For so many of us, boxing is the filter through which we live our lives. There is something about the stark struggle in the ring, the willpower on display, something so poignant about the moment of capitulation when the hopes of one man, previously so confident, are dashed after he’s been rendered the weaker of the two, the lesser being.

We believe, by and large, that this space should be free of politics, that we should concentrate on our shared passion, pugilism, but occasionally circumstances outside the ring intrude into our minds and hearts, and we feel compelled to acknowledge them. On this day, TSS wants to acknowledge the Aug. 25 passing of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, at age 77. His attributes displayed in 46 years of service in the Senate, and as he bore the brunt of tragedies inflicted upon his family, as siblings Joe Jr., Kathleen, Jack and Robert all died while in service to the United States, strike TSS as traits that we marvel at, and touch us so, as we gape in awe at fighters at their best, and at their lowest ebb.

Who among us at TSS U doesn’t root mightily for the underdog in the squared circle, hoping against hope and conventional wisdom that the undersized, the underweight, the man who has not been blessed with the prime genetic package, or promotional push, will prevail? The underdog, the have nots, the ones not born with a hand up as he was, are the ones that Kennedy struggled for. He championed health care for all, and saw health care, in this nation of such bounty, as a right, not a privilege for a select segment. Foes worked to trim budgets, and slice monies aimed for the less fortunate, and Kennedy stood tall, and spoke up for those voiceless folks. He always tried to remember the origins of his own family, that we are all offspring of immigrants. He looked to make the American Dream a reality for hopeful travelers who alighted on our shores, searching for a kinder, gentler existence, a contrast to the meagerness they’d experiences through no fault of their own, but because fate decreed for them where they’d reside. When foes tried to insure that the have-nots would not be awarded the same voice at the ballot box as the fortunate, Kennedy was there to remind that every adult should have the right to participate in our democracy, and cast a vote for the candidate of their liking.

Of course, there were countless personal indiscretions and scandals that sullied his name, and detracted from his record as a legislator. These incidences often involved alcohol, and when one considers the volume and seriousness of tragedy the man endured, it strikes us that it is a wonder he didn’t crawl into a bottle, and stay there. Who among us refuses to allow some small amount of credit to somebody that has allowed the demons to get the upper hand, and transgressed so publically, and refused to exit public service to enjoy a simpler life without such constant scrutiny? Like those prizefighters that hold a special place in our heart, the ones who hit the canvas, and pop up, and refuse to lose, Kennedy shrugged off a vicious rain of blows, and popped up time and again.

In this age of tumult, as a crazed few threaten our national equilibrium by resorting to threats of overthrow and assassination, the loss of a man who was known for reaching across aisles and crawling through thorny thickets of differing ideologies to find compromise, the death of the lion of the Senate, the man who made one believe that, “(T)he work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” Can our leaders channel the best of Teddy, and spurn their ties to lobbyists and special interests whose sole purpose is profiteering, and ignore for a time their constant campaign to satisfy a narrow band of influential constituents, and do the right thing?

What a fitting homage if our leaders pass meaningful health care legislation with those 47 million Americans without insurance in mind, and name the document “The Edward Kennedy Health Care For All” bill. Most sincere TSS condolences go out to the Kennedy family and friends as the last of the band of brothers who radiated hope and willingness to serve the public, to “ask not what your country can do for you,” has died. He was a lion of liberalism, and I pray that his memory and influence will live on in a time that desperately needs it.

Sincerely, proud to brand myself a “Kennedy Liberal,”

Michael Woods, Editor