I heard on the radio this morning that former U.S. Senator from North Carolina and conservative firebrand Jesse Helms died. My initial thought was how fitting it was that he, very much like others who love America such as his hero Thomas Jefferson and Charles Kuralt, died on the anniversary of the American independence.
When I first began following politics at a young age, Helms became an immediate hero because he was one of the few conservatives who was not afraid to speak his mind regardless of the consequences. Yet it wasn’t until I became older that I realized just how rare of a trait this is. Unlike most of his colleagues and many of the people I went on to meet later in life, Helms was more interested in following his internal compass than he was in making social and professional connections or in having people say or write nice things about him.
I had the chance to meet the Senator during my first semester in business school when his book came out and he had an event at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. As I was leaving the store, I held the door for a woman who attended with her two children. She was explaining to them that he was controversial and some people don’t like him. I replied that “they don’t make Senators like him anymore.”
Unfortunately they don’t.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment