So it is all over the news. Ted Kennedy died last night of brain cancer. He was a remarkable man. During his 9 terms in the Senate he authored over 2,500 bills and several hundred have become laws that have improved the quality of life for many Americans. These include the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the National Cancer Act of 1971, the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974, the COBRA Act of 1985, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Ryan White AIDS Care Act in 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act in 1996 and 2008, the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009. Still on his plate were efforts to improve the laws of immigration reform and his major legislative goal, the enactment of universal health care.
What was brilliant about Ted Kennedy was his "vigor," a word that was used with all the Kennedy brothers. He jumped into life with both hands and feet and was like a bulldog when he grabbed onto an issue; he wouldn't let go. That was what America needed in the past, as our Founding Fathers demonstrated, and what we have continued to need. We need leaders to act as advocates for those without means, because they are the most powerless. We share with the powerless, the poor, and the uneducated the human condition which demands dignity for all. And the reality too often is that those that have, get more. Often the legislation Kennedy wrote did not only improve life for one group in our society, but all. The Kennedy family oft quoted motto, "To whom much is give, much is expected," was the fabric of Teddy's life. I will miss the "Lion of the Senate." I am consoled by words he spoke too soon before his death, "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
So it is all over the news. Ted Kennedy died last night of brain cancer. He was a remarkable man. During his 9 terms in the Senate he authored over 2,500 bills and several hundred have become laws that have improved the quality of life for many Americans. These include the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the National Cancer Act of 1971, the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974, the COBRA Act of 1985, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Ryan White AIDS Care Act in 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act in 1996 and 2008, the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009. Still on his plate were efforts to improve the laws of immigration reform and his major legislative goal, the enactment of universal health care.
What was brilliant about Ted Kennedy was his "vigor," a word that was used with all the Kennedy brothers. He jumped into life with both hands and feet and was like a bulldog when he grabbed onto an issue; he wouldn't let go. That was what America needed in the past, as our Founding Fathers demonstrated, and what we have continued to need. We need leaders to act as advocates for those without means, because they are the most powerless. We share with the powerless, the poor, and the uneducated the human condition which demands dignity for all. And the reality too often is that those that have, get more. Often the legislation Kennedy wrote did not only improve life for one group in our society, but all. The Kennedy family oft quoted motto, "To whom much is give, much is expected," was the fabric of Teddy's life. I will miss the "Lion of the Senate." I am consoled by words he spoke too soon before his death, "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
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