I didn’t write immediately after I heard the news about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, because I think I needed to absorb what it meant. In a nutshell, I feel like we now know what the country felt like when Benjamin Franklin passed. Senator Kennedy was that kind of man. The type of person who comes far less often than necessary.
He’ll be especially missed here in Massachusetts, where we all felt just a little safer knowing he was our senior senator. He brought integrity to politics here, as well as throughout the country. We knew, whatever he was working on or promoting, it was for the benefit of the people.
What grieves me the most however, is that he had such an impact. I mean, he was one senator out of a hundred, and yet he stood out so glaringly as opposed to those who “play” politics rather than respecting it.
His life and passing are a challenge to all remaining senators to care about what they’re doing, to follow suit with his tireless fight for the common folk, and to just stop “playing politics” and do the work they were elected for.
Sure, his passing effects us because he is the last of the Kennedy brothers. But I really don’t believe his legacy will be about that. Being a Kennedy surely brought him to our attention, and no doubt helped him achieve his stature, but I think he will be most remembered, and most missed for how he lived up to his family’s motto ,”To whom much is given, much will be required.”
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