It Is Among The Most Basic Human Truths

By Christine Crosby

I was shocked by the cruel House of Reps vote last week to take health insurance away from millions of people. But then I found encouragement in the following comments from a young man – a man with compassion and wisdom beyond his years. The sentiments are all the more inspiring because this young man was born to privilege, and yet rather than trading on his famous name so as to enrich himself, he is leveraging his good fortune to be of service to others.  Please give it a quick read:

It is among the most basic human truths: Every one of us, some day, will be brought to our knees. By a diagnosis we didn’t expect, a phone call we can’t imagine, or a loss we cannot endure.

That common humanity inspires our mercy. It fortifies our compassion. It drives us to look out for the sick, the elderly, the poor, and the most vulnerable among us.

Yesterday’s bill — yesterday’s devastating bill — does the opposite.
The bill is more than premiums and tax cuts. It is a cold and calculated world view: One that scapegoats the struggling, and sees fault in suffering. One dead set on dividing us based on who we love, where we come from, the direction of our faith and the size of our fortunes.

We see it in their tax plan, their budget cuts, their immigration policy, their civil rights assaults — and yesterday, in their cruel health care plan.

We must reject it.

We must decide, instead, to take care of each other — because, but for the grace of God, we will all one day wake up in need of a little mercy.
This nation’s character has never been defined by the power we give the already strong — but by the strength we give the weak.

Joseph P. Kennedy III from Biography.com

Early Life

Joseph Patrick Kennedy III comes from a long line of influential politicians. His great uncle was President John F. Kennedy and his grandfather was Robert Kennedy, who was a senator and was assassinated during his presidential campaign. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy II, also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms, from 1987 to 1998. His uncle, Ted Kennedy, had the longest political career in the family, spanning from the 1960s to his death in 2009.Kennedy grew up near Boston, Massachusetts, with his twin brother Matthew Rauch Kennedy. Their parents divorced when they were in their early teens. Both Kennedy boys attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols, an elite private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Joseph P. Kennedy III then went to Stanford University where demonstrated his athletic abilities on the lacrosse field. He was a goalie and co-captain for the school’s team.From 2004 to 2006, Kennedy served in the Peace Corps, an organization his great-uncle John F. Kennedy founded. He spent two years in the Dominican Republic in the Puerto Plata area. Returning to the United States, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard Law School. There he was involved in the school’s legal aid bureau. After earning his degree, Kennedy worked as an assistant district attorney in Massachusetts for several years.