Aug 26 2009: The Lion
Today, a personal hero of mine died. There are no words to describe what he meant to me. And even though we knew this day was coming, when I woke up to the news I broke into tears. Everything about who he was as a person and as a senator is so ingrained in my heart, that his absence in this world will affect me forever. It’s no big secret that I am not only a very serious and proud Democrat, but that I have deep and thorough liberal ideology. I do not deny this, nor will I ever. It is as serious to me as is my religion, always has been, and always will be. It’s why I dedicated all those hours and years to getting a B.A. in Political Science. So to the say the least, I do not take this kind of thing lightly. It’s easy to understand why Edward Kennedy meant so much to me. He was the unwavering model of my ideology. He was a man who was not ashamed of his beliefs or his religion, which I happen to share with him. He was a man who put the weight of the world on his big strong shoulders. And he was a man that supported all of his family with love, commitment, and encouragement. He was not perfect, but that made him more endearing. He was human. And as an imperfect person, who could have packed it up and gone home, he committed himself even more so to his cause. I don’t have to reiterate his accomplishments or describe his life’s mission (to help those who needed help the most), but just say that I am who I am because of him. And I am better off in this life because of him. And so are you. Whether you sit right or left of center, you cannot deny, nor should you, the goodness of this person.
I am so tempted to lash out at all the nasty and despicable people who are trying to squash the health care reform bill right now. I am filled with intense anger that there are people in this country that will do whatever they can to manipulate honest Americans into fearing health care reform in an effort to protect the insurance industry that cares so much more about the bottom line than the health of Americans. Now more than ever I am appalled that anyone would dare tarnish such good deeds and desires with ugly and inaccurate labels. Maybe it is my Catholic background, much like Teddy’s, that wants to help those who need help. That wants to encourage life for everybody. Those terribly hypocritical right-wing social conservatives that work so hard to eradicate a woman’s right to choose will in the same breath look at 47 million people without health insurance and feel no unease. And why is that? It’s not about attitude or hard work or free markets. It’s about lining their own pockets and the pockets of their lobbyist friends from the insurance industry. Plain and simple.
But I digress. The point is that without a model like Teddy Kennedy to shine a light in my life, I would not be the person that I am today and for that I am forever grateful that he lived and forever grateful that he never gave up.
One of my favorite photos. At age 30, like me, with a full life ahead of him to make a difference.
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