As an expat liberal who left W's USofA I remember Ted Kennedy
This week, like millions around the world, I grieve for a fallen leader and an era that has passed. All US-born "liberals" of a certain age are Kennedy acolytes. I met President Kennedy on his last visit to Boston before he was killed. I was at a very impressionable age and, not surprisingly, that memorable event set my career focus to working in ways to fulfill the Kennedy brand of liberalism.
I was devastated by the President's death, but saw his brother Bobby, as the leader who could go beyond JFK's cerebral ways and bring passion and real compassion into US politics. Bobby's appeal to both blacks and whites held great promise. And then came the Los Angeles hotel kitchen. The summer of 68, I virtually hibernated in my bedroom - listening to a new brand of rock & roll (The Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, etc. While my broken heart mended.
In the late 60s, I dodged the Vietnam War draft, studied political science and hoped that Teddy would emerge from his own hibernation and pick up the torch so I could follow him. Chappaquiddick intervened.
Senator George McGovern's anti-war Presidential campaign was my entree into serious politics. And from 1972 through 1989, I worked in government for a variety of senior American national political leaders trying to end racism, poverty and war. We all know how that worked out!
After I left public service, I lost my taste for the business and despaired for the cause, as I saw an emerging US where everyone seemed to embrace a brutish selfishness and a mindless pursuit of lucre. Clinton was a marginal Democrat in my eyes. The theft of the Presidency by the Supreme Court in 2000 and the W / Cheney / Rove years were dispiriting enough to bring me here to Argentina.
When Obama came along my hopes were renewed and the dream rekindled. I never assumed that single-handedly, he would overturn the forces of greed and evil, but I was, perhaps, too optimistic about how much "change" we could "believe in" would be tolerated by the powers that be.
Over the years, I had several personal encounters with Teddy. Once I brushed the stardust from my eyes, I saw a regular guy whose intelligence, charm and wit were ever present. Teddy's passing is a sad reminder of how the idealism that fueled my youth is so out of place today. It is a perverse blessing that he will not live to see the possible failure of his new champion, President Obama, not for want of trying and talent, but because the current creed of indignant indifference to others, so permeates US culture and the ruling class.
The depth of latent racism, especially among older white Americans who harbor deep fears that a multicultural America somehow holds a threat to them, is disheartening. That racism is just one of the many seemingly impossible obstacles that Obama faces, as he navigates an era of government distrust, broken political systems and a poisonous American media that no longer functions as a channel of civic education or objective watchdog.
As we age, our understanding of history does give us some perspective. In my lifetime there have been 13 presidents. Only one - FDR - was a success. JFK had too little time for a fair and full judgment on his tenure to be made. Eisenhower, Reagan and Clinton - were mediocrities. Seven were outright political failures - Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bushes One and Two. What does that track record say about the efficacy of American democracy? The fact that during those years, the US became the dominant global power may say more about the genius of America's scientific and business management and the weakness of other powers than America's political leadership.
I fear that the best days of the US are behind it, unless change occurs that seems very unlikely. That the forces that wrecked the global financial economy will emerge still in the driver's seat appalls me. I now live in a country that once had great promise and squandered it through decades of bad leadership, military dominance and dysfunctional politics. It is not impossible that fifty years from now that will describe the US.
Still, for me, the dream isn't dead. Dreams never die. They recede and reappear in the mist of sleep. Even today some will see things as they are and say why and others will see things as they should be and say why not.
My dream is that the youth of the US will wake up some morning and recognize they are being left behind, as China and other nations push the US aside. They will decide that unless they change things, their future will be a diminished one. Maybe then they will do what the New Dealers did and create the "newer world" that the Kennedy brothers tried to inspire.
My own way of following Teddy's legacy will be to emulate his personal approach, rather than the political. Like him I will cherish all children, keep my friends close, harbor few resentments, be kind to all who cross my path and laugh and sing Irish songs as often as possible.
You've got to be kidding me!
First off, I feel for anyone who loses a loved one, whether I liked the man or not. That said, the BS and revisionist history gushing out of the media about Ted Kennedy is appalling.
[QUOTE=Ricardo]This week, like millions around the world, I grieve for a fallen leader and an era that has passed. All US-born "liberals" of a certain age are Kennedy acolytes. [/QUOTE]What does that say about liberals taking false gods (Kennedys, the environment, Obama)? It says that there is a large population of people with mush for brains that will worship people who are unworthy of note for personal character but produce much fodder for the likes of People Magazine.
[QUOTE=Ricardo]My own way of following Teddy's legacy will be to emulate his personal approach, rather than the political. Like him I will cherish all children, keep my friends close, harbor few resentments, be kind to all who cross my path and laugh and sing Irish songs as often as possible.[/QUOTE]His political legacy is that of a powerful, bitter partisan (I. E. He was a successful politician) It is a blood sport, he played to win and often times he did win.
Teddy's legacy as a man, for those who wish to look beyond partisan politics, is that of a degenerate who if it were not for his last name never would have been in the Senate nor would he have evaded jail time for manslaughter, rape and sexual harassment. As far as I can tell, the last time (until this past week) that he was ever held accountable for his actions was when Harvard threw him out for cheating (and it wasn't the first time he was caught). Unless Teddy set things right with God prior to departure, it sure is hot where he is right now.
I am not casting stones, I am calling it like I see it. I like everyone have my own failings for which I will be held accountable. However, to date, I have never sex with an unwilling partner nor have my actions directly caused the death of anyone.
