Can we please, finally, forgive Ted Kennedy?
May it be said of our Party in 1980 that we found our faith again.
And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and that have special meaning for me now:
"I am a part of all that I have met
To [Tho] much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are --
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end.
For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
Senator Edward Kennedy, August 12, 1980
________________________________________________________________________
I
woke up this morning to the news I've been dreading for weeks now. Ted
Kennedy, the Good Man of the Senate, has died. He has been on my mind
a lot lately, as we wage this battle for the common good, because what
I fear most now is that our progress will suffer badly without his
counsel, without his presence.
For more than 40 years he has consistently been on the side of the people without power. As former senator Bob Kerrey said on "Morning Joe" today, "If you're getting the shaft, you ought to be weeping today because Ted Kennedy was your best friend."
The list of his accomplishments, the bills he worked so tirelessly to get passed, the people whose personal stories tell the tale of a man of high privilege coming to understand his role in the negation of human misery--are a part of our history we will never forget.
But no matter how much we would prefer to concentrate on the triumphs of his life, on the undeniable good he has done for his country, the specter of Chappaquiddick will never stop casting a long shadow over it all.
Already, this early in the morning, it comes up in the remembrances of those who knew him and are now before the cameras talking about his life. It happened--we know it happened. The facts are that Mary Jo Kopechne's life ended on July 18, 1969, after drowning in a river on Chappaquiddick Island. It was late at night and she was a passenger in a car driven by Sen. Edward Kennedy. They were heading toward the ferry to the mainland after a victory party when the car skidded off a bridge and crashed into the water. Kennedy survived, but Mary Jo didn't. She was just days away from her 29th birthday.
There is no question that Ted Kennedy panicked and swam across to the mainland, leaving Mary Jo in that car in that river. Did he try to save her? He says he did. He says he was going for help, but it was hours before anyone found the car with Mary Jo's body inside.
Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime, and there were a lot of us--maybe most of us--who wanted to see him, at the very least, serve time in jail. His sentence was eventually suspended, a seemingly contemptuous judicial act that stunned us all. No punishment for running like a coward, allowing a young woman to die? Why? Because the rich and famous are exempt from having to pay for their sins?
For years I didn't want to ever hear the name Ted Kennedy again. For years I heard the stories of his drinking, his carousing, and I wondered how the good people of Massachusetts could go on electing him.
He ran for president against Jimmy Carter and campaigned badly. Again, we counted him out. Then he gave his concession speech, his "the dream shall never die" speech, on the night of Jimmy Carter's primary victory. There were a number of us in the room that night watching the returns, but I can still remember how quiet it was as we listened to the final moments of his speech.. I remember that none of us expected much from him by that time so when he started we were barely listening. When it ended, we all looked at one another and someone said, "Why in God's name did he have to wait until now to give that speech?"
I've heard people say that he campaigned badly because, after Chappaquiddick, he felt deep down that he didn't deserve the presidency. I can't begin to look into Ted Kennedy's soul at the time, but after that defeat he was a different man. He went to work to fight for the causes his liberal heart told him were the most important, and he never looked back.
Already I'm seeing the hatred toward the Liberal Lion, the greatest senator of our times, bombarding the boards. I won't repeat them here because I choose to celebrate Ted Kennedy's life. It's a life that is ultimately deserving of praise. Many of the people who are without a doubt going to go on the Hate Kennedy rampage today will laugh at the idea of a plea for forgiveness, so I'll say this in words that most of them can understand:
Luke 17:3 - Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
To forgive is not to forget. I'm not alone in wondering where Mary Jo's life would have taken her. From all accounts, she was good, decent, smart, loving. She was on Robert Kennedy's staff, even helping to write a speech he gave against the Vietnam War. Who knows what kind of career she would have chosen? Where she would be today?
I've always wondered if it's possible that Ted Kennedy chose to give his life over to helping people who couldn't help themselves because the one time he might have actually saved a life, he failed.
It was the greatest act of repentance any of one of us has ever seen, and if I weep for Ted Kennedy today, it is not for all the things that might have been, it is for all the things that were and now will be no more.
