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On Michael Harrington

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The death of Michael Harrington at the age of 61 is a sad day for America. He was one of the few heroes this country has known in this century. From beginning to end he cast his lot with the poor. From his first days as a member of Dorothy Day’s Catholic Workers on through the end of his life as a leader of the international Socialist movement, Harrington showed intelligent compassion for the disadvantaged, the neglected, the victims in our society. He was a leader in civil rights, a strong opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, a compassionate friend of the homeless, a warrior for tenant’s rights and for a universal health care plan in the only industrialized nation besides South Africa that does not have one.

When I met him in the early 1970s he was being attacked from the left as a reformist and from the right as a knee-jerk liberal. He was none of those things. Harrington was an idealist who believed fiercely in the democratic values of free expression and liberty; but he also believed that liberty included clean housing for the poor, a real education system for slum kids, health care for all and less money for weapons systems that deal out death, radiation and misery, mostly in the Third World.

Those of us who loved and respected him will miss him greatly.

BEN PLEASANTS

Los Angeles

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