Сын сенатора Алана Кранстона призывает молодежь к общественной деятельности и миру

Before becoming a senator involved in anti-nuclear war campaigns and post-World War II nation-building, the late Alan Cranston was a longtime Los Altos resident, local realtor and father.  Cranston’s family settled in Los Altos in 1920. After graduating from Mountain View High School, Cranston attended Stanford University as a student-athlete and wrote for the Mountain View Register as an emerging journalist.  “I think that (being at Stanford) had a big impact on his life, and he became very disciplined and organized,” Cranston’s son Kim said.  While at Stanford, Alan began reporting as a foreign correspondent for Hearst Wire Service on World War II. According to Kim, it was then that his father read Hitler’s manifesto, “Mein Kampf,” alongside an English-translated version. “I think the real turning point was when he saw the horrors of pre-war Europe and decided it wasn’t enough just to report and witness these things. He had to do something about them,” Kim said. According to Kim, the U.S. version of “Mein Kampf” was heavily sanitized, so Alan decided to publish an unaltered version. Kim said his father sold half a million copies in 10 days, with no royalties going to Hitler. Hitler’s book publicist later sued Alan for copyright infringement.  “That really switched him from being an adventurer and a journalist to being engaged in politics and in public service, which he was throughout the rest of his life,” Kim said.  After leading his father’s Los Altos real estate business, Alan Cranston spent two terms as state controller. In 1968, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and served as Democratic whip for 14 years.  Emy Thurber, who previously worked for the former senator, said Alan was most devoted to bringing world peace. According to Thurber, Alan campaigned against the Vietnam War and worked with former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev to achieve those goals.  “He helped create peaceful conditions for his time, and he may have been influential in keeping Gorbachev’s Russia and the United States from going to war,” Thurber said. “That to me would be his legacy: He was a fine human being and involved in politics. He helped make politics respected during his time.” Kim said his father worked hard with other national leaders in promoting global democracy, advocating against the installment of internment camps, protecting the environment and promoting low-cost housing.   “One of his biggest accomplishments in the Senate, he felt, was passing the Cranston-Gonzalez affordable housing bill, which was the first piece of legislation like that in over 10 years,” Kim said. Beyond succeeding on a national level, Cranston led the effort to create the parking plazas in downtown Los Altos. According to Kim, his father loved growing up in Los Altos and returned to the town after his time in office. Thurber said Los Altos helped shape Alan’s character. “(Alan) was very oriented toward keeping California safe, and I think part of that surely came from growing up in the beautiful little town of Los Altos,” Thurber said. “It’s different from (growing up) in San Francisco or New York. (Los Altos) has a country atmosphere, and I think that carried through his whole life. He was a relaxed, easygoing guy and hard worker.”  Kim said his father – who died in 2000 at age 86 – would want young people to be active in their community and find a place where they could make a difference. “(He valued) the importance of engaging and collaborating with other people,” Kim said. “When the (best leader’s) work is done, people say, ‘we did this ourselves.’ (My father) was very involved in working with other people and not taking credit. He really made a point in most of his speeches of saying, ‘We’ve accomplished this.’” Thurber offered a similar sentiment and added that Alan would encourage young people to travel, learn about different cultures, volunteer in other countries and devote part of their life to establishing peace.  “I think he’d encourage young people to get involved in politics in the United States,” Thurber said. “The more the citizens are really involved, the better things turn out, and I think he would hope that he was an example for that kind of devotion to world peace.”  This is the third in a series of articles about people who have shaped Los Altos.