John Dingell's final words for America in 1 last editorial

The Dean of the House John Dingell was known for his wit and wisdom - and had one last thing to say.

He dictated his final words for America to his wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell, at their home in Dearborn on the day he died, Feb. 7 for The Washington Post which published the piece today.

"One of the advantages to knowing that your demise is imminent, and that reports of it will not be greatly exaggerated, is that you have a few moments to compose some parting thoughts.

"In our modern political age, the presidential bully pulpit seems dedicated to sowing division and denigrating, often in the most irrelevant and infantile personal terms, the political opposition.

"And much as I have found Twitter to be a useful means of expression, some occasions merit more than 280 characters."

In the piece Dingell reflected on the accomplishments and progress he was not only witness to, but which he helped fight for, and author. 

He wrote about the work of battling racial discrimination and impoverishment of the elderly from medical expenses.

Dingell also spoke about the cleanup and quality of the Great Lakes in the past 50 years and work in Congress to protect the environment.

"Please note: All of these challenges were addressed by Congress. Maybe not as fast as we wanted, or as perfectly as hoped. The work is certainly not finished," he wrote. "But we’ve made progress - and in every case, from the passage of Medicare through the passage of civil rights, we did it with the support of Democrats and Republicans who considered themselves first and foremost to be Americans."

To read the op-ed in its entirety go to https://wapo.st/2I33m4J