Ramona
(Cross-posted at Ramona's Voices here)
Beautifully said, Ramona...It is as if you were roaming through my mind, picking up my thoughts, then put put them to print much more eloquently than I would have. Thank you.
August 26, 2009 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, Stilli, I have no doubt that you can do the old Liberal Lion justice. None at all!
But thanks.
August 26, 2009 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well said.
As I put it to a friend:
Let's assume, arguendo, that all the worst said about Ted Kennedy, and the Kopechne incident were true. That he should have gone to jail.
Had he gone to jail it would not have brought Kopehne back, but all the good that he accomplished since then would not have been done.
The past cannot be changed; but one can compound the tragedies in it. Ted Kennedy redeemed himself, which would not have happened -- and we all would be less rich for it -- had he gone to jail.
I am not, of course, affirming anything the Kennedy haters say (my stomach turned when I saw an attack on him pretending sympathy by accusing him of leaving a pregnant Kopechne to drown): my point was based, as noted, on assuming the worst: that all the sleazy accusations were true.
Ted Kennedy redeemed himself. If he hadn't been, he became a good man, a good human being, a generous person who was welthy enough that he could have spent his entire life on vacation.
At the end he'd become superior -- even in the realm of morals -- to all the haters who would rather he had instead been prevented making any of his compassionate and humane contributions to all our lives.
Thank you, Ted.
August 27, 2009 1:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you so much for commenting. There is no question that Kennedy redeemed himself--and we've all benefited from the course he steered.
It's all we can ask of anybody.
August 27, 2009 8:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's a Kennedy tradition that when a family member dies, the body is not left alone -- there is always someone present -- until interred.
Two of those so honored are 9/11 widows. And as one of them said in interview, she was "blown away" when she got the phone call asking her if she would be willing to do that.
There are 177 MA families who lost loved ones on 9/11. Senator Kennedy, personally, contacted each and every one of them, before they could begin to think about how to cope, what to do.
He, personally, contacted each of them; they didn't first contact his office.
The one interviewed lost her husband, who'd been Navy for twelve years. She couldn't get an honor guard for his funeral and burial because she didn't have his service record. She took Ted Kennedy's invitation to call his office if there was anything she needed.
Within forty-eight hours she had an honor guard for her husband's funeral and burial.
August 27, 2009 8:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
Paul Boese
August 26, 2009 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Beautiful. Thanks.
August 26, 2009 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Forgiven, years ago.
August 26, 2009 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
TOG, that's because you're you. I guess I'm really addressing this to those who think keeping that old hatred alive somehow makes them better people.
They'll never see Kennedy's accomplishments as anything more than liberal pap, but in the end we'll have won because we've traveled with the best.
August 26, 2009 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Beautifully done, Ramona - I too had problems with Chappaquidick. But your quote from Luke 17:3 sums it all up. I am grateful people forgave me for sins of the past and with his devotion to the people and his cause of trying his best to help those in need, surely he has been forgiven.
August 26, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maggie, we've all done things in our lives that cannot be changed, no matter how much we might wish it. All we can do is ask forgiveness and build our lives into something better.
I think Ted Kennedy showed us how that is done. He left a legacy that is so profoundly a part of us now, we can honor him not only by celebrating his achievements and but by forgiving his transgressions.
I too have done it long ago. This post is simply a plea to those who haven't yet.
August 26, 2009 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a beautiful post, Ramona. Thank you for this.
August 26, 2009 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for commenting, Lis. Means a lot.
August 26, 2009 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ramona,
A defining post.
I believe that his life and contributions cannot be measured in flaws or stumbles, but in the sum total of his good works, efforts and accomplishments rendered tirelessly for his country, family and even those who will never acknowledge the positive, only rant about perceived negatives. This post, I hope, will give even the latter pause - if only for a moment.
Greatly appreciate. Truly.
Rec'd.
August 26, 2009 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
You've said it all. Thank you, Aunt Sam
August 26, 2009 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Ramona. This is a sad day, and your words give me some comfort. Beautifully said.
