Today is the anniversary of the death of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and I wonder
first, what he would think of today's nation, and
second, what progressives, particularly those who say they'll refuse to vote for Secretary Clinton, would think of him if he was a candidate today.
As for the first, I imagine he'd be both depressed and encouraged. Depressed that racism, poverty, and international conflict seem as intractable as they did in his era. That the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been gutted. That much the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, is packed with right wing hacks (some of them hanging on from the era of--gag!--President Ronald Reagan). That the Republicans are even more reactionary and anti-intellect and anti-compassion than they were under Barry Goldwater, poised to nominate an out and out bigot who is quite possibly the most deranged major party candidate in this nation's history.
Encouraged though that an African American is president (!), that Jim Crow is gone. That on the whole we are a more tolerant, more humane society in very many important ways. That Medicare and Medicaid have survived (they were just starting when he died), bringing relief to tens of millions of people. That Dixiecrats are a thing of the past (they're all Republicans now), that even George Wallace in the end saw the folly and evil of his racist ways.
But what would the die-hard Sanders supporters, the ones who keep telling us they'd NEVER vote for a candidate as flawed as Clinton, think of RFK, if he were same man running today? A career politician who shilled for Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s? Who supported the Vietnam War before he opposed it? Who approved the bugging of Rev. King (and thus was a precursor to the National Security State)? Who jumped into the 1968 primary only after Senator Eugene McCarthy demonstrated how vulnerable LBJ was because of the war? A member of the 1%? Part of the Kennedy "dynasty"?
Make no mistake, I admire Senator Kennedy, and his death was one of the saddest days of my young life. I think had that bullet not found him, he would have gone on to be elected president, and this nation's subsequent history would have been substantially better. I forgive him all his foibles and flaws, being well aware of my own, and admiring the advocate for peace and justice he had become in the last days of his life. "So now it's on to Chicago, and let's win there!" will be a phrase forever etched into my mind and heart, bringing me both the exultation of having lived--even as a child--through such exciting times, and a deep and abiding grief over all we lost on that terrible day.
Please be respectful in your responses, to me if at all possible, and certainly to each other. I'm sorry if this OP seems crass--linking as it does the death of a progressive icon to today's politics (using his death to make a point?)--but it's what's been on my mind these past days, as I read the posts and listen to the news.
And please take some time today to remember Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who gave his life, and faced his death, in an attempt to make this world a better place for all.
= new reply since forum marked as read
In every sense, Robert Kennedy was a tragic figure. His personal life was marked by one heartbreak after another, beginning with the loss of two brothers and a sister. In addition, there was the near-loss of a third brother in the plane crash that nearly killed Edward Kennedy in 1964. He was also a tragic figure precisely because his flaws were so exposed. He was a man who wore his raw emotions on his sleeve. His remarkable ability to grow, to change, to admit his past mistakes and to strive to make himself and his country better are qualities that truly set him apart from other politicians, as did his willingness to move beyond the standard liberal prescriptions of the day in his assessment of the problems facing America and how to fix them (the most famous example being his willingness to speak in poor communities about replacing what he called the "indignity of the dole" with "the dignity of work"
. Right up the end of his life RFK was a very controversial figure: the radical leftist Rampart magazine celebrated his death, as did the Weather Underground on the dedication page of their revolutionary guidebook "Prairie Fire." These "celebrations" were disgusting and entirely misplaced. The ultimate tragedy of June 5, 1968 is that America lost its last best hope for true reconciliation and steadfast commitment to improving the lot of the downtrodden when RFK made that fateful pivot on the stage of the Embassy Ballroom.