America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

Philadelphia.

The city's name comes from the Greek word "Φιλαδέλφεια", which means "brotherly love".

William Payne founded the city in 1682.

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence here, proclaiming the birth of a new nation.

In 1787, the Constituent Assembly was held here, laying the political foundation for the Republic.

For a decade, Philadelphia was the nation's capital. Even after that, prosperity and wealth remained a part of the city's identity.

However, when Sean Penn drove into the city in a secondhand car he had rented from his classmate, he saw a completely different scene.

There was no welcoming crowd, no supporters holding signs, and not even a single passerby who recognized him.

The streets of Philadelphia have a completely different atmosphere from those of Scranton.

It's bigger, more crowded, and more indifferent here.

Sean drove along I-76 into the city, passing through the slums of West Philadelphia.

This area, once the heart of the African American community, is now synonymous with poverty and crime. Dilapidated row houses stretch along the street, many windows boarded up.

A few young men stood on the street corner, wearing oversized hoodies, their eyes blankly watching the passing cars. Sean noticed that one of them was making some kind of deal with another.

Clearly, that was a transaction involving prohibited drugs.

Philadelphia is one of the hardest-hit areas in the opioid crisis in the United States. Over the past decade, more than a thousand people have died from drug overdoses each year in this city.

Sean continued driving east, passing through the downtown business district.

This is another Philadelphia.

Comcast Center’s glass facade glitters in the sunlight; it is Philadelphia’s second tallest skyscraper, after Comcast Technology Center.

Not far away, the clock tower of the city hall stands in the center of the city, topped with a bronze statue of William Payne, overlooking the city he created.

Two Philadelphias, one for the rich and one for the poor, coexisted, adjacent to each other yet isolated from one another.

Sean parked his car in a parking lot near the Philadelphia Convention Center.

As he got out of the car, a homeless man huddled in the corner looked up at him. He stared at Sean for a few seconds, then lowered his head again and continued his drowsy sleep.

He didn't care about Sean's existence at all.

Sean glanced at his watch; he still had an hour until his meeting with Catherine Donovan. In the end, he decided to take a walk around the area first, to get a feel for the city's pulse.

Of course, you must never mistakenly trespass into territory that does not belong to him.

……

An hour later, when Sean entered the conference center, a young woman in a business suit greeted him.

"Mr. Pan? This is Anne, Representative Donovan's assistant. We spoke on the phone last night."

"Hello, Annie." Sean nodded. "Where is Congressman Donovan?"

"plz follow me."

Anne led him through the lobby and took the elevator to the top floor.

The elevator doors opened, and Sean saw a spacious office. The Philadelphia skyline was visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows, with the City Hall clock tower clearly in sight.

The office owner was standing by the window, with his back to them.

"Congressman Donovan, Mr. Pan has arrived," Anne said.

The woman turned around, and Sean finally saw her face. Catherine Donovan was about thirty-five years old, with neatly styled short dark brown hair and blue eyes.

She was wearing a well-tailored dark blue suit and a simple pearl necklace.

He exudes a confidence and elegance unique to the elite class, but it's hard to tell how profound his learning is.

"Sean Penn." She walked over with a smile and extended her hand to him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I saw your speech in Vandenberg and was very impressed."

The system shows her favorability rating as [45].

"Congressman Donovan, thank you for the invitation." Sean shook her hand. "But I'm curious, why are you interested in me?"

Catherine smiled and gestured for him to sit down. "Annie, pour us two cups of coffee."

After Anne left, Catherine sat down opposite Sean and crossed her legs.

"Pan, I'll cut to the chase. You mentioned a list in your speech about the real manipulators behind the Avalon Foundation. I'd like to know if Senator Harris Crane's name is on that list?"

Sean did not answer immediately.

He picked up the coffee Anne brought him and took a sip.

Why are you so interested in Senator Krane?

"Because he is my enemy," Catherine said without hesitation. "Cran has spearheaded the blocking of every labor protection bill our party has pushed through in the Senate. He is a mouthpiece for big corporations and a lackey of Wall Street. If I can bring him down, the entire political landscape of Pennsylvania will change."

"We can make Pennsylvania shine!"

"So you want to use me."

“I prefer to call it mutual support,” Catherine forced a smile. “Mr. Pan, you’re in a difficult situation right now. You have no funds, no team, no party support. Your only assets are that list and your reputation. But reputation fades, and that list, if you don’t release it at the right time and in the right way, will only bring you more enemies.”