August 26, 2009 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, Lefty, the saddest of days. . .
August 26, 2009 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had already forgiven this tragedy so I was surprised by the title of your post.
Having gone through a tragedy in my own family, my father accidentally ran over my sister of one and a half years when I was two and a half and she died, I had already forgiven this tragedy. My parents were deeply traumatized by what happened. The loss, guilt, and trauma changed them. It took far too long for my parents to finally tell me what happened in their own words. It was in fact just a couple of years ago. It took my forgiveness and understanding of how they both had blamed one another and that it was a tragedy for all of us to bring the three of us together again in healing and wholeness.
Again, thanks Ted. Be at peace.
August 26, 2009 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sync, it is a testament to the love inside your parents that their marriage endured such a horrific event. They must truly be wonderful people.
August 26, 2009 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, well they are wonderful people now, but they were pretty awful after this happened. It affected them both in the worst way. They divorced when I was 20. But they are friends now and they have forgiven each other which is a great gift for to us all. Thanks.
August 26, 2009 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have no words. I am happy for whatever healing they and you may attain.
August 26, 2009 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, Synch, if I wasn't crying enough today. . .
What a horrible tragedy. I can't begin to find the words to tell you how I'm reacting to this. Just to say I'm so, so sorry for all of you. How hard it must have been for your parents to finally have to tell you--to have to relive that terrible piece of your history.
But from truth and forgiveness comes healing. The worst of it is over.
August 26, 2009 2:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Ramona.
It happened long ago and I shared this because of the traumatic deaths that Senator Kennedy had to deal with and the 'many' ways they may have affected him.
I think TV and movies give us 'very' unrealistic expectations of how trauma affects human beings.
August 26, 2009 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am so glad there are multiple posts by members of our little cafe. I am crying again.
Yes, if you found yourself on the lowest tier, there was always one man who would at least mention that tier. Someone who knew there were people suffering. Someone who would not simply note that people who were suffering economically were suffering due to their own sins.
Nice post. Nice link.
August 26, 2009 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
We need more like him. I wonder where they are? If they're in the senate, they're staying hidden.
August 26, 2009 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even though I live in Massachusetts, I didn't know until, during the overnight or early morning local news, that he devoted office and staff to helping those who lost loved ones on 9/11. He not only contacted each one, personally, with his condolences, and provided all the help he could in terms of coial services supports, but also personally contacted every one of them on every 9/11 anniversary.
To him it was simply "constituent services," but it is a committed moving of bureaucratic mountains that is above and beyond. And he didn't do it for attention.
In another story, a woman at the New England Home for Little Wanders spoke of many of the well known things he did, but said that the one that moved her most was when he visited the "Home" and sat and read to the children.
So many such stories.
August 27, 2009 1:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's all glass houses, Ramona. Most of us have screwed up at points in our lives, but how many of us have gone on to try to redeem ourselves to the extent Sen. Kennedy did? And how many of us could have lived through the tragedy upon tragedy bestowed upon the Kennedy family and still be standing, let alone striving?
Thank you for your beautiful, honest post. Rec'd.
August 26, 2009 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, I didn't even mention all of the tragedies he's had to endure. His strength was astonishing for someone so physically impaired.
August 26, 2009 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
rec'd
August 26, 2009 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
As I read through these responses, I am so tempted to rage against the critiques, but I will adhere to the Senator's principles and restrain myself. Today it is about him and what we have lost. For those who would remind everyone of a that tragic event in hopes of minimizing his achievements,...oh, never mind.
This is our nation's loss because his diplomacy and skill were examples of how to work across the aisle and how to keep the faith that the intentions of others in Congress were for the good of the nation, even if we disagree how to achieve that.
What always impresses me about men like Senator Kennedy is that they have their wealth. They want for nothing personally, but they strive to enable others to achieve something better in their lives. They have faith that, just because others will have more, will not mean they will have less, or, even if they did get less, that their well-being could ever be in jeopardy with such a fortune to their name. For me, this is evidence of a truly great man, one who understands his own security and has no fear or petty jealousy that others might somehow diminish him in some miniscule way.
