money and can spend it anyway he wanted. And, as most parents do, he no doubt wanted to help his son in any way he could so that he could be successful and have a better life than he did. As Julian explained: "Some people are lucky enough to borrow money from their parents, but that shouldn't determine whether you can pursue your dreams. Not in America. Not in the 21st century". His mother and grandmother wanted Julian and his brother to be successful and have a better life then them, the same as George Romney wanted for his children. What they had to give was this:

"When I think about the challenges in front us, I think about the importance of teachers who can inspire you, the individual difference that they can make in the classroom, the beauty and the strength of a parent who loves his or her child, and is committed enough to stay involved in their education, and make a difference in it.  And the importance of a child who has aspirations — they see the stars and they want to reach them."

The product of a middle class family, I didn't have it nearly as tough as Julian and his brother, but I can relate to their story. My father was one of 7 brothers and sisters orphaned in the midst of the Great Depression. He never got to pursue his dream of a college education, but took correspondence schooling and night classes and was able to work his way up to a position as a mechanical design engineer in the aerospace industry. As a parent his new dream was that each of his three children would have what he couldn't have - a college education. He put my brother and sister through college, and both are very successful. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school and decided to work for a while. When I finally figured out what I wanted, it was something my father couldn't give me. I wanted a degree in Hotel Management, and I wanted a degree from the premier school for that - the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. My father said he would try to help, and a I politely told him no, he wouldn't - I would do it. Tuition was far too expensive, and my father was seriously ill from throat cancer; he needed that money. I wasn't the most stellar student in high school, so first I went to Community College for a year and got straight A's. I worked as a waiter in a restaurant to pay for it. Then I applied to Cornell, and was granted a very generous scholarship. The letter of acceptance from Cornell arrived just a month or so before my father passed away, with me at his side holding his hand. But he died knowing his dream would be fulfilled - all three of his children would have a college education.

The scholarship coupled with student loans and Pell Grants enabled me to earn my Bachelor's Degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University. But, I didn't "build that". The generosity of Cornell alumni who went before me, contributing to the scholarship endowment fund helped me build that. The United States Government, through grants and low interest student loans helped me build that. The drive and determination to succeed that was instilled in me by my father and mother helped me build that. We all built that,together.

What defines us as Democrats? I think Julian Castro said it best last night:

"We know that in our free market economy some will prosper more than others.What we don't accept is the idea that some folks won't even get a chance. We all understand that freedom isn't free. What Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan don't understand is that neither is opportunity. We have to invest in it."

Gee, Mitt - why didn't you think of that?

On Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 8:01 AM, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com> wrote:

"What we don't accept is the idea that some folks won't even get a chance, and the thing is, Mitt Romney and the Republican Party are perfectly comfortable with that America. In fact, that's exactly what they're promising us."

---Mayor Julian Castro (at the DNC last night)

Very well said. The Republicans are all about the end-justifies-the-means capitalist ascent; survival of the fittest (and the connected and historically privileged); unbridled individualism; and pull-yourself-up-by-your-own bootstraps (even if you don't have bootstraps) claptrap. They should be called out more on their BS.

On Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 2:52 AM, Kennedy Emetulu <kemetulu@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

..

 

A TALE OF TWO CONVENTIONS: The Past and the Future (1)

 

It's only the first day of the Democratic Party Convention, but you don't have to be a partisan to see the difference between the future that is Charlotte and the past that was Tampa. The intelligence, diversity, communitarianism and the authentic exhibition of what America is and what it should be compared to the vacuous, isolationist and horrible show of selfish overindulgence that masqueraded as statements of public policy in Tampa clearly provides Americans a stark choice of what type of future they want. We all know what transpired in the truth-challenged zone that was the Republican Convention. We all listened to Mr Ryan lie through his teeth shamelessly while his boss, Mr Romney with pretend meekness stripped his proposed policies of all human values, even as he was long on speechifying and short on specifics….

 

But what America is seeing at the Democratic Convention is a teachable moment. Barack and Michelle Obama are showing America true African values of love, sacrifice, altruism, nobility and community service. They are telling America that capitalism, free trade and private enterprise do not have to be expressed as survival of the fittest run on the piratical code of winner takes all. None of these, individually or collectively, mutually excludes social justice. Myopic people and partisans can continue repeating the Republican talking points and paint Barack Obama like some failed president, but those who really know what he has achieved and what is at stake in this election for America and the world would work and pray for him to be re-elected.

 

For those of you that can vote, make sure to do so. Pound the pavements, knock the doors, convince colleagues and make sure to return that man to that seat! Do not let the bitterly energized Republicans return us all to the Middle Ages! Contribute financially to the Obama's campaign and make sure to help bring out the vote! Contribute to the campaign, because Big Oil, Big Business and Big Money are bent on humiliating him out of office, as he won't compromise with them in their quest to buy up America in order to impose their rotten values on her and through her to the rest of the world! He is truly the last man standing and he is ready, able and willing to face them down! They have amassed obscene money behind the predatory Romney campaign for this purpose, but you the contributors and voters can stop them! This election is no less historical than 2008, because the very future of our world depends on it!

 

 

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There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.


---Mohandas Gandhi

--
There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.


---Mohandas Gandhi

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