"You need allies, and I can be your ally."

"What can you give me?" Sean asked.

“Many.” Catherine stood up and walked to the window. “First, I can get you into the Philadelphia Committee for the Protection of the Vulnerable. This committee is dedicated to addressing racial and economic discrimination. You can work as a consultant there, although it’s just a consultant position, but it will give you legal political status, so you’re no longer just an internet celebrity or a wanted fraudster.”

"Secondly, I can introduce you to the union leaders in Philadelphia. They have hundreds of thousands of votes in their hands, and if you can get their support, you'll be halfway to success in your Pennsylvania campaign."

"Third, I can help you raise campaign funds. I have many friends in the party, and although they won't publicly endorse an independent candidate, donating money privately is no problem."

She turned around and looked directly at Sean.

"In exchange, I only need you to do one thing: when the time is right, release the part of that list about Crane. Ruin him."

Sean fell silent.

This proposal is very tempting.

What Catherine Donovan can give him is exactly what he needs right now: legal status, political resources, votes, and money.

But his intuition told him that things weren't that simple.

Catherine's favorability rating is only [45], which means she doesn't really like or trust him.

She might just be using him. Once he's no longer of any use to her, she'll abandon him without hesitation, and might even turn against him.

"Congressman Donovan," Sean put down his coffee cup, "your proposal is very appealing. But I need time to consider it. Actually, there's nothing wrong with being an internet celebrity. You're a congressman, I'm an internet celebrity—we're both serving the people."

A hint of displeasure flashed clearly in Catherine's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

"Okay, I understand. This is a big decision and shouldn't be made hastily." She glanced at her watch. "The forum is about to start, let's go check it out together. You can speak on the forum and introduce yourself to the union members."

"No," Sean shook his head, "I just want to listen today, I don't want to talk."

"Are you sure? This is a great opportunity. I thought you liked being in the spotlight."

"I'm sure," Sean said, standing up. "I don't know enough about Philadelphia, and I don't want to speak carelessly without knowing the facts."

Catherine stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed. "You're more cautious than I thought. Okay, whatever."

……

The forum was held in the main hall of the conference center.

As Catherine stated, over three thousand union members participated. They came from all walks of life in Philadelphia: construction workers, dockworkers, bus drivers, hospital nurses…

Sean sat in a corner at the back of the auditorium, silently observing everything.

The theme of this forum is "Workers' Rights and Urban Development".

First, several union leaders took turns speaking on stage, complaining about low wages, poor benefits, and terrible working conditions.

Catherine also took the stage and delivered a passionate speech, promising to continue fighting for better treatment for the workers.

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

But Sean noticed that the applause wasn't as enthusiastic as it seemed. Many people just clapped a few times perfunctorily, their expressions terrifyingly numb.

They've heard far too many of these promises, but rarely see real change.

Among the crowd, sitting in the front row were the union's top leaders, dressed in smart suits, chatting and laughing with Catherine.

Meanwhile, the ordinary workers sitting in the back row, dressed in simple work clothes, had exhaustion written all over their faces.

There seems to be an invisible chasm between the two groups.

Halfway through the forum, an unexpected incident occurred.

A middle-aged man in work clothes stood up and interrupted the speaker on stage.

"I have something to say."

"My name is Tony Martinez, and I've been a stevedore at the Port of Philadelphia for twenty years. Last year, my son was injured at work and suffered a spinal fracture; he can no longer stand. The company only compensated us with $50,000, which isn't even enough to cover his medical expenses."

"I went to the union for help, and do you know what they said? They said it was an accident and the company had no responsibility. They said I should be grateful, at least the company was willing to pay compensation."

"Grateful?" Tony's voice rose higher and higher. "My son will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, and I should be grateful?"

He pointed to the union leaders on the stage.

"You people always talk about fighting for workers' rights, but what have you done? You live in big houses, drive nice cars, and call those bosses brothers. You don't care about our lives at all."

The auditorium erupted in uproar.

Several security guards rushed up and tried to drag Tony away.

But Tony struggled and continued shouting, "You're all liars, you're all liars..."

Sean's gaze swept over the chaotic crowd and landed purposefully on Catherine on the stage.

Catherine maintained a polite smile, but her eyes held no sympathy or anger. After whispering a few words to those around her, she returned to the stage, offered a few comforting words to reassure the workers present, and then the long meeting continued...