I can't tell you I agreed with all of his positions in politics particularly his stance on Occupied Palestine or the Middle East because I did not.
However although he once aspired to be president it is obvious he accomplished a lot more as a senator, in fact compared to other senators he totally raised and refined the bar.
Ted Kennedy was a product of a time in America that will never exist again when men of the steel of social duty and public accountability forged themselves in the sometimes hellish kilns of politics, social justice and endless efforts to soften and make malleable the selfish false idols of ignorance neglect waste and abuse.
He was the 'go to man' very much inside the governmental system for the poor, disenfranchised, sick, handicapped, aged, overlooked, and forgotten.
Somehow in an outrageously barbaric time of United States and world history which matured both his brothers Jack and Robert Kennedy as well as the Icons of Truth Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, he pushed on through the valley of death to do the work of the people.
Public service is not an easy job especially in Washington D.
C.
, President Obama described it as like being on American Idol only everyone is Simon Cowell, yet Ted Kennedy took day after day, year after year, decade after decade of public crucifixion only to face more.
Men like him whether we like them or dislike them love hate or despise them have a special gift that few of us have or would ever wish to attain, they sacrifice their personal lives and families for the sake of the common good.
They are the immigrant documented and undocumented workers in the fields of public governance welfare and discourse using their mental labors to harvest the crops of social equality that spring from the fertile soils of truth and justice, all while being pelted by the poisonous hail of self interest lobbyist.
What made him stand out was his willingness to take up the mantle of public service in the worst of times for the best of times, when a man's convictions to social justice and equality often costs the supreme price of his own mortal life.
We all know he was a child of privilege born with the golden spoon in his mouth, therefore able to seek a life of easy idle pleasures and a path of least resistance.
No one would have faulted him if had chosen the same road as most of the rich do, that leads to self satisfaction and no notable achievements especially since his family had given more than any family could be expected to give.
Instead he chose the less traveled road and literally broke his back in the effort to see the trip to the very end.
What is sad is the collective bombardment of praise, complements and condolences that will flood the media issued by those that most fervently opposed to the righteous struggles he endured in life, all to make the plight of the average human being's life a little more palatable.
He has taken his place beside the others who dedicated their lives to making the world just a little better than they found it.
His was on of the last living vestiges we had to connect us all to the Camelot of Kennedy governance that helped raise us all up and challenged us to be better than we were and understand that our dreams for a better world are just a prerequisite to fully requited reality.
America is no longer the place it was in many ways it is better because exceptional men were willing to take up extreme challenges to create what Lyndon Johnson called "the great society", although they often had conflicting views about how to get there.
Ted Kennedy actually tried to cling to his ideals for humanity under the ever deepening selfish clouds of darkness that hang like specters over the United States Senate.
I am sure droves of supports and well wishers are lamenting his passing, and many enemies and old foes will show and comment because it is politically correct to do so.
However for those that really want to honor his passing don't sing any songs or light any candles no pomp or circumstance of mourning or memorial just simple make laws that give all Americans healthcare that is not at the mercy of the insurance industry.
Universal Health Care is what he wanted so every United States citizen and legal resident can have the dignity and the means to be able to fight a catastrophic illness to the very end if need be, just as he did.
A massively debilitating illness can strike any of us at any time and we all want the option to decide how far that fight could go and to have the medical and financial means to do it and never ever hear the negative words "preexisting condition" as a reason to derail that opportunity! This is the very short list of things he helped make a reality: oImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965 oNational Cancer Act of 1971 oFederal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 oCOBRA Act of 1985 oComprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 oAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990 oRyan White AIDS Care Act oCivil Rights Act of 1991 oHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 oMental Health Parity Act oState Children's Health Insurance Program oNo Child Left Behind Act oEdward M.
Kennedy Serve America Act His tenure was not perfect and there were and are many that take issue with his politics but at least he did something and that is more than most of us will ever do, because by in large we are only armchair politicians.
It is time for all of us to finally pick up the gauntlet that has been laid down only by the passing of these great men.
