Tim Walz gave his acceptance speech Thursday night. He mentioned that his father died when he was young, but his family survived. “Thank God for Social Security survivor benefits.”
What he said struck me like touching an electric wire to a nerve. It struck home.
When I was 16, my dad, a retired factory worker, died of a heart attack. I was a high school junior. The youngest of seven children by nine years, I was the only child still at home. In fact, I was the only one not already making my way in the world.
Like Walz's family, my mother and I survived largely due to Social Security survivor benefits. These benefits enabled me to live at home, complete high school, and attend nearby Ball State University, where I earned my BA degree summa cum laude.
Fifty years later, I’m now retired after more than 40 years of practicing law. I was selected to the State Bar Association’s GP Hall of Fame and was the first solo practitioner honored with the Indiana Lawyer’s Barrister Award. I’ve written 3 novels, and my historical true crime book will be published in October. And I try to pay back a bit by substitute teaching in local schools.
I have 3 adult children making their own way in the world, one running her own business, another an aircraft mechanic instructor for a major airline, and the third a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Tim Walz's comments made me wonder what would have happened to me in an alternate universe? What would have happened in a nation where Social Security survivor benefits did not exist?
There are people who want that type of universe. Just read Project 2025. I hope that when you walk into the polling place in November, you will think about that.
I know I will.
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