Surging Asian Population Lacks Political Clout ." Although it didn't say "Shame on Asian Americans, " to me it certainly implied it.
Hopefully, APAs will recognize that our lack of political clout
is a shame on us. Lacking political clout is a big reason why
a law, EO 11246, that is supposed to break the glass ceiling for all
Americans was NEVER enforced for APAs. It means that we failed to secure equal opportunity for our children.
How come we are so impotent?
Here are some reasons. Our focus on personal benefits rather than
community benefits is one reason. For example, our rich people give tens of thousands of dollars for a handshake or a photo with a famous politician or a possible later appointment rather than to APA political organizations. Even our political activists have focused on their respective turf concerns rather than APA unity, the bedrock of political clout. Another reason is that our support for politicians foolishly depends on their titles and likelihood to win the next election, NOT by how much they have served our community. In other words, we might have been too selfish for our own good.
80-20 is normally positive and optimistic. However, every once in a while we need to look at our own shortcomings in order to build a brighter future.
The article ended with a quote from S. B. Woo, 80-20 President: "To have one minority ignored by the political establishment is not healthy."
Let's vow to erase that shame. Help our community to help
ourselves. If you like 80-20's message & its fierce determination to
establish political clout for APAs, JOIN US.
Using a credit card, visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html or
http://www.80-20.info/membership.html.
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Jing-Li Yu 80-20 special Assistant
P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the
check. Basic membership is $35; Family (2 voters) is $50, Life
Membership is $1,000. Student membership is $15.
The nice article was written by Genado C. Armas, & was carried by
many mainstream papers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5462183/
In the Chinese American community, the article was carried by The
World Journal as a front page, top headline story.
http://www.80-20initiative.net/WJ040720.jpg