The challenges of greatness cannot be met by simply reinforcing the agreements that you hold with your allies, but rather they are overcome by convincing your adversaries of the value, virtue and power to be found within the plainest of your convictions: the truth.
Rarely has a man so embodied this characteristic, that which reflects all that is to be admired of those among us who choose devote their lives to our service through elected office, than it was so by the late Edward Kennedy.
Please join me in pausing to reflect on the life of a great American, and the loss of a tireless crusader who fought to attain the betterment of our society as a whole, through the betterment of our whole society.
I could not sleep for some reason on Wednesday morning around 5:15. I turned on the television to find Mike Nikitas, Karen Swensen, and Chet Curtis on NECN talking about Ted's many contributions and stories.
ReplyDeleteI started taping until sundown a full day's coverage of a man's passing because I knew it was so large, that his work was so important, that he touched so many people with his style and words, and because I could learn from everyone's accounts as the many calls and interviews started as people woke up.
One specific thing Senator Edward Kennedy did that I hope lives on was to stand up for people's rights as patients. He crafted the Patients' Bill of Rights, and more recently, put together legislation that protects everyone from being denied insurance due to genetics and pre-disposition to disease.
I hope the House and Senate continue such work to ensure our identities, families, and blood are protected from greed.
Let us hope and pray for his family and for the work of subsequent legislators - may they take after this late great.
- Sean