I am a liberal...

Last week Ted Kennedy passed away, the last of the Kennedy brothers. I was not around to see the rise of Camelot, and all the twist and turns it took. I learned about it in school, I admired the strength of this family. Even if I was not around to see it happen, I know I feel the affects in my life. Ted Kennedy worked in the senate for 46 years, what a life of service. He helped put into law things for the commen people of the US, including minimum wages, Civil Rights, Family Medical Leave Act, Cobra health care, Woman's sports, lead the first laws on gay rights back in the 80's, and he tried again and again to get Healthcare for all passed. I hope in his absensce it happens right now, and even if he is not there to vote we would have him to thank for laying the ground work for it happen.

I was really struck by how endearing he was, and how he went out of his way to make others feel special. After 9/11 he personally called each of the families from his state who lost loved ones (177) . He did not stop there each year he would personally pen them letters on the anniversary date. He wrote to one widow:

"As you know so well, the passage of time never really heals the tragic memory of such a great loss, but we carry on, because we have to, because our loved ones would want us to, and because there is still light to guide us in the world from the love they gave us. We carry on."

Here is something they replayed that Ted Kennedy said and it really struck a cord with me, and made me very thankful for the time he gave to serve his country, and to be a Liberal.

"During my service in the United States Senate, I have often been called a Liberal, and it usually was not meant as a compliment. But I remember what my brother said about liberalism shortly before he was elected president. He said: “If by a Liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind… Someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions… Someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties…Someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and the suspicion that grips us… If that is what they mean by a Liberal… Then I am proud to say I am a Liberal.”