And the Dream Shall Never Die
I’m sitting here listening to some Sinatra and thinking about the Kennedys. And isn’t it funny the way I seem to identify more and more with my parents?
Sinatra was there for Mom and Dad and I guess if you took a deep breath, rolled the dice, and still pursued the American Dream during the Depression you were apt to be emotionally attached to FDR.
Some of my more conservative friends will never get this but losing Senator Ted Kennedy to cancer this past week hit me like a loss in the family. I think I understand but I’m not so sure I can really explain.
When I do my “The Secret” thing every morning and click off all the length of stuff that merits my lasting gratitude, I start with my family and follow with my childhood.
Things were pretty innocent back in The Day. A kid could have heroes. I had many. No one could touch Mom and Dad and brother, Jay in the hero department but what if you were twelve years old the morning you saw JFK being sworn in on a biting cold Inauguration Day?
Don’t know about you but I’ve always been a card carrying sucker for inspiration. And maybe it was my impressionable youth but I still haven’t heard anyone more inspiring than President Kennedy. JFK made greatness seem more than possible; he made it seem natural. All you needed was the will and determination. Until that November Dallas motorcade.
When I was 21, I actually shook Robert Kennedy’s hand in Monterey Park the day before he won the California Presidential Primary. I still remember the victory speech. The disbelief that followed moments later still remains.
Within several months, Ted Kennedy and I had both suddenly lost a hero and brother. I know when I got my news that Sunday morning, a bit of my confidence and trust disappeared and never quite returned, replaced by some cynicism that unfortunately has never left.
Ted Kennedy survived some major errors in judgment, even though not all those around him were quite so lucky. He endured family tragedies, public humiliation, and lost his only chance to return a Kennedy Presidency.
I selfishly hoped against hope that Teddy could somehow regain his brothers’ inspiring promise of greatness. Instead, what I was moved to appreciate was Ted Kennedy’s ironclad will to make a difference, take a stand, and never give up.
Senator Ted Kennedy authored some 300 bills that became law. If you or a loved one has ever been confined to a wheelchair or worked for minimum wage or had a child who needed health insurance (there are approximately 6,000,000) or needed a better standard of education you can thank Ted Kennedy.
Ted Kennedy never backed down but always sought collaboration. He was always a stand for the little guy, the right thing, and the opportunity to make the most of a life comprised of faults, all too human.
In 1980, August 2008, and one last time from the voice of his son, the words, “…the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die” still touch and inspire.
He definitely wasn’t perfect and he couldn’t be JFK or RFK but he was still my hero.
RIP Teddy.
