Kennedy | Muñoz: Social Reform from Government to the Streets
[ed. note: Author David Lee is a Fed-staffer, and works in our Community Relations department. We're extremely fortunate to have someone on staff who is so knowledgeable and passionate about the hunger problem the city is facing.]
It’s been a few days since Ted Kennedy passed away and I can’t stop thinking about Jorge Muñoz.
The two men couldn’t be any more different. Kennedy was privileged beyond belief, an heir to not only one of the wealthiest family fortunes in America, but also to a political dynasty. Muñoz is a Colombian immigrant who came to the United States in the ‘80s after his father died in an accident.
Despite the struggles in his personal life, Kennedy devoted his life to fairness and morality, fighting to give guys like Muñoz a fair shake. He crusaded tirelessly against genocide, homelessness, and discrimination of all sorts. He fought for labor, health care, and equal rights (to say nothing about what he did in the Soviet Jewry movement).
Muñoz, on the other hand, earns $700 a week driving a school bus. After arriving home, he begins his second, unpaid job: feeding over 100 people a hot, home cooked meal at a subway stop in Queens. Every night. For the last four years. (He missed one night when a snow storm shut down the road).
Kennedy and Muñoz are seemingly complete opposites. But in one way, they are the same: they both care deeply about social justice.
Kennedy waged his war at the institutional level. Muñoz battles for it, literally, on the street. Great works are needed at both ends of the spectrum because while government can balance the scales of justice in a swift, wide-ranging manner, overcoming the inertia to do so can take a long time. On the other hand, while individuals don’t singularly have the power to create macro change, everyone is able to make micro change by reaching out and immediately helping those who are suffering.
So what have you done lately?
If you’re like me, not a lot. My excuse is that I work for a nonprofit; I “give at the office.” The truth is, I have a hard time getting out of bed to get to work by 8:30 am. And if I don’t leave work exactly at 5:00 pm to run around at the gym, I won’t make it home for Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef, Hoarders, Project Runway or whatever my reality show of the day is, even though they are all programmed on my HD TiVO.
It’s weak, I know.
Imagine a world with more Ted Kennedys and Jorge Muñozes. Imagine what we could do, together.
From now until the day we eradicate hunger in Los Angeles, I’m pledging to give up one day a week to volunteer for The Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition. You can follow my adventures here.
What will you commit to?
- Donate now – $7 will feed someone today
- Volunteer – find an event near you
- Sign up for our newsletter and stay involved
P.S. – Watch the video about Jorge Muñoz. We dare you to NOT be inspired.
Tags: Equal Rights, Fairness, Giving, Hero, Hunger, Jorge Munoz, Los Angeles, Social Justice, Ted Kennedy, Volunteering