Good-Bye Senator Kennedy

I have been sending out messages and polling people as to why Senator Kennedy’s death and funeral are getting so much media attention.  Was it his name?  Was it the legislation that he sponsored?  Was it his length of time in office?  Both my husband and mother were rattling off all of the legislation he sponsored and his benevolence and wondering why in the world I would question the importance of such a person.

I just caught the end of his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.  Someone was reading a letter that he wrote, a confessional of sort of how he lived his life.  I had no idea how his religion truly shaped his policies.  I often tease about the challenges of being a non-Catholic at a Catholic school.  However, the commitment to the poor and disenfranchised will always stay with me.  Ted Kennedy’s ceremony reminds me of the activism that John Carroll instilled in many of us.  We had to commit about 40 hours of service to graduate. I ended up spending 20 hours per week several summers as a volunteer.

Click here to learn more about his legacy.