| Editor's Corner Over a cup of tea |
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| Things important |
| Recently, the Madison community lost three community leaders: Mike McKinney, Paul Jacobi, and Ry Mang. They belonged to different communities -- a "segregation" dictated either by one's culture, language, nationality, race, belief, interests, or lifestyle. They probably never even saw each other in person. But there was one special thing common to all three of them: they truly loved and cared for others. They advocated for others deeply; worked for others' welfare without asking for anything in return; an helped make Madison truly a better place for ALL. Sadly, their lives were cut short by the same illness: cancer. Mike McKinney, an African American, was NBC 15's 10 p.m. news anchor, whose baritone voice and infectious smile charmed us all. I liked and respected him a lot, not because of his paid work, but because of his volunteer community wok: collecting food through Share Your Holidays, emceeing nonprofit events, and raising funds through the AIDS Ride. Paul Jacobi, a Euro-American, was a former Catholic priest who later became a social activist as a member of the local Baha'i community. He promoted interfaith understanding, mentored K-6 children in the region, and volunteered for many years at HospiceCare. Among the many activities he had initiated, the Race Unity Rally at the State Capitol said it all. Ry Mang, a Cambodian American, escaped the Khmer Rouge regime in the '70s and sought refuge in the U.S. in the early '80s. Instead of pursuing the American Dream for himself alone, he worked hard to help other Cambodians pursue it, too. Mang was well known for his leadership in organizing Cambodians to buy land in Oregon, Wis. and construct a Buddhist Temple on it. He was deeply connected to his original country, volunteering to advocate for its freedom and democracy. McKinney, Jacobi, and Mang. All three showed us what things are really important in this life. They crossed all man-made boundaries that separated one from another. There was no criterion; there was no rule; there was no exception. They never looked at people with discerning eyes. They never judged them. They just did what was just and right -- the essence of love in its purest sense. In my eight years in Madison, I have met a lot of people, ALL colors, who are exact opposites. Racial or other forms of segregation doesn't really mean a thing. You have to look farther within. No amount of self-promotion can put one ahead of another in the eye of his/her Creator. In the final analysis, we can only be "segregated" not by our physical, cultural, racial, religious, or whatever differences, but by how we spent our lives to truly benefit others. I learned things important in my life through the lives led by Mike, Paul, and Ry. All three belonged together; and their "segregation" from others was not even intentional. It was natural. |
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| Heidi M. Pascual* |
------------------------------------- * 2006 Journalist of Year for the State of Wisconsin (U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA]) |