For those who love the water, this is an Ode to Their Travels Beyond the Sunset.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMkIuKXwmlU&feature=related
August 26, 2009 1:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since reading the breaking news around 2 AM, my movements have been slow and deliberate, like my thoughts. It feels so personal and I don't want to break.
Forgive? Long, long ago.
August 26, 2009 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I forgave him the one life he tried to save but failed.
I love Edward Kennedy because he cared about the people and always worked for social justice. He was a Democrat in the true liberal meaning.
But I can’t forgive bush and cheney and the millions who have suffered and are still dying. And I can't forgive the insurance companies or their cronies in Congress.
In this country we lost perspective and heart. Teddy Kennedy was the people’s closest friend and should be honored as such. Rest in Peace Senator Kennedy. We will get Universal Healthcare someday soon.
August 26, 2009 2:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
"It was the greatest act of repentance any one of us has ever seen" - no, I don't think so. Just praise him for what he did, no need to overreach.
August 26, 2009 2:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll rephrase that for you. "It was the greatest act of repentance I have ever seen."
He saved thousands of lives and brought quality to millions of lives during his political career. I'm not sure he would have done that as fervently or as tirelessly if not for the events at Chappaquiddick.
You can criticize that as hyperbole, too, but I believe every word of it.
August 26, 2009 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
And this was necessary, why?
Please, no need for rebukes or dispensing of negatives directed to those who are mourning the loss of Sen. Kennedy. It serves no positive purpose and says nothing good about the intent and character of the one who inserts this tone and unwarranted remarks.
More oft, kindness and respect for others is expressed by silence. In that vein I will refrain from further response to you here and now.
Peace.
August 26, 2009 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was a calm reminder of reality. Ramona's rephrasing brings it back down to earth. Nothing wrong with earth, is there?
August 26, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Desidero, you were right. The rephrasing is much better.
August 26, 2009 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Desidero is a professional at being a condescending, nasty twit who never has anything positive or constructive to say about anyone or anything. Nothing to contribute but tearing down. Small and petty. Ugly.
August 27, 2009 1:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Run along, little girl, Mummie's calling you.
August 27, 2009 3:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
You again make my point for me.
"Southern manners" again?
August 27, 2009 7:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ramona, I cried.
thank you for this.
yes, I was deeply disappointed and angry after Chappaquiddick. I, too, counted him out for a long time.
but then he came back and did what so many in his position have not done. for that, I'm glad he was a senator of this country.
August 26, 2009 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for commenting, Icetree. I was hoping you would be around on this day.
August 26, 2009 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a beautiful encomium, Ramona. You honor the man without erasing his flaws. And, yes, perhaps those flaws and errors were essential to making him the great man he became.
I'm so glad we have fine writers like you around here, capable of crystalizing feelings for so many that otherwise remain ineffable. Thanks.
August 26, 2009 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obey, I appreciate your comments. It is possible to honor a person without pretending an important, life-changing part of their history didn't exist. I hope I was able to do that.
August 26, 2009 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes indeed Ramona. Thank you very much.
August 26, 2009 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
hey, everyone--
here's a petition asking that the health care bill that came from Kennedy's committee 1] be named for him and 2] be passed intact.
please go here and sign? thanx.
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5649/t/4922/content.jsp?content_KEY=2763&tag=hk2_e1
August 26, 2009 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
A fine essay, Ramona--it's honest, clear, soulful, it's whole in its reflection, not simply the poetic recitation of a man's shining moments.
Thanks
August 26, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ramona -
Thank you. Beautifully written.
August 26, 2009 6:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Ramona for these soulful words. I was young at the time of this tragic accident and I judged Teddy Kennedy harshly.That was before I had crashed a few bridges of my own, before I had failed to help others my own self. Now in the autumn of life I still get angry and judgemental at times, but I cannot hold it, I am a leaky vessel, with holes ripped in the fabric of self righteousness by my own failures, holes that bleed out all the bitter wine of animosity. I must forgive or loathe myself as a hypocrit. There is no animosity for Sen Kennedy in me, that has drained away and all that is left is honor, respect and deep appreciation for this memorable public servant. A grateful bow to Senator Ted Kennedy.
