by Susan Shaer, WAND Executive Director
WAND believes that one person can make a difference. Today, as we honor the life of Ted Kennedy, I must note that he makes this maxim true. The difference he made is nothing short of phenomenal.
Everyone is recalling the bi-partisan efforts he led. The landmark legislation, the truly remarkable leadership, the dramatic speeches....such a list! Each memory piled on by those he touched adds even more: how personal his politics were. How he treated everyone, no matter their status in life, and tried to improve their lot. ONE person making A BIG DIFFERENCE.
Ted Kennedy was a champion of so much that was positive. He also was a champion of changing so much that was wrong.
Anyone who labors for nuclear disarmament knows that Senator Kennedy followed his brother's legacy to end brinkmanship and clear the air for peace. Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione reminded us of a speech before the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 2004, where Kennedy stated, "Any discussion of nuclear weapons must start with one basic fact. These weapons have the power to destroy everything humanity has ever created across the centuries.... If there is one thing the world today should be able to agree on, it's that nuclear weapons should never again be used and nuclear war should never again be fought."
We knew we could count on him. His word was his bond, so we knew he would take his strong position and fight to rid the world of nuclear weapons. We lost a vote for leadership on this issue; but we have his words, and hope they echo through the halls of Congress and across the country so the world can be free of the nightmare that these weapons could bring.
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