10 Years Ago

I offer two lightly edited posts here from five years ago. In some ways it's hard to believe a decade has passed already, and in other ways, it's all too easy.

Paul Wellstone
1944-2002
(Image: US Congress)

Sometimes, the only realists are the dreamers. Robert Kennedy once said,'The future will not belong to those who are content with the present.' I think the future also will not belong to those who are cynical or those who stand on the sidelines. The future will belong to those who have passion and are willing to work hard to make our country better. The future will belong to those, in Eleanor Roosevelt's words, 'who believe in the beauty of their dreams.'

This day, Senator Paul Wellstone and seven others died in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota. I rarely agreed with his political views and supported his opponents, but it was easy to respect his honesty and appreciate his optimism, which has been all too rare in recent years.

I dare to imagine a country where every child I hold in my hands, are all God's children, regardless of the color of their skin, regardless of whether they're boy or girl, regardless of religion, regardless of rich or poor, that every child I hold in my hands, will have the same chance to reach her full potential or his full potential. That is the goodness of our country. That is the essence of the American dream.

May he rest in peace.