(This article was originally written and sent out to assorted email correspondents on June 4, 2008---shortly after then candidate Barack Obama's historic nomination for the Presidency. It is reproduced here at the request of those who had not read the original)The announcer just reminded me of the historical meaning of Barack Obama's nomination as the Democratic Presidential candidate. He stated that the slave trade was abolished 200 years ago today (actually March 25, 1807, but for the media, that's close enough) and that it was truly a historic moment. Not only for the fact that a man of mixed race was nominated but that he barely beat a woman for that same nomination. This same announcer noted that not since the 1960's has race been such a factor in the run for the Presidency.
I recently read the well written article about Robert F. Kennedy in Vanity Fair magazine. I was 15 years old back when "Bobby" decided to run and remembered thinking that he was speaking to ME. What he said and how he said it was right on target. He too, like Barack Obama, was an eloquent speaker. Not, to me, as smooth and worldly, maybe, as his brother Jack, but with heart and meaning. I believed him when he said that he was going to help the poor and stop the war in Vietnam. I don't remember exactly whether my brother Dave was in boot camp or Vietnam at that time, but the war was a "hot" issue for a young guy growing up in Detroit in 1968. We had a horrific race riot in Detroit the summer before and Bobby seemed to be determined to bring our nation together to help, not only poor black people, but ALL people have a better life.
The article said he was known for being "ruthless." They didn't know where that title came from but I would bet that anyone going after "The Mob" ----as he did as Attorney General---and/or directly calling head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, "corrupt" would be considered ruthless. Either that or just plain crazy. Someone else at that time was quoted as saying that he was " a tough man but not a hard man." I certainly could see that and agreed with it and felt that it was exactly what our country needed. Seen in a different light, it appeared to me that his brother JFK was what you would call "ruthless" when he challenged the Russians during the Cuban missile crisis and if John's "little brother" was going to bring that same attitude to running the USA, I was all for it.
The combination of youth and promise and desire to help was what we needed. Take a look at this photo:
Take a close look at that. The.................promise.........of it all brought me to tears.......
That was how they campaigned! That's football great Rosie Greer--2nd from the right--with assorted other professional athletes acting as Bobby's personal bodyguards. It was reported that the California Highway Patrol issued his campaign over 156 citations.
Along with everything else he was dealing with during the exhausting campaign, he had the difficult task of giving a speech to a largely black audience that had not been informed of the shooting of Martin Luther King that very day. It has become a famous speech not only for his compassion and understanding but his determination to prevent any hatred or pain being allowed to escalate to unwanted decisions. It is a wonderful speech but my favorite part is this:
After reminding them all that he too had lost a loved one, he stated..
"My favorite poet is Aeschylus. He once wrote: 'Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.
"Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: To tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people."
He brought his large family along for all of his campaign stops and especially had his beloved dog "Freckles" with him at all times. There were photos of him and Freckles, sleeping on the floor of the airplane in between rows, curled up around each other in their exhaustion. Here is a photo of them on the Oregon coast taking one of their daily walks:
On this historic day when a mixed race man with a name like Barack Hussein Obama and his own eloquent speaking capabilities is on his way to running for the Presidency of the USA, let us not forget that it was 40 years ago (this past Friday---now 42 years) June 5 1968 that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles. With the shooting of Martin Luther King that same year, I remember 1968 as being a year of frustration and fear. My hope---and the "promise" ---was gone. Hillary Clinton was reprimanded during the recent campaign for mentioning Bobby's assassination. Though possibly handled poorly, it still needed to be mentioned. It should never happen again.
We are now, again, in a difficult time with an unwanted war, ruined economy, and unpopular President. I'm hoping, again, we can get the right person elected and get things moving in the right direction. There has got to come a time when we can rise above our fears and hatreds of any person because if their religious beliefs or skin color. I'm hoping that somehow, that time is NOW.
(Some of this is obviously outdated. We elected Barack Obama on a wave of hope and "Yes, we can" wishes. He stepped into a horrible situation with the economy and his plans to change health care----and now with the nightmare ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. I still think he has the intent and will to pursue all of those ideals we elected him for-----if everyone will just give him a chance. It has become sadly evident that there are still many people in this country who view him with one overwhelming emotion----fear. And, as stated in my "quote of the day" below, "fear" can be a very powerful thing.)
Quote of the day:
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
George Lucas
(in the guise of his "STAR WARS" sage---Yoda)
