Post by scickay on Jun 11, 2012 15:31:42 GMT -5
I have lived in Newtown, Bucks County (which is about 30 miles from Center City Philadelphia) since 1985. I was fortunate to have raised a family here in a great middle-class environment. The Council Rock school system here with their dedicated teachers and fine facilities enabled my two children to go to good colleges and get well-paying jobs. Unfortunately many in America do not have such opportunities and the trend since the 1980s is that fewer and fewer Americans will have such opportunities in the years to come. This trend must be reversed.
I studied philosophy at the University of Chicago. This enabled me to develop critical thinking skills and good writing skills which have been useful to me throughout my life in all my endeavors. A good education has also enabled me to see diverse points of view, to develop respect for others, and to seek common ground and compromise. We need more well educated people in this country so our democracy doesn’t fall prey to mindless platitudes and vacuous ideologies.
I spent my life in public service working at good middle-class jobs in the Departments of Army, Navy, Labor and Treasury. I chose public service since I cared about our country and was glad to help the mission of these organization as best as I could for the benefit of the American people. I rose from an entry level job to the position of a federal executive managing a national organization of over 800 employees. As an executive in the information technology field, I worked with many people of diverse backgrounds across the country to help provide better service to all Americans. What was great about the federal government workplace was its living daily commitment to diversity. Women, minorities, people of diverse sexual preference, and the physically challenged – all had opportunities to contribute and be promoted to the best of their abilities. I worked in partnership with federal unions to make the workplace even stronger and I cared about developing people to their maximum potential. Not for profit, but for people and for the mission of helping all Americans.
I am currently fortunate enough to be retired and am devoting my free time to pursuits I care deeply about. I am continuing my education at Princeton University taking classes as diverse as Astrophysics, American Women’s Literature, and currently, American-Asian Foreign Policy in the 20th Century. I have become involved in political action by writing letters to the editor in the Courier Times and working with local progressive groups to lobby for change in our local Congressman’s mindset.
Our family has always cared for dogs. We have had here in Bucks County a golden retriever mix, a greyhound, and an Anatolian shepherd. I am now working with a local organization trying to build Bucks County’s first no-kill shelter. I have found that people, like my wife Susan, who care for animals tend to have empathy for all living things and are not generally focused on maximizing profit or amassing things and wealth, but rather care more for ensuring that those who are defenseless and in need are well taken care of. That principle to me is one of the wellsprings from which the idea of good government originates. Good government is there to take care of us all as one caring community.
I am a member of the Sierra Club since we all must do our best to defend the sustainability of our planet if we are to survive here as a species.
I am also a strong believer in providing respect and dignity to people of all kinds. Our country was founded on great ideals which unfortunately were not put into practice. Blacks, women, immigrants, and gays were all denied the opportunity of the American Dream. But through time and the commitment of people similar to those in the Occupy Movement, our country moves forward to realize the dream for all. We need to continue to end all kinds of discrimination so all can live in peace, prosperity and harmony in this great country of ours.
I believe in an America where opportunity is available freely to all, not only to the privileged rich. The trend since the 1980s has been to starve the government by reducing taxes on the rich and create continual budget crises which then result in reducing the benefits and services which good government should be providing to all Americans. There is great wealth in this country. It should be shared more equitably, especially when so many do not have jobs or adequate food or health care. We need to return to the idea of becoming a shared caring community. We need more good government that represents the interests of the many and not less government that caters to the needs of a minority wealthy class. I hope this conference will focus attention on what needs to be done to make American government dedicated to all Americans once again.
Steve Cickay
Delegate Candidate Pennsylvania District 08
I studied philosophy at the University of Chicago. This enabled me to develop critical thinking skills and good writing skills which have been useful to me throughout my life in all my endeavors. A good education has also enabled me to see diverse points of view, to develop respect for others, and to seek common ground and compromise. We need more well educated people in this country so our democracy doesn’t fall prey to mindless platitudes and vacuous ideologies.
I spent my life in public service working at good middle-class jobs in the Departments of Army, Navy, Labor and Treasury. I chose public service since I cared about our country and was glad to help the mission of these organization as best as I could for the benefit of the American people. I rose from an entry level job to the position of a federal executive managing a national organization of over 800 employees. As an executive in the information technology field, I worked with many people of diverse backgrounds across the country to help provide better service to all Americans. What was great about the federal government workplace was its living daily commitment to diversity. Women, minorities, people of diverse sexual preference, and the physically challenged – all had opportunities to contribute and be promoted to the best of their abilities. I worked in partnership with federal unions to make the workplace even stronger and I cared about developing people to their maximum potential. Not for profit, but for people and for the mission of helping all Americans.
I am currently fortunate enough to be retired and am devoting my free time to pursuits I care deeply about. I am continuing my education at Princeton University taking classes as diverse as Astrophysics, American Women’s Literature, and currently, American-Asian Foreign Policy in the 20th Century. I have become involved in political action by writing letters to the editor in the Courier Times and working with local progressive groups to lobby for change in our local Congressman’s mindset.
Our family has always cared for dogs. We have had here in Bucks County a golden retriever mix, a greyhound, and an Anatolian shepherd. I am now working with a local organization trying to build Bucks County’s first no-kill shelter. I have found that people, like my wife Susan, who care for animals tend to have empathy for all living things and are not generally focused on maximizing profit or amassing things and wealth, but rather care more for ensuring that those who are defenseless and in need are well taken care of. That principle to me is one of the wellsprings from which the idea of good government originates. Good government is there to take care of us all as one caring community.
I am a member of the Sierra Club since we all must do our best to defend the sustainability of our planet if we are to survive here as a species.
I am also a strong believer in providing respect and dignity to people of all kinds. Our country was founded on great ideals which unfortunately were not put into practice. Blacks, women, immigrants, and gays were all denied the opportunity of the American Dream. But through time and the commitment of people similar to those in the Occupy Movement, our country moves forward to realize the dream for all. We need to continue to end all kinds of discrimination so all can live in peace, prosperity and harmony in this great country of ours.
I believe in an America where opportunity is available freely to all, not only to the privileged rich. The trend since the 1980s has been to starve the government by reducing taxes on the rich and create continual budget crises which then result in reducing the benefits and services which good government should be providing to all Americans. There is great wealth in this country. It should be shared more equitably, especially when so many do not have jobs or adequate food or health care. We need to return to the idea of becoming a shared caring community. We need more good government that represents the interests of the many and not less government that caters to the needs of a minority wealthy class. I hope this conference will focus attention on what needs to be done to make American government dedicated to all Americans once again.
Steve Cickay
Delegate Candidate Pennsylvania District 08