The news was like the proverbial bolt from the blue. We knew he had suffered “a seizure,” but we weren’t expecting to hear that Ted Kennedy, “the liberal lion of the Senate,” has a life threatening brain tumor.

At 76 years old, Kennedy’s prognosis is chilling. Medical experts say he could have a couple of years or we could lose him within a year. How do we conceive of a world without Ted Kennedy? Who can take his place in the front lines of the fight against oppression and exploitation? Who will take up his crusade to defend the defenseless? Who will have his commanding presence, his political skill, his integrity, his will?

In the struggle for a better society, a more noble tomorrow, the Kennedys have been our flag bearers for as long as I can remember. The best — the only — way to honor these lions is to conjure up the finest in our own hearts, to fight the good fight as they would have us do, to stand tall in an often cynical and self-serving world, and in the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson, “ to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

And as a small gesture of support, we can go to Ted Kennedy’s web site, click on the “Best Wishes” button and tell this fine American how much we love him before it is too late. Here is the link:

http://kennedy.senate.gov/