The best of the Kennedys

For the third time in my lifetime, the nation is mourning the passing of a Kennedy. First Jack, the President cut down in his prime, and then Bobby, on the brink of the presidency and the brink of changing the world (in short: saving us all from a Nixon presidency). Now Teddy, whose prime was no doubt fueled by the loss of his brothers (and, when he was much younger, the death of his brother Joe in WW2) and whose prime could only be ended by death.

Today, as word of his death spreads, we’ll hear first of his greatness, a story long in the telling. At some point, there will be mention of the tragedy in 1969, the death of Mary Jo Kopechne what Kennedy may or may not have done on that night. Others may recall his aggressive, unsuccessful challenge of President Carter in the 1980 primary: did that open the door for Reagan’s victory which proved so disastrous for the nation? A lifetime of nearly eight decades, most of that spent in the public eye and holding so much power, will leave traces of sad humanness behind. But here is what needs to be remembered about a man like Ted Kennedy:

The greatness of his humanity elevated him far above his humanness.

Humans enjoy both building up and tearing down of idols. With glee, we elevate many to greatness: politicians, singers, actors, athletes, ordinary folks who’ve done something extraordinary (Susan ); we just as happily pull them down to earth. We enjoy the bright shining light of our human stars, but also enjoy reminding ourselves, in some sick way, that those “great” people are no better than us.

In the case of the Kennedys, that last statement is probably not true. In many ways, the three Kennedy brothers were better than most of us. And the brother who lived the longest, who was given a chance to fulfill the Kennedy promise, demonstrated what might have been had his brothers not been robbed of their lives. Teddy Kennedy made his share of mistakes and miscalculations, but his legacy — the simply fact that he cared about those in most need of his care, and that he gave a lifetime to working for and defending those people in government — shows the greatness of a humanity I believe both his brothers possessed yet was not fully realized because of an assassin’s bullet.

It’s not really possible to say what John Kennedy would have done in a second term. Perhaps he would have ended American involvement in Vietnam; perhaps not. Would he have signed the Voting Rights Act? Would Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” legislation have become law under different guises? Would the best of Kennedy’s Camelot — the space program, the Peace Corps — have become the core of his presidency? Or would it have been more attempts on Castro, another Cuban missile crisis, a full-on Vietnam War for which he, and not LBJ, would be remembered? Impossible to say, but for those of us on the left, we do know this: What seemed possible under the best of John Kennedy is close to the ideal we desire for our nation.

This is even more true for Bobby Kennedy. After the death of his older brother, Bobby began to see more of the world. He saw the poverty, the struggle for justice, the indefensible nature of the war in Vietnam. His 1968 campaign for the Democratic nomination inspired an excitement among young people unprecedented and unsurpassed until Howard Dean in 2004. The brief years between Jack’s death and his own showed us a leader who, for me (I was too young to realize this at this time, of course; this is a reminiscence built on what I learned years later) was the rebirth of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson gave our nation, and the world, it’s greatest declaration of the ideal of human liberty; Bobby proposed, as president, to manifest that ideal in American government as no president had dared (except, perhaps, FDR). The tragedy of Bobby Kennedy’s death is how much was possible, and how much was stolen from the world.

Teddy Kennedy’s life leaves little to regret. His legacy is near complete. That he did not become president may seem a lost opportunity; the Kopechne tragedy probably kept him from running in 1972, but there is no certainty he could have defeated Nixon. Teddy used his years in the Senate for many of the best reasons: workers’ rights, health care for all, women’s rights, an end to war, fighting poverty, education. As the (liberal) tributes are pointing out in great number, he used his standing, both in the Senate and the eyes of the American people, to stand up for those who needed a champion in government. He built a legacy of compassion, integrity and perseverance in fighting for the common good, for the common person.

In truth, I am too young and have been too unaware of the details of national politics for most of my life to know in detail the legacy of Ted Kennedy. In 1980, I was in England, having left the Air Force and attending college for a year. I missed the 1980 campaign, watching instead the beginning of the horrific tragedy that was the Thatcher regime. But in the few years since I began paying more attention, I have learned that Kennedy is one of those people who deserve the word “great” beside his name. He used tragedy and his own mistake-prone humanity (a trait everyone of us shares) to inspire himself to do all he could for those born without the privilege that was his. For me, his legacy is summed up in what we now see was his last act of personal greatness: his early endorsement of Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008. I think Obama is likely to have won without Kennedy’s enthusiastic backing, but this is undeniably true: Kennedy saw the best possible future for his nation, and he was fearless in speaking out for that future. He endorsed Obama as he lived his life: with the great, proud roar that brought him his nickname: the Lion of the Senate.