Political Activism is the act of raising awareness to other people, and impeding against certain governmental issues, and promoting rights against discrimination and social injustice. There are notable people locally and across the world who spent much of their lives on such matters. One of them is Bob Haisman.
At an early age, Haisman opened his mind on the idea of activism and social justice after being influenced by his parents who took part in Dorothy Day’s Catholic Workers’ movement. He joined several campaigns with his mother including a campaign for John Kennedy in the year 1960. With his humble beginning in 1960, Haisman decided to continue what his parents started and decided to serve for Democratic presidential campaign over the years. He has traveled across other states and localities to recruit members of the Democratic Party of Oak Park and participated in civic welfare events as a volunteer. His advocacy for peace and justice remained alive passionately for about fifty years even he was captured and arrested on some instances.
Haisman, for about thirty years, spent much of his time in teaching students of Hinsdale South High School about the subjects of his forte; history and humanities. While doing this service, he continued his activism by participating in teacher’s union until eventually became a president. Years later, he was also voted to be the president of Illinois Education Association and retired by the year 2000. One of the best moments Haisman did in his life was working for the current U.S president Barack Obama.
Over his political activism, Bob experienced a lot of disappointments and challenges on his way. However, he did not ceased to fight for his belief—about democracy, and the equal rights of individual. He has inspired and raised awareness about Democrats and the solutions for cynicism, especially on his students. He only hopes to see more young people stand to make the society a better place.