I know politicians are often looked down upon, but Illinois had a politician I truly loved. Believe it or not we had somebody better than Blagojevich or before him, Ryan.
His name was Paul Simon and he was our senator. I always voted for him until he retired and became a professor at Southern Illinois University. He was known for his horned rimmed glasses, bow tie and honesty. We lost him much too soon. I wish all politicians would use him as a role model.
When Jon graduated from the University of Illinois, Paul Simon was their commencement speaker.
The first thing I remember was him admonishing the Board of Trustees for continuing to use Chief Illiniwek as the mascot for the University of Illinois. I'm proud to say my son was one of the few strongly pushing to retire the dancing chief. Mr. Simon told the Board that if one Native American felt it was denigrating to have a person dressed in a Native American costume as a mascot, it needed to stop. He spoke eloquently of prejudice, respect and understanding.
Mr. Simon went on to say that he wanted all those students who weren't wearing the special achievement sashes across their chests to know that they would be the real movers and shakers of our country.
Then he advised them all to go out into the world and meet people in other countries. Everything they would do representing the U.S. would influence how people would feel about our country. Traveling would also enable them to grow and be all they could be.
His words struck such a chord in me that I e-mailed to tell him how wonderful, how perfect his speech was.
A few days later, I was surprised to get a message from his secretary asking me for my snail-mail address because he preferred to write me a letter rather than e-mail.
I received the following letter from him and have cherished it ever since.
His name was Paul Simon and he was our senator. I always voted for him until he retired and became a professor at Southern Illinois University. He was known for his horned rimmed glasses, bow tie and honesty. We lost him much too soon. I wish all politicians would use him as a role model.
When Jon graduated from the University of Illinois, Paul Simon was their commencement speaker.
The first thing I remember was him admonishing the Board of Trustees for continuing to use Chief Illiniwek as the mascot for the University of Illinois. I'm proud to say my son was one of the few strongly pushing to retire the dancing chief. Mr. Simon told the Board that if one Native American felt it was denigrating to have a person dressed in a Native American costume as a mascot, it needed to stop. He spoke eloquently of prejudice, respect and understanding.
Mr. Simon went on to say that he wanted all those students who weren't wearing the special achievement sashes across their chests to know that they would be the real movers and shakers of our country.
Then he advised them all to go out into the world and meet people in other countries. Everything they would do representing the U.S. would influence how people would feel about our country. Traveling would also enable them to grow and be all they could be.
His words struck such a chord in me that I e-mailed to tell him how wonderful, how perfect his speech was.
A few days later, I was surprised to get a message from his secretary asking me for my snail-mail address because he preferred to write me a letter rather than e-mail.
I received the following letter from him and have cherished it ever since.
So! A boy whose father taught him well became a man who taught us well.
ReplyDeleteYou were good to write him, Kay.
There are too few people like him. I hope all the young people (and their parents) with whom he came in contact have managed to spread his message.
ReplyDeletewhat a good man...we do need more like him!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I remember him. I went to our local caucus trying to support him as our Democratic presidential candidate. He didn't win the nomination, and I don't know if he would have made a great political leader, but I knew he had the makings of a great man. I followed news about him, and was sad to here of his early death.
ReplyDeleteYour letter is a true treasure.
What a wonderful post and tribute to such an incredible man/politician! There certainly aren't many of those and unfortunately there has never been many -- somewhere along the way to gaining public office they lose sight of what is right and good for their constituents and the country. And what a wonderful letter you received -- and that, too, is unusual for a politician! Hope you and Art and your Mom have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
You're right, Kay, some politicians are to be admired, and this sounds like a good man indeed.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the story he tells of his father. I know there were too few people speaking up about the way the US and Canada treated our citizens who had come from Japan. In British Columbia, where I grew up, families were uprooted from their homes on the coast and sent to live in the interior so they couldn't signal the Japanese Navy, or some such fabricated nonsense.
As a result of this outrageous behavior on the part of the Canadian government, I went to school in the BC interior with many young people of Japanese descent.
Of course, as children, we didn't know the story of what happened in WWII, but as soon as we were old enough to understand, our dad told us what had been done to our friends' parents. We were appalled. The government took away their land? Their homes? How could that be?
Dreadful things happen during times of war, and too few people protest it. Your Illinois senator and his father represent the "good guys" and, by keeping their story alive, so do you, my friend.
-- Kay, Alberta
What was his stance on the Vietnam War? Was he in favor of it?
ReplyDeleteI remember Paul Simon, too, and his signature bow tie.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the Japanese in California was appalling. All traces of the once thriving Japanese community in San Francisco disappeared. Some people came back after the war. I heard stories from people I worked with in a car dealership and at a hospital from an R.N. They had been in the camps. They were remarkably forgiving, I thought. Paul Simon was a great man, and I'm glad you posted this.
Gigi: I'm sorry, but I don't really know how he stood on the Vietnam war. I couldn't find anything about it on the web either.
ReplyDeleteEverybody: It's interesting that he wrote about the Internment issue just by seeing my name. I didn't mention that past in my letter to him.
If only more politicians were like Paul Simon. At first I thought you meant the singer.
ReplyDeleteI remember Paul Simon, but didn't know much about him. I learned some new things here, all very interesting. He sounds like a man to be admired.
ReplyDeleteWonderful to know about such a nice man through your post .Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful letter he wrote to you, Kay. At first I thought his response was going to be of the cookie cutter variety, but then I read on....He does sound like an outstanding American.
ReplyDeletePaul Simon. I had forgotten all about him. I would never have recognized him from just his name. But the photo added the dimension I do remember. I saw him now and then on television but no longer remember anything about the events. I don't know much about him but after reading your post I have learned a lot more.
ReplyDelete