Dear Mr. President,
I wanted to write a few final words to you to express my gratitude for your repeated personal kindnesses to me – and one last time, to salute your leadership in giving our country back its future and its truth.
On a personal level, you and Michelle reached out to Vicki, to our family and me in so many different ways. You helped to make these difficult months a happy time in my life.
You also made it a time of hope for me and for our country.
When I thought of all the years, all the battles, and all the memories of my long public life, I felt confident in these closing days that while I will not be there when it happens, you will be the President who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society. For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination.
There will be struggles – there always have been – and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat – that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.
And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family’s health will never again depend on the amount of a family’s wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will – yes, we will – fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.
In closing, let me say again how proud I was to be part of your campaign- and proud as well to play a part in the early months of a new era of high purpose and achievement. I entered public life with a young President who inspired a generation and the world. It gives me great hope that as I leave, another young President inspires another generation and once more on America’s behalf inspires the entire world.
So, I wrote this to thank you one last time as a friend- and to stand with you one last time for change and the America we can become.
At the Denver Convention where you were nominated, I said the dream lives on.
And I finished this letter with unshakable faith that the dream will be fulfilled for this generation, and preserved and enlarged for generations to come.
With deep respect and abiding affection,
[Ted]
Kennedy will certainly be missed and this glimpse into one of many personal relationships he had with so many is special.
If I had a wish it would be that he had the chance to see this happen in his lifetime. I believe he felt strongly that if this was going to happen then Obama would be the one to get it done. It is time. He realized that. I realize that. I hope those reading realize that as well.
When you get beyond the sticky-details – healthcare and the ability to live pain free and as full of a life as the next guy should never be determined by occupation, social standing, and wealth. These, sadly, are the standards by which this great nation has played for years. Other countries look at us in awe that we let the ill go untreated and our fellow-man suffer.
I feel if this does not happen now than it will be a dead point in the future. No one will push this hard again. No one will put their presidency on the line like Obama has. No one will care.
The fact that there is debate about such a topic stuns me while also instigating that small voice from deep within that says “To hell with what this country has become.” I mean it. I feel, in many respects, especially of late, that men and women have failed to live up to the standard that American’s that came before us have. We are a selfish, self-serving, snobbish group who do not understand phrases like “Our fellow man” , “For the betterment of our country”, or “self sacrifice”.
Before you go to the town meeting…and listen to those that feel that socialism, communism, or whatever the hell they are calling it today is about to befall our nation take the opportunity to read Obama’s healthcare bill and come to your own conclusions.
Once accomplished, look at the problem. Evaluate whether your “fellow man” should suffer or go without? The answer, in my eyes, is so simple and clear that I beg any of you to expose the faults of such a program I am missing. Enlighten me for I must be an idiot. You stand silent while illegal wars are fought in the name of “democracy” – my ass. You have stood silent for the last 10 years while your rights (civil liberties) have been eroded. You have stood by and watched your president call the constitution a “Goddammed piece of paper!” Why, would you raise your simple-minded voice when it comes to healthcare. At least stay on track and stay true to your track-record.
You have become the hybrid of a human-being and sheep (who will follow anyone and anything aimlessly – from this point refered to as “Sheeple”.
Yes, Sheeple, you nod and bow when commanded – and turn the other way when the propoganda and BS is of good enough quality that you can lie to your questioning mind and tell it to shut down.
Sheeple of America…it is time to awake. You have allowed billions to be spent on a 9 year war- I would bet my left testicle 50% of you can’t locate those countries on a map….yet you cry about healthcare. You let out nearly a whisper when your country cast aside the Geniva Convention agreements and tortured – but you bitch about healthcare. Your eyes barely flickered when Clinton signed the NAFTA bill which sent US industry across the boarder – but you scream about healthcare. Etc, etc., etc….
For once….awaken – do the right thing. Look at your fellow man….we are all in this together….
Obama pushes on…..as did Ted…and I hope that one day this vison for our country can be realized by us all….and those that passed to soon….
Wow, Tate, what a statement! 🙂 I am VERY PROUD of you, and I have to say AMEN to what you have expressed! I cannot fathom how so many people, many of them intelligent, seem to feel that as long as “ME” is covered for health insurance, TO HELL with everyone else! The level of selfishness, self centeredness and greed in this country is mind boggling. And these people seem to think that if we ignore these millions of people, we are saving money,when in the long run we are paying MORE with the system as it exists, with uncovered people going to the Emergency Rooms or dying prematurely. What kind of nation have we become when all that is thought about is ME, rather than WE? What kind of person who claims to be “religious” can stand by and NOT care for thy fellow man and woman? If we spend our lifetime only caring for ourselves and those we know well, is it any wonder why this country is facing a moral collapse, as well as losing the sense that we are in this world together and MUST NOT just think about what is good for us? We owe it to each other to CARE, to concern ourselves with other fellow human beings!