[image: Wikipedia.org]

Ralph Nader: A Man for all (the Right) Reasons

Some day Ralph Nader will no longer be a part of the American scene. When that day arrives, many will breathe a sigh of relief. Not me. He is too intelligent to take on in a face to face debate. He is too honest for a crooked politician to look straight into his eyes. Still, he is too modest to squash them like a cockroach. And he is too humble to be popular enough to win an election. He is his own man, lives life on his terms, is supremely confident about his abilities and his motivations, and he is revered by those of us who would love to be more like him.

Anyone who has ever taken the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) knows it is a very difficult test mainly because you must be able to read, comprehend, assimilate, and recall concepts very rapidly—at least 1200 words per minute—and do so under the added pressure of proctors who are monitoring you and who can disqualify you for not putting your pencil down on demand or for trying to go back to a previous page. Only those who score very high on this test can get into the best law schools. The Harvard Law School has long been known as one of, if not the toughest, law school in the country in which to gain admission. Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are well on your way to a solid career in law. Graduate number 1 in your class and you are one sharp cookie. Ralph Nader graduated number 1 in his Harvard Law School class of 1958.

That was 57 years ago. Today, Nader is 81, single, lives on $25,000 per year, does not own a house or a car, and his mind still fires like a superbly tuned engine. The non profit organizations he has formed, his books and publications, and a paper trail of his political activities would fill a large room if not a small library. He is a living example of the maxim “too smart to be president.”

Nader has often been called a “spoiler” in presidential politics. He ran five times: once as a write-in Democrat in the New Hampshire primary, then twice as a Green candidate, and twice more as an Independent. He is nobody’s fool and does not run just to be running. He wants his ideas to become part of the national discussion. Lesser politicians (that would be all of them) ignore him at their peril. They would also debate him at their peril—if they had the nerve, and if the format allowed for longer answers than merely uttering memorized 30 second sound bytes. He has done his homework, and he is a quick study. For example, he can instantly see the contradiction and the immorality in spending 1 trillion dollars on an unjust war while denying college aid to needy students.

Nader has also started or inspired more non profit organizations than perhaps any other person. Wikipedia lists 38 organizations. They range from accountability, to justice, to reform, to protecting rights, safety, research, civic and consumer actions, anti trust, ecology, to empowerment. He has been a thorn in the side of big business for his entire career, and, not surprisingly, they have spent millions of dollars in their feeble efforts to discredit him.

To his credit he does not attack anyone personally; rather, he attacks bad ideas, bad management, callous disregard for people or the environment, and those who take with no thought of preserving or giving back. Perhaps it’s just me, but when I see him on television, I also see a small twinkle in his eyes and the slightest grin on his lips. It’s as if he is several light years ahead of his questioner or interviewer, and he finds humor in their childlike questions. To me he is more than a man of conscience—a man for all seasons. He is a man for all reasons—all the right ones.