I almost met the Liberal Lion once. He was speaking at a private home to a meeting that I attended. Even with my reservations about his personal character held over from childhood, it was exciting to hear a man speak who had been so close to so much history. I will never forget feeling the cement floor beneath my feet vibrate from the power of his 70 year old voice. Absolutely amazing! The last legislative lion still had his roar.
I had never been a huge fan of Ted Kennedy growing up. He always seemed to be the ultimate stereotype of the East Coast far Left Liberal. I was a child of the Chappaquiddick era. He was the drunk who drove off a bridge and let a young woman die. He was the "nothing" brother who got his seat in the Senate due solely to family name and money. (As well as the general lack of common sense on the part of the people of Massachussetts.) He was a hated figure in the house that I was raised in. Growing up in the Ozarks left me with a very solid impression of the Senator and all of it bad.
As I grew older and read more, I began to realize that while his personal flaws were many and varied, his legislative record was perhaps the most significant record of ANY senator during my lifetime. He was instrumental in passing much of the legislation with the largest impact upon our country. He wrote over 300 bills that became law during the 40 years he worked in the Senate. "He was instrumental in passing 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."
If you voted at the age of 18, you can thank Ted Kennedy. If you know someone who today is suffering from AIDS but still alive, say a prayer for Ted Kennedy's soul because your friend is here because of treatment that is being funded by the Ryan White AIDS CAre Act. If you have lost your job, but kept insurance through the COBRA program...mutter a heartfelt thanks for a liberal Senator who thought health care was important for your family. If you are disabled and are entering a public building on your own via a ramp instead of being hauled up stairs in your wheelchair by a friend...that ramp is part of the Liberal Lion's legacy. For all of his personal flaws, we owe him much as a nation.
I almost met the Liberal Lion once. He was speaking at a private home to a meeting that I attended. Even with my reservations about his personal character held over from childhood, it was exciting to hear a man speak who had been so close to so much history. I will never forget feeling the cement floor beneath my feet vibrate from the power of his 70 year old voice. Absolutely amazing! The last legislative lion still had his roar.
He was completely surrounded by people wanting to shake his hands. You couldn't get close to the man. But then by chance, I ran into him in a hallway when he was completely alone. He was simply standing there, staring at a painting on the wall. I started to approach him until I noticed the painting. And then I stopped.
It was a scene of America with the standard trio of American heros of the 60's. JFK, RFK and Dr. King. I have looked at numerous representations of those three in my life. During the 70's, many homes held similar pictures. But never had I seen them through the eyes of the man left behind. The look on the Senator's face made me realize that those iconic faces of America were REAL people to him. They were brothers he had played with and fought with as a child. Worked for as an adult. And then raised their children after they were murdered. Suddenly, history became more than a story. Decades after thier assasination, they were still a painful memory to the Senator. I realized that he was a man who had spent a lifetime making the visions of the dead a reality for the rest of us.
I walked away and never approached. Instead I thought about what an incredible legacy the younger brother was left to live up to. And today I mourn the death of the human filled with personal flaws who fought to make a better country for his entire lifetime.
God Speed, Sen. Kennedy.