Ted

When you hear the word Kennedy you think of wealth, power, greed, family and most of all, service. Ted was the greatest of them all and if you take away the negatives, you have a man who left his mark on the USA and the world. People often use the word liberal in a sense not understood. Ted was a true liberal and reached out way beyond the American way to a course of action to right a litany of injustices.

He and his brothers used the power of the White House to bring about social justice in regard to racial equality. Jack and Bobby gave their life for the cause and Ted came along and for decades he went the extra mile in changing minds and outdated thinking to see the racial question resolved. The changes were not immediate but Ted took every opportunity to push his agenda.

On the world scene he was deeply involved in South African politics and was a prime mover in helping Mandela receive his freedom and become a world leader and spokesman for racial equality everywhere.

Ted voted against the war in Iraq. This was a risky and brave move for a cause he describes as unconscionable. He was vindicated later when the facts were known to the world and suffered no political downside.

Perhaps Ted's most personal and successful triumph was in his beloved Ireland. He regularly met with the leadership of Northern and South Ireland attempting to bridge that gap of ignorance and religious prejudice which ripped the gut out of this nation. He could have been the flag bearer when the Catholic and Protestant women of Northern Ireland marched down the streets of Belfast saying that enough was enough.

A blog cannot fairly describe the life of a man like Ted but my thoughts just skimmed the many great achievements of Mr. Edward Kennedy.