Thursday, May 22, 2008

What it means to be a progressive

Blogger Terrance Heath has some nice things to say about Ted Kennedy as the senator contemplates battling a brain tumor. Kennedy led, or at least had his fingers in nearly all of the progressive policies that came out of (and some that died in) Washington. The list is quite long and includes Medicare, Medicaid, and stopping Robert Bork. Terrance is a gay man and was working on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (which has been introduced in Congress every session for a long time) and shook hands with Kennedy at a hearing for ENDA. This is what impresses him about Kennedy:

I thought to myself that this wealthy, heterosexual, white male certainly didn’t have to care about those of us standing in line that day, for a hearing on a bill about our equality. He wouldn’t have suffered for not caring. But he did.

If there is anyone whose career distills what being a progressive means to me — caring about and standing up for people and issues you don’t have to care about, and that your circumstances don’t require you to care about — Ted Kennedy is one such person. His career in the Senate, and his political commitments are proof that one can be elite — born to privilege, wealth, and power — without being elitist. One simply has to care, as Ted Kennedy has and does. He could have spend most or all of his life coasting on the wealth, power, and influence of the Kennedy name. He chose not to do so.

So, get well soon, Senator. You have fought and still fight the good fight, but there several rounds left to go. Perhaps it’s selfish to say, but we still need you, and many more like you too.

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