Franklin Roosevelt Writes Letter to a Sick Boy

Pol Moment #4 is when Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) wrote a letter to a sick boy named Charles Snow Smith.  Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States and served from 1933 until his death in 1945. Franklin D. Roosevelt also served as the Governor of New York from 1929-1932.

Franklin Roosevelt would be able to relate to the sick boy that he wrote a letter to, because he himself had numerous health problems and battled through them (Health Media Lab). The content of the letter has been preserved for 75 years.  Here is the letter that Franklin Roosevelt wrote to a Charles Snow Smith in New York. It was dated March 8, 1935.

My dear Charles:

One of your good friends has told me about you and of the splendid courage you have shown during your long illness. Just keep up your fine spirit and don't let anything at all discourage you.

I am writing this little note to send you a personal word of cheer and my very best wishes.

Very sincerely yours,

Charles Snow Smith,
Jackson Heights,
Long Island, New York

Citation: Franklin D. Roosevelt:"Letter to a Sick Boy.," March 8, 1935.Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15017.

Franklin D. Roosevelt has been featured on other Pol Light posts. To view all Franklin Roosevelt posts search with Franklin Roosevelt label at Pol Light.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo in this post is in the Public Domain. It was obtained from Wikipedia.

Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down From Congress

Pol Light Moment #2 comes from Arizona, where Gabrielle Giffords who is fighting to recovery from a tragedy decides the best thing for her constituents is for her to step down. This moment includes an ongoing and inspiring fight for recovery from brain injury and and acknowledgment that there are things in life more important than politics.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot on January 8, 2011 in Tuscon, Arizona along with 18 other people (Source). For a year Rep. Giffords has been fighting hard to recover from a traumatic brain injury caused by being shot at point blank range on that day.

In an unexpected move, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords resigned her seat in Congress on January 25, 2012, saying she needed more time to work on her recovery and she wanted to do what is best for Arizona. She had represented Arizona's 8th Congressional District from 2007 until her resignation in 2012.

Here is the announcement she made on YouTube about her resignation.

For more information on the long first year of Rep. Giffords recovery, see the ABC News 20/20 story on Gabrielle Giffords recovery.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo in this post is in the Wikipedia Commons because it is an official photo of a United States Representative.

Rick Santorum's Advice on Trisomy 18

Pol Light Moment #1 is a story from Michigan, where a family dealing with Trisomy 18 (Edward's Syndrome) in their daughter found encouragement from Rick Santorum. Rick Santorum served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995-2007. The Michigan family was not even a constituent of this Pennsylvania politician but they share a common bond with him.

In the Spring of 2010 on a visit to Troy, Michigan, Sen. Rick Santorum met Brad and Jessi Smith, whose daughter Faith had recently been diagnosed with Trisomy 18. The politician took the time to talk to Brad Smith about his situation and offer some insight into the situation.

Like the Smith's, Sen. Rick Santorum and his wife Karen are the parents of a 3 year old girl named Bella who has Trisomy 18. Rick Santorum shared his heart about raising a child with special needs during a political debate in 2011. The related segment is available in a video on YouTube. 

7 months after that first meeting, Sen. Rick Santorum visited Brad Smith at the radio station he worked at.  Sen. Santorum had heard that Brad Smith's daughter Faith wasn't doing well. He took the time to explain some steps the parents needed to take and when he observed that Brad Smith was not listening he said, "You need to do this. If you don't do this you are going to lose your daughter." Brad Smith contributes that tough advice to helping him tremendously in raising his special needs daughter.

Here is a news story that covers this incident that made a difference for the Smith family in Michigan.

For more information about this story you can read an article at the Detroit Free Press.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo Credits:

• The photo of Sen. Rick Santorum is attributed to Cage Skidmore and is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia. 
• The graphic of the genetic code of  Trisomony 18 is in the Public Domain courtesy of the National Institute of Health.