A "Militant" is a person that knows what he/she wants, so take a page from his book and be a creature of your own positive convictions!
However although he once aspired to be president it is obvious he accomplished a lot more as a senator, in fact compared to other senators he totally raised and refined the bar.
Ted Kennedy was a product of a time in America that will never exist again when men of the steel of social duty and public accountability forged themselves in the sometimes hellish kilns of politics, social justice and endless efforts to soften and make malleable the selfish false idols of ignorance neglect waste and abuse.
He was the 'go to man' very much inside the governmental system for the poor, disenfranchised, sick, handicapped, aged, overlooked, and forgotten.
Somehow in an outrageously barbaric time of United States and world history which matured both his brothers Jack and Robert Kennedy as well as the Icons of Truth Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, he pushed on through the valley of death to do the work of the people.
Public service is not an easy job especially in Washington D.
C.
, President Obama described it as like being on American Idol only everyone is Simon Cowell, yet Ted Kennedy took day after day, year after year, decade after decade of public crucifixion only to face more.
Men like him whether we like them or dislike them love hate or despise them have a special gift that few of us have or would ever wish to attain, they sacrifice their personal lives and families for the sake of the common good.
They are the immigrant documented and undocumented workers in the fields of public governance welfare and discourse using their mental labors to harvest the crops of social equality that spring from the fertile soils of truth and justice, all while being pelted by the poisonous hail of self interest lobbyist.
What made him stand out was his willingness to take up the mantle of public service in the worst of times for the best of times, when a man's convictions to social justice and equality often costs the supreme price of his own mortal life.
We all know he was a child of privilege born with the golden spoon in his mouth, therefore able to seek a life of easy idle pleasures and a path of least resistance.
No one would have faulted him if had chosen the same road as most of the rich do, that leads to self satisfaction and no notable achievements especially since his family had given more than any family could be expected to give.
Instead he chose the less traveled road and literally broke his back in the effort to see the trip to the very end.
What is sad is the collective bombardment of praise, complements and condolences that will flood the media issued by those that most fervently opposed to the righteous struggles he endured in life, all to make the plight of the average human being's life a little more palatable.
He has taken his place beside the others who dedicated their lives to making the world just a little better than they found it.
His was on of the last living vestiges we had to connect us all to the Camelot of Kennedy governance that helped raise us all up and challenged us to be better than we were and understand that our dreams for a better world are just a prerequisite to fully requited reality.
America is no longer the place it was in many ways it is better because exceptional men were willing to take up extreme challenges to create what Lyndon Johnson called "the great society", although they often had conflicting views about how to get there.
Ted Kennedy actually tried to cling to his ideals for humanity under the ever deepening selfish clouds of darkness that hang like specters over the United States Senate.
I am sure droves of supports and well wishers are lamenting his passing, and many enemies and old foes will show and comment because it is politically correct to do so.
However for those that really want to honor his passing don't sing any songs or light any candles no pomp or circumstance of mourning or memorial just simple make laws that give all Americans healthcare that is not at the mercy of the insurance industry.
Universal Health Care is what he wanted so every United States citizen and legal resident can have the dignity and the means to be able to fight a catastrophic illness to the very end if need be, just as he did.
A massively debilitating illness can strike any of us at any time and we all want the option to decide how far that fight could go and to have the medical and financial means to do it and never ever hear the negative words "preexisting condition" as a reason to derail that opportunity! This is the very short list of things he helped make a reality: oImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965 oNational Cancer Act of 1971 oFederal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 oCOBRA Act of 1985 oComprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 oAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990 oRyan White AIDS Care Act oCivil Rights Act of 1991 oHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 oMental Health Parity Act oState Children's Health Insurance Program oNo Child Left Behind Act oEdward M.
Kennedy Serve America Act His tenure was not perfect and there were and are many that take issue with his politics but at least he did something and that is more than most of us will ever do, because by in large we are only armchair politicians.
It is time for all of us to finally pick up the gauntlet that has been laid down only by the passing of these great men.
A "Militant" is a person that knows what he/she wants, so take a page from his book and be a creature of your own positive convictions!
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