Photos by: John Dominis and John Loengard
Consult any news source today, and you will
Now know that Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Passed away at age 77.I admire the man. I thought that he had
Managed to come back from the cancer
That threatened him at the perfect time
To get his work finished.And he did; just not in the way that I thought.
Denial happens, but influence & inspiration live on.
May his passing reinvigorate a healthy debate
On the major issues of our time.Mostly I would like to let the man speak for himself
In this post about his life and work.If you don't want to read my sad ramblings,
scroll down to his video and quote.There will be many blog posts remembering:
How he was the youngest of the Kennedy brothers, who
Took on the family mantle after his brothers were killed.He also had a car accident where a woman died.
That will be mentioned too, most likely, as the cause of
Clinching the public opinon that he was not up to the
Level of promise that his brothers had before him.I only mention it at all because I know it will be out there.
Yet he's the one who wound up STAYING...
Who lived to be 77 and develop a record and
Body of work and inspiration
Toward so many important goals for all those many years.What I HOPE you will hear most
Are the many things he did
For this country in his numerous
Years of public service.
And the many serious struggles for decency
On so many fronts. The list goes on and on.To try to help to motivate a
Just and caring society...
One with integrity and heart.Whatever may have transpired in his private life,
Those many bills written and/or supported,
Speeches given, mindfulness offered,
Travel taken, and hours devoted to a better USA
Bear witness to some of the most successful
And compassionate programs we've enacted.It's true he came from a complicated family,
Who gave and lost much for their
Interpretation of what the United States means.The first time I remember hearing of him was when
President Kennedy was killed in Dallas, 1963.
Or maybe in a slight reference before on the TV
Or by my parents, talking.There were the conflicting images of the formal
Funeral for his brother, John F. Kennedy,
Escorting his sister-in-law, now a widow in
Procession with her children, and then
Doing it over again for his brother, Robert Kennedy,
All too soon after.With the image of the Chappaquiddick car incident
Where Mary Jo Kopechne drowned...
Along with his good, clean name for a number of years.But he was a lion nonetheless - and worked
On many of the core programs we count on today. Look at all that I do and not only what I say,
Though words have great power as well.That was me talking... my hope for people in general.
Despite our own challenges to help us work through
This existential way-station of life.His words are pasted below the video.Fare thee well, Senator Kennedy, and
Safe journey on. Thank you for your labors and thoughtful actions.
You need no forgiveness from me for anything.
My feeling is: all's left to the karmic balance.I'll continue to celebrate what you've shown it
Is possible to do with a lifetime here on Earth.
~This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American...will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me—and more urgency—than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years. — Ted Kennedy