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I had the great pleasure of meeting and sharing a few moments and thoughts
with the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN.)
Although I disagreed with him on certain issues, he made me never forget
that the highest calling of public
service is service, true service, especially for those who aren't within
reach of the levers of our democracy.
He may have been short in height, but he never strayed from his central
commitment of standing up for the little guy.
He
was and will remain a giant in the eyes of those who look to and expect
the best from our elected leaders.
I can hardly imagine what sort of a body the U.S. Senate would be if it
were comprised of just 10 people, 10%,
of people as committed, as eloquent, as impassioned as Paul Wellstone.
There were many great speeches at the Shadow Conventions in Philadelphia
and Los Angeles in the summer of 2000.
However, one closed by Senator Wellstone sticks out in
my memory. It was a poignant way to connect with his audience
and inspire further action and struggle, the likes of which we need more
than ever facing the 2004 election.
It went as follows:
"It is my favorite quote. It is from Wendell Phillips, an abolitionist from the 1840's. At that time both political parties were very weary of the slavery issue and they weren't sure how to confront it. But not Wendell, he just said slavery was a moral outrage, that it was unconscionable, and he wouldn't equivocate. He wasn't afraid to speak out.After he gave a particularly fiery speech about abolition, a friend came up to him and said, “Wendell, why are you so on fire?”
And Wendell turned to his friend and said, “Brother May, I'm on fire because I have mountains of ice before me to melt.”
We have mountains of ice before us to melt."
