Some Dreams Never Materialize
- August 27, 2009
In the preceding 24 hours or so I have
pondered my emotions extant with the passing of Senator Edward M. (Teddy)
Kennedy. I cannot stop from thinking that the reaper may have
denied our country its opportunity to make the most of the alliance formed
by the two men pictured above.
Their combined sensitivity to the inequalities
faced by so many could have impacted our social structure in such a positive
way for decades to come. I dared to dream about the product of their
efforts but now we may never know what could have been.
I also wondered if Senator Kennedy’s
support for this Presidency was that he and I both saw qualities in Barack
Obama that reminded us of another young President. Of course I refer
to his older brother, JFK.
I have stated many times that during
the Presidential campaign of 2008 I was always so emotionally moved by
then Candidate Obama and of course still now as President. I remain
convinced that Teddy heard the same tone and tenor of the oratory as I
did, and that the recent words and their expression evoked so many of those
older memories.
The picture above should also focus
on what appears to be two men that care greatly about each other enjoying
a shared moment. In measuring the photo against that paradigm I am
reminded of the many references I have heard regarding the Senator’s capacity
for unselfish friendship and eagerness to help another in their time of
need.
Like many in this country I admit that
I was influenced early on by the recounting of the events at Chappaquiddick
and the unfortunate demise of Mary Jo Kopechne. Couple that event
with all the rhetoric from the right about Teddy being a Liberal threat
to the American dream (at least as visualized by the “Party of No) and
the result was another brainless boob standing at the political starboard
railing.
However, I like to think that in my
dotage I have been able to drag myself out of political ignorance and into
reality, and that I am finally capable of concluding what is truth versus
a sound bite. All it took was a number of Kennedy’s colleagues to
recount the many incidences of his being the first person to respond the
crisis of another.
In conclusion, I am convinced that the
passing of the “Lion of the Senate” will be felt for me and many more for
some time to come and that a common dream of a more tolerant and forgiving
populace may never be reaIized.
