I was going to save this for early June on the anniversary of Bobby Kennedy's funeral, but I decided to post it now after the news about Ted Kennedy's brain tumor. People have ragged on Ted Kennedy a lot through the years, mostly the right wing where he has been an easy target, mostly because he's done something that his two famous brothers did not do -- he got old and out of shape, and the scandals (including the horrible Chappaquiddick) at times got the upper hand. But, I'll tell you what... I have always cut Ted Kennedy and the rest of his family a lot of slack when it comes to personal matters. You may talk about how rich they are, but there are experiences that no amount of being rich can fix. We older people remember losing some of our finest heroes of liberalism to assassination on live television. I personally remember Nov. 22, 1963 as fresh as if it were yesterday. That weekend is burned on my brain, followed by all the conspiracy studies and it seems like the one millionth viewing of the Zapruder film. Then in 1968, both our beloved Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were publicly murdered. Bobby was looking like a strong candidate for the nomination of the Democratic party, and then there he was, over and over on film, on TV, in newspapers and magazines, lying on the floor with blood streaming from his fatal wound. It's easy for us, as liberals, to feel personally damaged by these events. But these men were his brothers. He became like a godfather to all the children, his nieces and nephews, who had also shared these horrors. The public aspect of the lives of these people, from the deeply personal things to their service of this country, is not something that even other celebrities know the likes of, because political figures don't usually get away with telling the public "it's none of your damned business," not if they want to stay in politics.
This video presents a slideshow of stills, and the audio is the Eulogy presented at Bobby Kennedy's funeral service by his brother, Ted. It is one of the most moving talks I have ever heard.
Link:
wiki overview of Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy
Tags: Kennedy - Ted - tumor
4 comments:
oh this is so beautiful....
((damnit...and the cat did unspeakable things to my kleenex..so now I am stuck with cheap TP...oh man...this was beautiful..thank you....1968 has been on my mind so much.....DO get the New Vanity Fair article....on RFK..it is a good article- but the photos I have never seen before...)
While the prognosis is grim, Kennedy is still alive. I think he's going to exhibit remarkable courage, and who knows - maybe he will respond to the aggressive therapies they're talking about.
I know he is going to be a fighter.
that is so, so very amazing. thank you for posting it.
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