All week my thoughts have been with the Kennedy family in their time of personal grief, while I try to comprehend the enormous influence this family has had on the well being of us all.
How sad it is to notice that Senator Kennedy was nearly alone in his battles, that he was marginalized by the media, that his message of fairness to the everyday person was considered so “un-American” that he was allowed to be vilified by many loud voices whose hearts were corrupted by fear and envy. I am deeply embarrassed to know that what he fought for was absent in the hearts of the vast majority of the privileged and the wealthy, that they felt it was their prerogative to be so entitled, and that they felt deserving of even more, whatever the cost to others.
Senator Kennedy, seemingly alone, kept alive the political force of fairness and opportunity for all in both word and deed. These fundamental American values, I regret to think, the majority have forgotten over the past 40 years. It is immensely shameful how all of us allowed this to happen.
May Edward M. Kennedy rest in eternal and lasting peace. And let us remember it is now time for us to pick up his burden, the one we’ve refused to acknowledge for so long, as ours, too.
