“The Lion Of The Senate”
Just before I went to bed last night I saw the news that Ted Kennedy had died (and I’m sorry, no matter how long I live in this country, I’m never going to use the rather mealy-sounding ‘passed’), and was deeply saddened. Not in a “oh no, my despair is deep and personal” sense, because obviously I didn’t know the man.
I’m saddened for several reasons:
One is that in the context of causes near and dear to me, the LGBT communities have never had another ally in the Senate to compare with him. And we’re obviously only part of his constituency. To quote President Obama’s statement on his death:
“For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.”
And I’m saddened that the first serious attempt to achieve his decades-long dream of some kind of universal healthcare for all Americans wasn’t completed in time for him to see it, and even more saddened that he had to see, even as he knew he was dying, the ‘debate’ around such an admirable goal cheapened and denigrated with the kind of lies, aggression and outright contempt as has been the case.
But oddly, the thing that saddens me most has its roots decades ago. I don’t even remember what the occasion was, but I was a kid back in the UK, and the Senator was featured on the news for some reason. I didn’t know who he was, though obviously the family name was familiar, and I asked my mother about him. I’m not sure exactly how she responded in the context of the specific news item, but I do remember her talking about him in a negative way, based on one specific incident/scandal (come on, you know the one, and I’m certainly not going to spoil this post by linking off to anything about it), suggesting that he was a poor excuse in comparison to his brothers.
This was obviously before a lot of what’s now known was known, but the thing that I’m most saddened by in all this is that my mother probably never had any reason to know the detail of his career in the Senate since that incident, probably doesn’t know to this day of the very many admirable things he achieved and attempted, or the respect in which he was held by both political allies and opponents alike. I’m sure she’s not the only one whose overriding associations when she hears the name are suspicion and contempt.
And that’s no legacy for someone who did as much as Ted Kennedy for as many people, and for the principles of fairness and community that should define this country.