Thank you, Senator and Mrs. Edwards

Again, thank you, Senator and Mrs. Edwards

 

Every woman on the planet knows they may get breast cancer.  In the US, events like the Race for the Cure have increased the awareness of the disease, its prevention and treatment.  According to www.breastcancer.org:

 

• Every three minutes a woman in the is diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2006, an estimated 212,920 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 61,980 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. And 40,970 women are expected to die in 2006 from this disease.
• Breast cancer is the leading cancer among white and African American women. African American women are more likely to die from this disease.
• Breast cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.

To me, it is a sign of strength and commitment to their ideals that caused the Edwardses’ press conference and their decision to keep campaigning.  Rush Limbaugh, who just last fall accused Michael J. Fox of exaggerating his Parkinson’s symptoms for political gain, made the same claim this past week about the Edwardses. 

 

On the March 23 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh told listeners that former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) and his wife Elizabeth are "political people [who] are different than you and I." Referring to the couple's March 22 announcement that Elizabeth Edwards has Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, Limbaugh said: "[M]ost people, when told a family member's been diagnosed with the kind of cancer Elizabeth Edwards has, they turn to God. The Edwards turned to the campaign. Their religion is politics and the quest for the White House." Limbaugh later asked: "If you're [Sen.] Barak Obama [D-IL] or [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY], how do you now attack John Edwards?" Limbaugh added: "Not a problem for Hillary, the [inaudible] will find a way. But Barak, it's going to be a challenge."

            (http://mediamatters.org/items/200703230015)

 

Rush Limbaugh is no more of a journalist than Stephen Colbert, though Stephen Colbert has talent where the former has none.  The only reason this means anything is that he is right about one thing, the Edwards family is not like everyone else.  There are some people like them but when most people confront personal adversity, they deal with it differently.  They look inward and bunker down.  The differences between the Edwards family and the majority of the country does not end there.  Elizabeth Edwards has something that about 40 million people in this country do not: health insurance.  During the course of their campaigning she has met numerous people who didn’t have access to the resources she does and whose outcome when faced with the same illness, or when diagnosed with an earlier stage of cancer, would be either far less certain or just far worse.  She has also made it much easier for people who may have been scared to go in and get that lump tested or come out and tell their families and friends what they are going through.  Her bravery and dignity become all of ours.

 

This is why Senator Edwards’ campaign is so important.  His background is not that different from that of a lot of the country who grew up as poor as he did.  His family has faced tragedy before and some say that is the reason he is so passionate about helping people now.  The same can be said about their family’s reaction to the news about Mrs. Edwards’ health.  Everyone close to the Senator has said that he would end his candidacy immediately if it would hurt his wife and all media reports indicate their marriage is rock solid.  None of that is really anyone’s business except to show what troopers these people are and how far they are willing to go to make a difference.

 

The Edwards campaign has been considered a populist one.  His website highlights helping the poor, improving education in this country and getting health care to those 40 million people who do not have access to the best care, the care Mrs. Edwards will get.  These are good people who despite facing the same personal problems so many other women face, have decided to move forward.  Senator Edwards is also the first presidenial candidate to explain how he would fix our health care system.

 

From where I sit, they are heroes for this decision and regardless of how anyone votes next year they deserve our respect and prayers.

 

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