Where’s the Outrage?

Evil-doer Jesse Helms died a few days ago at age 86. Senator Helms worked as hard and as long as he could to make life even more difficult for black folks, gay folks, the poor, and anybody else he did not like. Despite this, I find no satisfaction in his passing.

For one thing, Mr. Helms got the best of his foes. He served five terms in the United States Senate and left this position on his own terms. He was never defeated for election. He lived a long life and yet he never paid any price for his misdeeds.

When somebody like former South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond lives to be 100, you realize that “what goes around comes around” is only true if good people work to make it happen. Otherwise, evil goes unpunished.

I also think there are deeper reasons to simply move on from the death of somebody like Helms. If you react to the death of a Helms in the same hateful way he conducted his life, you’ve allowed wrongdoers to define your actions. Aren’t things lousy enough already?

While it’s a lot to ask one to completely discipline personal thoughts, it is our public actions and reactions that will be observed and judged by others. Being glad someone is dead is simply the wrong course. It does nothing to harm the person who has passed. It only alters our own character.

I rarely criticize Republicans and people on the far-right in my blogging. I feel doing so would serve little purpose for what I want to accomplish. When I write as “Texas Liberal” you can guess what I think of Helms.

There are always going to be wrongdoers. I have only so much time for blog posts. I don’t want bad folks to take up all my time. The issue is the words and deeds of people open to taking the right course in life. It is these people I want to concern myself with.

Tags: Other Political Thoughts //