On today’s date in 2002 we lost one of the most important American politicians of all time along with his family and many of people that worked along side him to make a better future possible.
I was a child at the time but the immense grief I felt around was truly immeasurable. I remember going into my school’s mock election and not understanding why I wasn’t aloud to vote for him, and dad’s voice breaking as he tried to explain to me what had happened.
A joke that goes around is “what made you a communist” and for me the answer is the Wellstones. Their profound belief in the power of community and mutual aid is a core from which so many of my ethics grew.
The loss of Melissa this year makes the loss of the Wellstones feel so much heavier. We deserve a world where they’re all still alive and working together to make the world a better place.
But we are still alive, and we can, no we have to, still embody what they taught us.
