It was hard to miss coverage of Ted Kennedy's funeral if you were watching tv this past Saturday, as our neighbours to the south said goodbye to a pretty remarkable statesman. 

At the end of the day, I watched the HBO documentary "Ted Kennedy: In His Own Words", in which Ted narrated his life story.  Talk about compelling television.  We all know about the assassinations of his brothers Bobby and JFK...but the man's life was one tragedy after another.

His oldest brother (Joe) was killed at age 20 in the Air Force.  There was his guilty plea of leaving the scene of an accident that killed his secretary.  Many believe that event was the sole reason that Ted Kennedy would never run for the office of president.  But, he said that event changed his life.  He saw things differently afterwards, and it made him work even harder as a representative of the people.

So, a few years later when his son was diagnosed with cancer at age 10, Ted Kennedy took up the fight for universal health care...which you and I enjoy here in Canada.  For years, he would speak to other politicians...almost shaming them for being able to afford health care for their families because of who they were (or what family they had been born into), while millions of Americans couldn't afford to go to the doctor.

I couldn't help but think of a conversation I had with two Americans while passing through Skowhegan (Maine) on vacation recently.  Lisa and I sat next to a father and son over breakfast, making conversation...which eventually led to politics.   Turns out, the dad was a Democrat...over-the-moon excited about Barack Obama's plan to change American health care.  The son, however, described himself as somewhere between a Republican and Libertarian..and was more skeptical.

Americans are being told by opponents to the plan that a system like Canada's would raise taxes...and there would be long waits for health care.

That didn't seem to concern the two men we talked to.  They both agree their system needs to be fixed.  But, the younger of the two doesn't want government in charge of it.  He raised a good point  - - there's already enough corruption between government, lobbyists, pharmaceutical companies, etc...that an independent body needs to be created to run the health care system.

He asked if we would ever trade our Canadian system for something else. 

It's a no-brainer for me - - I couldn't imagine anyone not taking their child to a hospital because they can't even afford health insurance.  In the words of Ted Kennedy, the cancer treatment his son received would've sent the average American into bankruptcy.  I hope those words resonated to our neighbours below the 49th parallel this past weekend.

Sure.  We grumble about higher taxes to fund health care in this country, but I think most of us agree that it's a small price to pay to ensure that every Canadian receives equal care.  As for wait times...yes, it's a problem here.  Maybe there's a solution in a regulated "2 tier" system.

I'd love to know what your thoughts are.  Would your answer have been the same if an American asked you that question?