In 1980, Lee Atwater, a political campaign manager for Ronald Reagan, inflicted terrible pain with his words. His staff learned that an opposing congressional candidate from South Carolina, Tom Turnipseed, had once experienced severe depression and undergone electric shock therapy. When Atwater released the information to the press, it humiliated the candidate and cast doubt on his ability. In anguish, the man questioned Atwater’s campaign ethics. Atwater responded by saying that he had no intention of responding to a man “hooked up to a jumper cable.”

Ten years later, Atwater was afflicted with an incurable brain tumor. He was confined to bed, attached to machines and tubes and wires. Before he died, he a wrote the candidate a letter and asked to be forgiven. He saw how cruel and heartless his words had been.

In part, Atwater wrote: “My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The ’80s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don’t know who will lead us through the ’90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.”

In truth, you and I are the only ones who can make that change within us. Let’s do it.

Tags: confession, foregiveness, politics