Remebering Senator Kennedy

Please indulge me these few moments. I do not tend to talk politics with many people.

On Saturday I was watching Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral. What a sad day for American Politics. It is because of he and his brothers John, and Robert that I became and am proud to say I am a democrat. The Kennedy's believed in making the world a better place for all of us. Not just those of us that have lawyers and lobbyists speaking for us. They all wanted to make sure we had a better world to leave for our children.

For those of you who aren't democrats. For those of you reading this that think democrats are evil, think of this the next time you need to take Family Medical Leave, or think you are being treated unfairly at work because you are female and you want to take it up with OSHA or take it to court, or in my case when you are a diagnosed with an illness that you sometimes need special consideration for. It is because of Ted Kennedy that we are able to do these things. He had a major part in the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Rights Ammendment, in the Americans with Disablity Act, in the Family Medical Leave Act, and in the helping our children have more opportunities, with the State Children's Health Ins Program, and the No Child Left Behind intiative. I believe we have all benefited from some if not all of these laws and thousand more that Ted Kennedy helped shape and helped get passed.

He was born and raised in his brother's shadows. First his brother Joe Jr, who was killed in a heroic plane crash in the second World War and held all his father's hopes and dreams of a great politic career. Then John, who was a great president, and was killed way to early in his life. I for one would have loved to see what John could have done had he lived longer. And finally his brother Robert, who picked up John's torch where it was dropped, and tried to carry it on only to have his own life cut short, by a bullet. Ted, picked up where they left off, and tried to carry their torch and legacy on to help a new generation.

Ted Kennedy led an imperfect life. He made lots of mistakes. Some that costs him he chance at the White House. But Ted Kennedy also lead a very public family thru some of America's saddest times. He was the one the family rallied around when they had to grieve their losses in the public eye instead of being able to greive like the rest of us in private and away from the public eye. And he did this in such a way that gave us all hope. Hope that tomorrow will be a better day, hope that the loses won't always hurt the way they do, and hope that we can come together and carry on.

I teared up a couple of times watching the service for him. He was a great man. One that was flawed, but one that never the less tried to do the best he could to make this country, this world, this generation the best it can be. For that I will eternally remember and thank him.

May you rest in peace Edward (Ted) Kennedy.