A few days before Christmas, I heard some extremely sad news.

Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who just turned 54 on Feb. 22, announced he was dying.

“This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die,” Sasse wrote on X, in a Dec. 23 post that has been seen more than 23 million times. 

“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too ‒ we all do.”

He’s right. We all do. Yet, I’m sure I’m far from alone in knowing too many people, even in their 30s and 40s, who have succumbed to a cancer diagnosis.

It’s tragic for his wife and three children. 

It’s also tragic for the country. 

While Sasse had already left the U.S. Senate early to take the head post at the University of Florida in 2023 (which he resigned in 2024, following his wife’s health struggles), his horrible news also made me think about how we need more statesmen like him – someone I’ve respected for a long time – to lead our........

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