(Part II of III Series)
“THE lesson [my mother] passed on to me, years later, stuck with me: No one gets through life alone. We have to look out for each other and lift each other up. And she made sure I learned the words from our Methodist faith: Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can as long as ever you can.”– Hillary Clinton, July 28, 2016
The decades-old style of media is to look for what is sexy, what is glamorous and what sizzles in Hillary Clinton’s public service record. They end up with zero. They then resort to its opposite: to find what is scandalous, sensational and embarrassing. In 20+ years, the media are so off that the true self of Hillary Clinton in public service has yet to be shared, with full measure of respect.
If there was respect for her, they would find that she is a behind the scenes leader, who negotiates to help out American families, like 8 million uninsured children with health care insurance benefits.
Is there glamour in doing her work? Perhaps not, as it is not about a fashion show or a beauty pageant, yet that policy action of then-Senator Clinton benefited millions of healthier children to go to school and to grow up as young adults, possibly bound for college.
To the small business owners with payroll to meet, let’s say for their 30+employees with suppliers and vendors to pay, health care insurance is an unwelcome business expense.
So when Hillary Clinton addressed a group of small business owners in Florida, and declared her aspiration, “I want to be the best Small Business President,” two business owners were whispering to have their own private discussions.
I imagined them saying, “would she really help in bringing down our own health care premiums?
While that is speculative, former President Bill Clinton would have a quick, clear answer: “Watch her as she helps make the situation better. It is really what Hillary is about all her life.”
Example, when Hillary Clinton was senator of New York, she found out that survivor benefits for first responders who rescued folks in 9/11 got $12,000, which was barely enough to start a new life for their families as mostly going for funeral expenses. Senator Clinton met with Pres. G.W. Bush and got those survivor benefits increased to $100,000.
James Grissom is a part-time employee of Metropolitan Museum of Art. He had bladder cancer in 2007 with no insurance or savings. His urologist referred him to Planned Parenthood, which then referred him to an oncologist. To get discounted rates, his oncologist classified him as a family member. The hospital got more aggressive in collecting payments and referred him to a collection agency and then, legal action.
When he contacted then Senator Hillary Clinton, he spoke to her personally and she said, “You did not enter a credit agreement with that hospital,” she told me, “So I cannot fathom why they are pursuing you as if you did. In addition, the state of New York and the federal government aid that hospital, so they are way out of line. You need to fight this cancer and get well: You don’t have time for this nonsense. Let me look into it.”
Within a week, collection calls stopped and within a month, Hillary Clinton had put him in touch with two organizations that gave financial support to cancer patients. These organizations paid half of his debt, and within 18 months, James Grissom had zeroed out his balance and paid off his debt, while collections calls stopped, according to his face book post.
Contrast that to the book written by David Cay Johnston (Pulitzer Prize winner) on Donald Trump, one who discovered that Trump, the candidate, cut off his sickly nephew’s insurance.
Literally, night and day, between these two presidential candidates.
One is with us from morning till night while another keeps us frozen at midnight, unable to provide for the care of our loved ones, frozen in fear and darkness.
History-making Hillary Rodham Clinton
In life, there are history-markers, who created history and continue to become our markers, guiding us where to go. They are the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Grace Lee Boggs, Dorothy Rodham, Dolores Huerta, and even Hillary Clinton. We learn about grace, grit and determination.
Yet, some are history makers, like Hillary Clinton, who seeks to be the first US female President, after serving as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama’s tenure.
Imagine what it took for her to get over her election battle scars, following a brutal loss to President Barack Obama?
Then, to turn around to accept this appointment, she visited 112 countries to open up and solidify relationships, from a once world-shunned America, because Pres. George W. Bush declared war against Iraq, under the pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction.
Hillary’s million air miles of travel must have been fueled by a very deep love of America, setting aside her self-interests, and chose to be uncomfortable, to risk failures, while working harder for diplomacy and worldwide peace.
“Do we know how to exercise our vote to benefit our families?”
To some, including myself at times, we are satisfied as history watchers and to stay in our comfort zone, to simply applaud the winners in elections.
We defer to the parish priest or evangelical pastor to choose whom to vote. We at times make them fill up a list of candidates and we blindly take that paper and cast a vote, which does not align with our values as a family and community.
We forget separating our civic and municipal lives from church affairs.
We look for a candidate who is pro-life and we look no further while we choose the party with millionaires,
thinking we too can become future millionaires. So we miscalculate and we end up being conservative voters, voting against the interests of our families.
We presume millionaires’ millions will rob off on us, and we want to be seen in “rich-sponsored events.” We justify it as making our faith primary and therefore God predetermines our choice s.
But, does God determine our choices? If indeed He does, do we choose our family’s welfare and provide them, national leaders who will represent our community voices?
Do we conduct due diligence and use our free will in favor of candidates who respect our communities and a president who sees clearly what policies and services we need to grow our community: support for our small businesses (2/3 of the American economy are small businesses), affordable health care insurance services, lower prices for prescription medications, better quality of education for our children and even a sustainable quality of life from retirement for our elders , gun safety measures, climate change reversal, police reforms and more robust cultural and musical programs, workers’ training and apprentice programs, and immigration reforms to reunite us with our families?
Do we inform ourselves to look at candidates’ track records and educate ourselves as to who best represents our values?
Do we educate ourselves on how to vote for the right candidate who cares to work on shared prosperity, with special emphasis on schools and education.
“Marian Seldes always reminded me that it takes only one person to say yes and to change your life. Marian also urged me–and others–to be that person who says yes to others. To open doors; give hope; find answers; offer aid. So many people have said yes to me, and I feel it is a moral obligation to honor and remember them, and to emulate them. Hillary Clinton said yes to me almost ten years ago, and came to my aid. I am not the only one, as I am learning every day. I was guilty of soft sexism when I worried about Hillary walking the same dark streets of slander and innuendo, and I felt it was gentlemanly of me to want to spare her the danger. I realize now that a true gentleman doesn’t relegate a woman to a safer place: He walks the dangerous, dark streets with her. So I’m walking with Hillary and saying yes. Come along and light the way. The stories are good, and you’ll be saying yes to a better America.” – James Grissom
Hillary Clinton is that person who says yes. Because she keeps saying yes to our needs, she end s up being great to those family survivors of 9/11, or to James Grisson’ s precious eyes.
Come Nov. 8, let us make it a landslide victory for the candidate who says yes to your needs and reflects our hearts and minds and not the candidate who impugns us as coming from a terrorist nation.
Footnote: To Asian Journal readers, my DNC Chronicles will be a three-part series of articles, inspired by my very first attendance of a political convention in the U.S. As a Filipina immigrant — born to a teacher and a labor government employee who was orphaned during WWII — who came to America with just $200 in her pocket, I was grateful to attend as one of the writers for the Asian Journal team, only one of the two specialty media outlets credentialed to represent Filipino Americans.
I have not thought of this as remotely possible, yet, here I am, now a grandmother who experienced her very first Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia from July 25-28, 2016. Thank you, America!
* * *
Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 9 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.