As all of you I'm sure know, Teddy Kennedy died yesterday morning on what will now surely be a national day of mourning. For some reason I have never had the affinity for JFK the way everyone else has. I've always been much more taken with Bobby and Teddy. Ted Kennedy was one of the few people that I wish I knew personally. I wish I had the opportunity to sit and talk with him and listen to him tell stories. I can only imagine the depth of everything he knows and the wisdom he had to share.
Back in 2004 I was in a small crowded room at Michigan State at a rally for John Kerry. I actually didn't like Kerry and campaigned for Edwards in the primaries, but I heard Ted Kennedy was going to be at the rally so I went. Luckily, Kerry got held up and couldn't make it so Teddy was there to give a speech. I don't know if any of you have seen him speak in person, but it doesn't surprise me that he has the reputation he has.
I had never seen anyone speak with so much conviction and determination and desire to change the world for the better until that day. If you can remember the times, it was 2 years into the 'War on Terror' and everyone was unhappy with Bush, the economy was still recovering from the stock market crash in 2001 and people wanted change, and we would have had it if Kerry wasn't such a twit. Sen. Kennedy came and floored the audience, talking about what a great nation America is and how he and his brothers made it their goal in life to do everything they could to be crusaders for the people. The only other time I can remember anything quite like that feeling was watching President Obama's acceptance of the democratic nomination. It's no wonder his brothers were so inspiring to people and it's no wonder Teddy saw so much of them in Obama.
I have had an interest in politics since the 2000 election which started out of more shock and awe at how the 2000 election played out but I didn't really care until 2004 when I wanted change and thought Sen. Edwards was the man for the job. Even then, I had no idea the power of prose and rhetoric until I heard Kennedy speak and I remember my roommate and I saying how we wished it was Kennedy running for President and not Kerry. He talked about the importance of our role as young students and the impact we could have and the choices we could make that students didn't have when he was growing up. It was very inspirational and no doubt is what fueled my interest in politics and made me actually care.
I always wish I was alive to see the Kennedys when they were young and to imagine the potential of what they could do if they were all in power together. It's not the end of the line for the Kennedys but it's no longer the name it once was. A few years ago I picked up a book by RFK Jr. that talks about how Bush was killing the environment and I remember thinking that if he was a more prominent person in politics he would be a great champion for the environment, but he doesn't have the clout his father and uncles did and I don't see him rising to power any time.
After reading all these tribute articles and learning more about him, I realized how young I am and how far back this family goes. In my lifetime Ted Kennedy has always been a saint and I had never even heard of the "Chappaquiddick Incident" which if you know nothing about it worth reading. It's one of those stories where you realize the Kennedys really were like this country's royal family and could get away with anything.
He will be missed and his presence will be missed. I can't think of anyone so idealistic who also had so much power who is left and it will probably be a long long time before we see anything like him again. I'm pretty sure that it's only a matter of time before Obama's Health Care Reform is re-branded as the Ted Kennedy Health Care System or something along those lines.
Go big or go home. Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.
-M, p, z & shredder
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