Jeffrey Carduner, Aesthetic Realism consultant, writes:

Timothy Lynch—American labor leader, actor, and singer—who died on January 30, stands for what the people of our country need most to know, are hoping most to know. That hope is in two great fields: how to have justice in economics and in the way we see the world and other people every day.  We say, with much feeling about one of the finest people who ever lived: “Timothy Lynch Represents America” is the title of the magnificent new issue of The Right of Aesthetic Realism to Be Known.

The commentary by editor Ellen Reiss begins:

Dear Unknown Friends:

On February 21, at the Huntington Hilton on Long Island, there took place a Memorial Event in honor of the life of Timothy Lynch: American labor leader, President of Teamsters Local 1205, and actor and singer with the Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company. Over five hundred people attended, mostly men and women of the New York area labor movement, including union officials and union members.

Timothy Lynch, I am immensely grateful to say, was my husband. What he stood for and fought for—in relation to both unions and Aesthetic Realism—is what America needs most, needs desperately. And so there is the title of this issue: Timothy Lynch Represents America. Here, the word represents has two meanings, which are connected: Timothy’s work as a union leader was to represent people, speak and fight for them, and he did that greatly. Further, what he saw in his study of Aesthetic Realism—about economics, art, history, and his own life—is what can bring to the people of our land the justice and happiness they’re thirsting for. That means he represents Americans’, and all people’s, biggest hopes.

In this issue are two statements from the Memorial Event: my own and that of Matthew D’Amico, a political coordinator for the Civil Service Employees Association. The other speakers were Dan DeCrotie and Nelson Nuñez, officers of Teamsters Local 1205; the president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, John Durso, representing both himself and the Federation’s executive director, Roger Clayman, whose statement he read; Daniel Kane Sr., an international vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Aesthetic Realism consultant Robert Murphy; and Carrie Wilson, actor and singer with the Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company.

Roger Clayman, writing historically, said that there have been “a select few people…who can inspire by their words, lead with their intelligence, and convey a sense of worth to the people around them. Timothy did all these things.” He was, wrote Clayman, “a leader… who teaches us….We think that this labor movement on Long Island may have been designed with Timothy Lynch in mind.”

Dan Kane said, “From Teamsters, to American workers, to the labor movement, he did affect multitudes. He had passion for the union, passion for Aesthetic Realism. He combined both in a way that took courage, took conviction….And people learned.”

The 40-minute video of Timothy Lynch that was part of the Memorial Event is now on YouTube: http://bit.ly/Timothy-Lynch. In it we see and hear him, forever, Timothy himself, deep, funny, beautiful, ardent, as labor leader, performer, person.

This issue of TRO concludes with a statement by him. It’s from the public celebration in Baltimore of the day proclaimed “Eli Siegel Day” by that city: August 16, 2002. >> Read more