Ciro Rodriguez; small origins, big future

•by Leilani McClure 

 

The Honorable Ciro D. Rodriguez, U.S. Congressman representing the 23^rd District of Texas in Washington, D.C., was in Uvalde, Texas, May 12, 2007, for the 60^th Annual Southwest Texas Junior College Commencement Ceremony.

He was invited to give the Commencement Address to the graduates, but he also came to see the damage done by the tornado in Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, to meet our regional emergency management team, and to hold a meeting with local citizens at the Town House, from 12:45 to 1:15.

I went to hear him at the Junior College, and to listen to what he told the graduates in his Commencement Address. First he talked to them about gratitude, and told some of his own story. He told how he was born in Piedras Negras and his family moved to south San Antonio where his father found a job in a meat packing plant.

He told us that he had dropped out of school and that when he saw how disappointed his father was, that all the family had sacrificed so that he could have the opportunity to get good education in America was coming to nothing, he changed his attitude and went back. He began to work at his studies, and at learning English. He graduated from Harlandale High School, and went on to earn his B.A. at St. Mary’s University, and his Masters’ Degree in Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. And then, out of gratitude, he began to give back. The first elected office he held was as a board member for the Harlandale Independent School District in 1974.

Congressman Rodriguez challenged the students at SWTJC to show their gratitude to their family, their teachers, their local community and this nation, by valuing the importance and power of their education, and choosing to use their gifts and talents and interests to make positive difference in our community, and our nation. He challenged us to set goals, and to put ganas behind their desires.

To work, and to work hard, to achieve the things we want to make our communities strong and stable, so this will be the land of opportunity for the next generation, too, and not just for us.

However, it wasn’t so much what Congressman Rodriguez said, that captured my attention; it was the way he said it. It was the man behind the words—his integrity, his commitment, and his good common sense.

He was thoughtful and honest and trust-worthy; and I found myself comparing him favorably to what I have heard about John Nance Garner as a politician, and our representative to Congress, and the House of Representatives, 75 years ago.

I want to thank La Voz for the articles written to support Ciro D. Rodriguez when he campaigned against Henry Bonilla in 2006, to return to Congress as a representative for the 23^rd District of Texas, rather than the 28^th, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

 

A Desiderata for Graduates…

Graduates:

Go peacefully into the noise and haste of the world and remember the healing solace that can be found in silence. As much as you can, be on good terms with everyone.

Speak the truth quietly and with clarity, but be sure to listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant for they, too, have their story to tell.

Who’s in charge?

Now that the controversy surrounding the Sabinal school board has died down (somewhat), I can give my honest appraisal of the situation, being privy to most of the details surround the matter.

In my estimation, the matter goes far deeper than the alleged vacillations of a superintendent and the supposed errant behavior of one of the instructors.

What we have here is not what it may seem and as in most matters, realistically speaking, neither side is completely correct in their assumptions, nor are they mistaken.

However, the one thing that is clear is that we have the basic formation of a power struggle between the old controlling faction, and the emerging influence of a Hispanic constituency.

I don’t even see it as a racial or ethnic matter as some would tend to believe. I’ve heard Hispanics say that this whole thing is happening because the “Anglos” want to stay in charge. I don’t think so.

However, what seems apparent, at least to me, is that the people who want change to occur aren’t necessarily doing it for racial equity, but merely because they think they (or at least someone different) should be in charge.

Envy can come in many guises, and while I’m not completely sure this is the case, it sure does seem like it – haves against the have-nots – sort of sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

It seems like a lot of people in Sabinal (as in Uvalde) people want a change; not necessarily a better one, but one where they have more say in the matter, which is completely understandable, if not equitable.

Think of the animosity of ethnic unrest in Sabinal as a huge river and imagine a dam holding back. After so much constant pressure, the dam produces weak spots and if and when it breaks (like it did in this case), the place it’ll collapse is at its weakest point, which just so happened to be the rift between the school board and the superintendent.

If it didn’t happen there, it would’ve only been a matter of time before it happened somewhere else.

The only thing you can do is place what happened behind you, dust yourself off, and try to fix it so it won’t happen again in the future.

 

Not as it seems…

Hi and welcome back.

I hope you’ve been “enjoying” the weather.

I say this because even though it’s been raining, humid, miserable and at times even dangerous with a few reported tornados in the area, I say “enjoying” for the simple fact that it isn’t summer yet, and we all know what the summer will bring. And how preferable this weather is compared to the dry, unforgiving and seemingly eternal heat a Texas summer brings.

“Possible” Violations

• by Juan Sanchez    • 

 

In the last issue of La Voz I wrote an article detailing the failure on the part of Mayor Josue Garza to obtain building permits in the process of repairing his rental properties. An item of interest that was pointed out was the interjection of the term “possible violations” by city manager John Harrell when listing the properties for which Garza failed to obtain permits.

It is my contention this ambiguous phrase was used by Harrell as a means to provide a loophole that Garza could use as a means of sidestepping his responsibility in paying for the permits.

Either something is a violation or it is not. If an issue is in a gray, indeterminate area, it would most certainly behoove everyone to resolve the matter as soon as possible…but this has not happened. Instead, the matter continues to be unresolved.

Let us take a harder look at this phrase. Let us substitute the phrase “possible violations,” with “possible veracity.” Would this have made a difference? What is the degree of difference between “veracity” and “possible veracity?”

If our actions can be viewed as obtaining “possible truth” would we decline, or would we attempt to obtain the “possible truth” in order that we be judged in a positive light?

Likewise, if the term were substituted to “possible honesty,” would we work towards being viewed as having “possible honesty,” or would we decline being judged in such a manner? Or, would we prefer being viewed as having “complete honesty”?

What about “possible responsibility?” This is a good one. Do we accept only “possible responsibility” or do we accept “full responsibility?” Better yet, is there such a thing as “possible accountability”?

Let us further investigate the phraseology used by both of these men. Let us look at their actions from another angle. The phrases that come to mind are “possible fairness,” and “possible equality” Could there have been instead, “complete fairness” and “complete equality?”

Mind you, the issue of “possible violations” and all the other “possibilities” that have been interjected weigh equally on both men.

From my perspective, both of these individuals have a lot of explaining to do. This is especially so in light of a visit by an exceeding well-informed businessperson who stated that the issue of permits was brought to the attention of John Harrell over four years ago, yet he opted to wave aside the “possible violations.”

In place of the “possible violations,” all the other “possibilities” – veracity, honesty, responsibility, accountability, fairness, equality – were negated. We are left scratching our heads trying to figure out what new “possibilities” the future holds.

Who knows? Anything is “possible.”