There is a rally for Wisconsin’s workers this week in Philly. Please join labor and other organizations including Penn ACTION to stand up for labor on Thursday 2/24/11 @ 11:30 PM at Thomas Paine Plaza in front of the Municipal Services Building across from Philadelphia City Hall.
I won’t be there because my father died on Sunday and i’m with my family in upstate New York. But I’ve been thinking about how much my father benefited from public services that are now under attack and how much he was able to contribute to the public good because of those benefits.
My father was able to go to college and law school because of the GI Bill. That education made it possible for him to provide for his family and also to dedicate himself to working with community organizations that built a regional hospital and a synagogue / community center.
He was a part-time and extremely dedicated public employee for most of his adult life. His work as a judge helped people who had made mistakes turn their lives around and protected the community from both dangerous people and, also, from the occassional over-zealous police officer. His work as a lawyer for our county helped create a community college.
He retired with a good, but not extravagant pension, which Social Security supplemented. He received the best possible medical care during his illness because of Medicare.
My father’s life is a testimony to how communal provision makes us all stronger by giving people opportunities they would not otherwise have and by enabling them to live their lives focused on something more than their own wealth and power.
I may not be with you all on Thursday in Philadelphia. But I’ll be with you in spirit. And so will my dad.