Maurice Hinchey: “Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been valued and will continue to be valued for his wisdom on a kaleidoscopic range of…”

“Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been valued and will continue to be valued for his wisdom on a kaleidoscopic range of subjects, for his prescient and nuanced analysis of social problems, his persistent and eloquent defense of government support for the poor and the disadvantaged, long after that position had become unfashionable; for his role in international affairs, as a participant and observer; as courtly diplomat and passionate defender of democracy. His example, his independence of mind, his indifference to fashion, his rejection of cant and conventional wisdom, is perhaps the best demonstration of why his favorite cause, the dignity of the free individual soul, matters so much. Perhaps the proudest achievement of our country and our democratic system is that we allow people like Daniel Patrick Moynihan to speak their minds and rise to power. His particular legacy to New York lies in his understanding that the lives of free individuals can be enhanced by the beauty and grandeur of all that surrounds them: the landscape, the streetscape, and the history that underlies them. So he made it his mission to see that our home, New York, would retain its distinguished features and add to its beauty and eloquence. He committed himself to enhancing everyday life and to landmarks that spoke of the dignity of ordinary people, the efforts of the forgotten, and the conviction that every person matters.”