Missing Paul Wellstone

"The future will belong to those who have passion, and to those who are willing to make the personal commitment to make our country better." - Paul Wellstone
There was a beautiful tribute to Paul Wellstone on the OpEd page of the Strib today. And, like the writer of the article, David Morris, I am missing Wellstone today more than I have in a long time.

Of course, I miss him every morning I turn on NPR on my drive to work, or when I watch the news after I get home. There is inevitably a sound bite from someone in Washington, Democrat or Republican, who is rationalizing why she or he didn't do the right thing. They never really say they DIDN'T do the right thing, but they calmy explain, in political speak, why they just couldn't stick up for (fill in the blank)'s rights. It's really a no win situation, they say. What they mean is that it's a "I won't win" situation. What they mean is that it's really better to play it safe. Make sure you have someone backing you - someone with some serious clout. Make sure your butt's covered. Make sure your money's not gonna run out so that you can continue to play it safe.

There used to be a guy who did the right thing at his own political sacrifice; shouting when everyone thought they needed to whisper, swimming upstream against all who needed to push ahead downstream. Paul Wellstone showed us again and again that it was more important to act rather than to hem and haw; to push instead of stepping to the side. Now, there's no one to do that for us. Our country is in a sad state of affairs, and we sorely miss that little guy who spoke for those who could not speak.

Paul Wellstone wasn't a super hero. He wasn't invincible. Sadly, he wasn't immortal. He just knew that he needed to act with his heart for integrity and for love. We know that we can do this, but so often we look for the Wellstones of the world to show up to inspire us. Folks, the new Wellstone hasn't shown up in 4 years. There's a reason for that: we are the new Wellstones.

There isn't anyone to do it for us or to push us into acting on behalf of those who need us. So we have to. We need to be ready to shout, push, swim for those who cannot. Immigrants, the poor, the Middle East, the young, the disabled, the broken. Paul Wellstone is now someone who cannot shout, push, swim, act. We need to step up now. We need to honor him in ways he would recognize, beyond words and reminiscence. We need to emulate Paul to change this world, and to save what we hold dear. It's not about being a Democrat or a Republican. It's being uncomfortable, unsure, and sticking your neck out. It's recognizing how powerful your voice can be. Maggie Kuhn told us to "speak your mind, even if your voice shakes." It's now crucial to understand that silence and bystanding will not win the fight to sustain justice and equality.

We need Paul, but we can't have him back. We now need to recognize the Paul in us. We need to fight like he did because there is no one else there to do it. We need to take back our future and tap into the Wellstone passion that made life better for so many during his short time on earth.