Ben Sasse is dying. The former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December. The cancer has metastasized. Without a miracle, it will kill him.
Rather than retreat into seclusion with his family, Sasse is choosing to die in a visible and vocal way. Sasse spends the few hours he has every day communicating his vision for America and his optimism about the future. It isn’t easy. His medical care consumes most of his energy. He sleeps 15 hours a day because of his medications.
Yet he seems to be everywhere — CBS News 60 Minutes, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and random podcasts.
Sasse launched his own podcast, “Not Dead Yet,” with a wide array of guests, from sports broadcaster Al Michaels to movie star Chris Pratt to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. His guests do what podcast guests do, answering questions and telling stories, but the interviews include remarkable humanity and tenderness. Sasse has to pause the recording often when nausea from the medication hits him.
As Sasse was wrapping up his interview with Caitlin Flanagan, a writer with The Atlantic, she interrupted: “Ben Sasse, I love you. I truly love you.”
Actor Chris Pratt refused to end his podcast until he told Sasse, “Ben, the world is going to miss you, and I’m going to miss you. I’m going to miss your voice and your intelligence.” Pratt then flipped the interview and asked Sasse questions for the next 20 minutes.
Sasse’s message is consistent across all these interviews: America is at an inflection point because of partisanship and technology. We must get along. We can do so, leaning on faith, the Constitution and the timeless values that built this country.
Departures have a way of clarifying a person’s priorities. Two-hundred thirty years ago, George Washington decided to relinquish the presidency after a lifetime of military and elected service. He published a letter to his “friends and fellow-citizens” in 1796. Washington called for national unity, warned against the dangers of partisanship, and urged the American people to embrace virtue.
On 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley asked Sasse, “What is your parting wish for America?”
“I’d like a lot more dinner tables to turn off the devices, put them out of the room, pour a big glass of wine, break bread together, and wrestle with some really grand questions about what you’re building for your family and your next generation,” said Sasse.
Sasse doesn’t fear death and speaks openly about his faith. He decided to undergo experimental treatments to gain more time with his family, especially his 14-year-old son.
“I’m super bummed to not be there at 16 and 18 and 20 years old in his life,” said Sasse of his son. “I want to give him more advice than he wants, and I want to put my arm on his shoulder, and I want his shoulders to get taller.”
In my 25 years of working in public policy, no politician has ever moved me to tears. But the image of Sasse and his son got me. His cheerful stoicism is teaching me how to face suffering and keep working. Like many of you, I’ve said goodbye to loved ones in the last few years — my father, a close colleague, the friend who stood as the best man in my wedding. I remember the last conversations we had.
Ben Sasse still has a lot to say. What a gift he is giving his family, fellow citizens and country with this farewell address.
Michael J. Reitz is executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ben Sasse’s farewell address | Reitz
Reporting by Michael Reitz / The Detroit News
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