August 26, 2009 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Grateful is a good word, DonDi. That's what I am, too. Grateful.
August 26, 2009 8:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is importance in Ted Kennedy's demonstration of personal redemption, as few people in public life seem to feel any remorse, or need to make amends, whatsoever, when they cause great harm, whether personally or professionally, domestically or internationally.
But even without that element of redemption -- which we may only infer as his motivation, Ted Kennedy served as a remarkable example of what genuine generosity looks like and sounds like when, as a public man, he utilized all his gifts of intelligence, problem-solving and, yes, political cunning. He worked tirelessly, for decades .... for us. On the Senate floor, in back room bargaining, at endless, mind-numbing fundraising dinners. None of which he had to do.
I met him ten years ago at one of those stultifying fundraisers (which he regularly undertook even in the south). I marveled at his patience in standing and smiling with one person after another for photos, marveled at the serious intent behind his banter when, after an hour of posing and handshaking, he was asked by his host if would he do "just a few more" and he said easily: "A few more? Of course, but remember -- for every photo I've done so far as well as those to come I shall claim one more minute to speak after dinner. about....HEALTHCARE."
Healthcare. Which he spoke about passionately for well over an hour and a half. Because he obviously cared about his fellow Americans, of every age, ethnic background, religion and persuasion.
Where is the Senator with that kind of commitment -- not to marital fidelity, but to humanity?
August 26, 2009 7:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wendy, after watching the tributes to Ted Kennedy today I have to believe the time is right to absolutely BOMBARD congressional offices with UHC bombs. We can't let up now. They have to get the message loud and clear, and the messages have to be by the TONS.
We owe to the good senator to do everything we can. He isn't there to plead his own case. I guess we have to do it for him.
August 26, 2009 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agree absolutely Ramona. Ted Kennedy really cared about healthcare for all. He worked for us for forty years. I think we could find time to do what we can do to realize "the dream that will never die."
August 26, 2009 9:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Completely agree. It's not that we owe him, it's that to let his work go to naught would be just a damn shame. Thanks for the post, Ramona.
August 27, 2009 1:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Very well said, Ramona. Rec'd and following.
August 26, 2009 8:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ramona, I saw your headline this am and I didn't want to read it. I didn't want to read anything good about a man who left a girl to die. Then I listened to a call in radio show where people called in and shared their experience with Ted Kennedy. Deeply personal and deeply touching. Thank you for your post. Maybe the dems will be able to rally around and help fill the void in the fight for health care that Kennedy left.
August 26, 2009 9:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes: it's the personal.
The two tributes I found most moving:
Robert Byrd -- of course.
Joe Biden -- surprising, and yet not surprising. Moving: How Ted sent specialists to assist in the care of Biden's sons, seriously injured in the accident that killed Biden's wife and little daughter.
It is that accident, and those who persuaded him not to quit his political caeer, just after having been elected for the first time, that made Biden what he is. And it was probably Ted Kennedy who was most persuasive that Biden stay in there fighting.
August 27, 2009 1:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Once again, I come late to a great post. So far the best post on Kennedy I have seen today, the one that best crystallizes the fundamental dichotomy of Teddy's nature that held both demons and angels.
I am in awe of your writing. Rec'd.
August 26, 2009 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have been away from TPM for a while, but came back tonight because I was hoping to find some solace here. And, Ramona, I have with your post. The legislative history that Ted Kennedy leaves behind is beyond belief. I have a disabled brother--it was Kennedy's push for passage of the ADA Act of 1990 that has allowed my brother to live a full and stable life. Thank you Senator Kennedy. I provide health services for poor children. Thank you Senator Kennedy for making sure that the funds are there to pay for the tests and treatments needed to ensure they live a long and healthy life. The mark that this man made on American life is indelible. The one life he could have saved and didn't--for which he was crucified--is a sad and tragic sacrifice to the path he chose as penance. Perhaps little solace to her family, but what a path he strode to compensate. I believe in redemption--otherwise, why should any of us keep trying? Let's hope his death reminds the small-minded and the angry that there is no way forward without hope and optimism, and compassion for those less fortunate. Thanks for this post, really. I feel like I have lost a pillar. Who will replace him?
