Rest In, Peace Paul Wellstone
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I never met Paul Wellstone, and never had the privilege to vote for him, but I admired him a great deal. He was a constant fighter for what he believed in, a tireless champion for those of us who could not fight for ourselves, and an inspiration. He literally restored my faith in elections in this country. Imagine, a liberal Democrat unseating a Republican in the middle of the Gulf War build up - and doing it from the back of a van. Voters still mattered, after all. For that, more than anything, I am grateful for his service.
People like Wellstone do not come along very often, and we are all poorer for his passing.
I grew up in a world where you constantly hear the phrase “I don’t trust politicians”. Both of my parents would say “they’re all alike” whenever the conversation turned to an election. That was how I viewed politics until one day in high school in 1992 a friend of mine invited me to hear Paul Wellstone speak.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Here I was in a small crowd of about 100 or so people in my high school gym waiting on this really short bald guy. Not too exciting for an 18 year-old.
But from the moment he began, I sensed immediately that he was different. He was speaking from a place that I had never heard ANY politician speak from before – his heart. He believed that America COULD be a better place than the America we had come to know. America was then, as it is now, governed by large corporate contributors and other assorted interests. Wellstone’s vision was for an active government that worked on behalf of the people. A government that left no person behind, provided medical coverage for every child and was void of special interest money and influence. He spoke for an hour, and that hour changed my life.
Over the next ten years, I would speak to Paul every once and a while. I became a Political Science Major on his advice. I have been actively involved in the Democratic Party because of him and his work. He made me care about the future of our country and the direction of our nation. His voice was so strong, so passionate and so needed.
This tragedy is the modern day equivilant to losing Robert Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr. Like Kennedy and King, Wellstone’s voice stood above the drone of negative ads and apathetic politics.
Knowing Paul was an honor. I will miss him. America will miss him. But his voice will live on through the people he touched, including that once 18 year old boy who sat silently in the audience, listening to a great man’s passionate vision for a better America.
Comment 10/25/2002