August 26, 2009 - The Passion of His Life

The death of Senator Edward Kennedy is a milestone for our nation. He was, and remains, a controversial figure – flawed like all of us, but undeniably larger than life. Not even his opponents can dispute the impact he has had in advancing a variety of populist causes.

Among Ted Kennedy’s most enduring legacies is his struggle for affordable health care for all Americans. In this video clip, he calls it “the passion of my life,” then explains some of the personal reasons why:



I can relate to many of the stories he tells. Even though I’m fortunate enough to have good medical insurance, my own experience as a cancer survivor has acquainted me with neighbors for whom illness threatens not only physical infirmity and death, but also financial ruin. This is deeply wrong. It is even more deeply wrong that wealthy corporations continue to squeeze vast profits out of this broken system. Medical and insurance lobbyists exercise such power on Capitol Hill that even the voice of the overwhelming majority of the American public may not ultimately be heeded.

The dream of universal health care is not yet achieved. Strident voices are disrupting public meetings, in ways that intimidate fair-minded people and undermine democracy.

I resonate deeply with these words of Jim Wallis, in a tribute to the Senator published today:

“On the occasion of his death, I pray that God may now move us as a nation to address the greatest commitment of Sen. Kennedy's life - the need for a comprehensive reform of the health-care system in America - as a deeply moral issue and one that calls forth the very best that is within us. May we honor the life and death of Sen. Edward Kennedy by laying aside the rancor, lies, fear, and even hate that has come to dominate the health-care debate in America this summer, and regain our moral compass by recovering the moral core of this debate: that too many Americans are hurting and suffering in a broken and highly inequitable health-care system, and that it is our moral obligation to repair and reform it – now.”

This cause was the passion of Ted’s life. May it become the passion of ours as well