August 26, 2009 10:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's good to see you here tonight, Katie...good to have you with us at a time like this, if only for a moment.
August 26, 2009 10:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Stilli, it's good to be here tonight.
August 26, 2009 10:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
As one with a disabled family member I know that depth of Ted's compassion.
I'm an attempted Catholic -- my mother failed in the effort to make me one; and that's more "fallen" than a lapsed Catholic. But looking at the tireless good works of Ted Kennedy makes me wonder . . . he did the good works, but "shied away" from any mention of "God" in the doing of them.
And then there are those who invoke "God" at every opportunity in place of the doing of good works.
August 27, 2009 1:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
JNagarya, just today I read that Kennedy prayed every day for a year at the Mission Church in Boston while his daughter Kara was undergoing treatments (successfully) for lung cancer. You're right, he never used his faith as a credential or weapon in legislation or good works. What a great man.
August 27, 2009 8:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I didn't know about Kara's cancer until a brief segment at Masachusetts General Hospital with he and his immediate family members shortly after the seizures and before the diagnosis was announced.
There have been repeated reports on the scheduled events for the next few days. And during one of those, which included segment on that church, and that he prayed there daily during her treatments for the cancer, a woman who lives near and attends that church said she saw him there during that period, but hadn't known why he was there.
And another bit: Ted Kennedy didn't take his Senate salary. But, as a Senate staffer isn't paid a whole lot, he paid his staffers additional -- out of his own pocket.
August 27, 2009 8:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had to leave early this morning to go to the city to get my mammogram and have my hip xrayed so I missed responding to some of the comments.
I just want to thank you all for adding to this post so beautifully and so poignantly.
JNagarya, thank you for the personal vignettes that brought to light so many of Ted Kennedy's finest moments. So much appreciated.
August 27, 2009 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had family obligations today that required me to maintain my composure. I was both looking forward to and dreading getting home, turning on the television and letting myself fall apart a little.
But what I discovered is that I didn't need to. Somehow, listening to all the stories, the speeches, the fire and brimstone on our behalf, I met a man I only thought I knew. And getting to know him, instead of the grief I thought I would feel, I only feel blessed at having had him here fighting our battles, at a time when I never appreciated what he was doing. The tears will come, I'm sure. But for now, I'm just marveling at how much such a flawed man was able to contribute, and am wondering why so many who are not nearly so flawed don't accomplish more.
August 26, 2009 10:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I haven't read much, not even Joe Biden's eulogy, so this is my first and it is just right. Thank you Ramona!
I wondered often about that night on Chappaquiddick Island and the mystery of what happened. After a party, dark and late, two people underwater in shock and panic with only seconds to save themselves, each other. Senator Kennedy survived but actions he took that night continued to hurt him for the rest of his life. He built a life of service on the ashes of that tragedy, the loss of a young woman's life. If forgiveness is based on atonement, then yes, he deserves our forgiveness.
R.I.P. Senator Edward Kennedy
August 27, 2009 2:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you !
God forgave Senator Kennedy long ago. I think in his heart Kennedy with his Catholic faith knew that.
The first area of the brain to be affected when one drinks alcohol is judgement.
That could explain Kennedys reaction that tragic night. Not an excuse, but it makes sense .
Who among us hasn't partied and drank too much and could have found ourself is a life or death sitaution ?
But for the grace of God go I .............
August 27, 2009 7:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Those who choose not to forgive continue to remark the ghost of the tragedy that haunts them and no one else. Yes there is atonement to those who repent and grace in all of Gods children, sinners and all.
August 27, 2009 7:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
A beautiful memorial to Senator Kennedy. Thank you, Ramona.
August 27, 2009 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink