Barack Obama: "Love thy Neighbor"

During his eulogy for Ted Kennedy today, Barack Obama spoke these words:

"We cannot know for certain how long we have here. We cannot foresee the trials or misfortunes that will test us along the way. We cannot know God's plan for us.

What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings."


May we all take these wise words to heart and live by them, as Ted Kennedy most certainly did.

It's tough to turn the other cheek on people you believe are ideologically through the looking glass, whether they be friends, acquaintances, or even family members. I certainly understand that.

But by taking the high road, doing "the right thing" and offering a helping and compassionate hand of understanding, we are rising above the hate and misinformation and partisanship. We are being humane. We are saying through our actions "I'm bigger than angry words and paid-for propaganda--I'm going to be your countryman and your neighbor and your friend and try my best to meet you halfway and come to an understanding."

Maybe that's pie-in-the-sky liberalism; maybe that's an orientation and approach that's decades past its sell date. Maybe that'll get run over by gun-toting, vulgarity-spewing, hateful partisans who have no time for such diplomacy.

But I submit that one side must extend its hand first. I'd like to be on the side of those who offered the olive branch instead of on the side of those who brandished the sword.

He's shaming the other side. Hope, for the country's sake, that the audience for that is as large as Barack would like it to be.

was so personal, dignified and quietly pointed. I don't know that a better rememberance could have been spoken. I hope his words echo loudly during the next several months and resonate with the folks that should be backing Teddy Kennedy's health care cause.