“He represented the regular people. He didn’t represent the high and the mighty.”
So says a Minnesota resident while mourning the death of Senator Paul Wellstone.
It’s an interesting distinction: regular versus mighty. “Regular” implies honest, forthright and good. “High and mighty” implies accomplished but also arrogant, and somehow bad.
Yet why must integrity and accomplishment be separated? For Senator Wellstone and supporters of his ideas, as well as those of us who suffer the consequences of his ideas, this is no mere Ivory Tower question.
Senator Wellstone was more consistent than most in his advocacy of high taxation, outright socialized medicine, and — in effect — the nationalization of the means of production through endless government fiat. He’s also a dependable opponent of any war initiated by the United States, even in obvious self-defense. Who knows what he didn’t live to see thanks to the policies of people like him. He’s lauded for his “integrity” and while there’s no question that he was more consistent than most we still have to ask: integrity to which ideas and what kinds of policies? And of what consequence?
All true liberals and probably most conservatives, deep down, buy into the idea that success and accomplishment somehow make one morally guilty. I spend every day in my work as a psychologist trying to help people not feel guilty for their accomplishments and not feel guilty for living their own lives as they see fit, even if it displeases others. Liberals like Paul Wellstone — who usually support the notions of psychotherapy and self-esteem — go a long way to undermining the self-esteem of those who accomplish a lot and therefore make a lot of money. They also hurt the little guy, because by demoralizing, taxing and regulating the honest capitalist into near-oblivion, they also steal countless jobs and opportunities from the “regular” guy.
Hours after news of Wellstone’s death, former Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole referred to Wellstone as the soul of the Senate. (Dole of course is a conservative Republican, supporting my assertion that deep down most if not all Republicans agree with Wellstone in the end).
If the hatred of private property, accomplishment and increased wealth/opportunity for the “little guy” represent the soul of the Senate, is it any wonder our country’s physical and economic security is now in so much trouble?
