"The dream will never die"

I grew up with "Profiles in Courage" on our family's coffee table and a special reverence for the ideals of the Kennedy brothers. To me, the Kennedy brothers' politics came to down a simple but powerful belief: that all men are created equally and every person was a right to a life with opportunity, justice, education, and health. While many Conservatives resist change, the Kennedy brothers have marched forward, doing the people's work and figuratively and literally giving of their lives to these causes. They could have sat back in old Cape Cod, enjoying their wealth and trying to "conserve" it as old rich Republicans of that era often did. Instead, they became "progressives", which means looking forward and making progress for benefit all of mankind. Their personal faults and excesses (womanizing, substance-abuse, high-handedness at times) have been well-documented and are inexcusable. And they were wrong or naive to believe that all of society's problems could be solved by the intervention of government.

Despite this, the heart of their politics was, in the words of Ronald Reagan, "to create a shining city on the hill," full of happy and prosperous citizens. They did not believe in a mean Darwinian world where the vulnerable are losers and merely cast aside. While some politicians used fear and hate to mobilize "Christians" and divide the nation, these brothers looked squarely at its difficult problems and injustices and demonstrated the highest Christian values by trying to improve the lot of every man, including the least of our brothers.

Ted Kennedy embraced the LGBT community and fought tirelessly to improve my life and opportunities as a gay person. He believed in the equality of all people, including LGBT families. He made many mistakes in his life, but he kept getting up and righting himself, doing the work, and thoroughly enjoying family, friends and life. His big laugh revealed his love.

The Kennedy brothers rolled up their sleeves and got things done, helping to make this a more perfect union. They were optimists and dreamers and uniters...quintessential Americans. Their dream shall never die.