Sunday, March 14, 2010

Granny D: The near-perfect life

When Doris Haddock--better known as "Granny D"--died March 9, this country lost the epitome of an activist, a lady, and...really...the epitome of what the American Dream should be.

She was 100 years old when she died, which is a feat in and of itself; she ran for the U.S. Senate; she had a husband, several kids, and an abundance of great-grandchildren; and most notably, she trekked 3,200 miles across the country fighting against the grossly undemocratic corporate financing of political campaigns.

Her life, in a nutshell, encompassed everything that a wide-eyed, free-speech-loving, equal-rights supporting activist looks to accomplish. She completed the tasks that so many people want to do, yet so many people never get to doing.

The Supreme Court's January reversal of exactly what Granny D was fighting against certainly stung for her and regular citizens everywhere. But does that make her legendary walk and unwavering fights all for naught? Absolutely not.

Instead, it should motivate us to the point to up the ante, to challenge a terribly misguided Supreme Court decision, to disregard politicians who will soon take advantage of the never-ending corporate pocketbooks, to fight against other blatant social injustices, to realize that the by-products of our actions can have huge implications.

Here's to you, Granny D, that we all continue to fight the good fight, whatever those fights happen to be for each of us.