Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey once said that “the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” Some 30 years ago or so, as a young teen, I met Mr. Humphrey in Miami, Florida. He was exiting an airplane, along with my Uncle Joe—who at the time was in the employ of the U.S. Agency for International Development and had previously worked many years with the Red Cross. The two had met some time ago and renewed their acquaintance on the plane. After disembarking, while still in the airport, my uncle was kind enough to make introductions, and I shook then Senator Humphrey’s hand. It was my first encounter with a public figure (not including the time I inadvertently bumped into the mayor while dashing to class in elementary school), and I recall feeling rather thrilled.

Both Humphrey and my uncle were men of considerable compassion and drive, dedicating their professional lives to making the world a better place than they found it. Hubert Humphrey died in 1978. My uncle, Joseph Salzburg, died just a few weeks ago. In the time since I attended his funeral (at Quantico, Virginia), I have been more contemplative than usual, reflecting on both this loss and the miserable state of affairs in this country (election results notwithstanding). I suspect that Mr. Humphrey and Uncle Joe would view the current social and political landscape with more than a little disapproval and despair—and, indeed, might argue that government is failing the “moral test” (or, in the terminology of No Child Left Behind, not achieving adequate yearly progress). As if further evidence of such were needed, consider this article from today’s Washington Post:

U.S. Sued Over Dropping of Benefits for Disabled

For eight years, Shmul Kaplan lived alone in a suburban Philadelphia housing complex with hardly any furniture and barely enough food to eat. Two years ago, the government told the amputee he would have to make do with less.

Kaplan, who is from Ukraine, lost his $603 in Supplemental Security Income after he missed a seven-year deadline to become a U.S. citizen. The clock started ticking after he was granted asylum in 1997.

A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Pennsylvania recently on behalf of people such as Kaplan, 80, contends that they are not responsible for missing the deadline. Kaplan’s citizenship application is among hundreds of thousands awaiting background checks by the FBI, a mountainous backlog that grew after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. More than 6,000 physically handicapped people who were granted asylum have had benefits cut as they wait, according to the suit.

“The Social Security Administration . . . projects that over 46,000 immigrants will be cut off from SSI in the years 2006-2012 as a result of delays in granting citizenship and the operation of the seven year rule,” the lawsuit says.

The suit’s plaintiffs include Eshetu Meri, 51, of Fairfax, a blind man who escaped from Ethiopia, where he was targeted for advocating democracy; Tasim Mandija, 80, of Philadelphia, a native of Albania who suffers from prostate cancer and neuropathy; and Rouzbeh Aliaghaei, 17, an Iranian who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that resulted in autism, seizures, mental retardation and an enlarged head. He came to the United States in 1998 when his parents escaped political persecution. [full text]

I cannot help but feel for these people. I cannot help but feel outrage and concern and sadness. I cannot help but chafe at the injustice and cruelty, as well as my own inability to rectify such. What can I do? What can I offer, beyond these modest words and my own pale efforts to leave the world a better place than I found it. What would Hubert Humphrey and Joseph Salzburg tell me?

Perhaps, again to quote the former, “never give in and never give up.” These two honorable men lived by such words. And, whatever their accomplishments, the lives they led offer ample evidence that they passed the “moral test” to which we all are held accountable. So what better way to honor their legacy—and the legacy of untold great men and women who have disembarked from this earthly plain—than by making certain that I pass the test as well. And never cease to demand the same of those who govern.