It has been said (Shakespeare again, naturally) that “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them”. But which applies to Teddy Kennedy? Born to a political family and practically fated to a life in politics, thrust to the forefront by the violent deaths of three older brothers, he ultimately achieved greatness on his own by his tireless dedication to the principles for which he stood, and which he vigorously defended, through good times and bad, throughout his political career.
He was imperfect, like every other human being, but no one can deny that throughout his life this son of privilege, stood with the weak, the oppressed, the forgotten, and the common man and woman (compare a certain other son of privilege who shall remain unnamed). This country would have been an infinitely better place had there been more Teddy Kennedys in the Senate.
It’s a sad fact of life that we want what we cannot have and fail to appreciate what we have. My generation grew up on Kennedys. We idolized and, after his death, practically sanctified JFK, still wonder what could have been had Bobby not been killed, but have tended to take Teddy for granted. Yet was there any other person in public life that so consistently stood up for liberal principles, no matter which way the prevailing political winds were blowing. Would his brothers, had they lived, have stood the test of time so well?
He had his faults, but now that his life has run its course, we can say without question that his audit stands well to the good. In 1980 he gave the speech of this life, and the final paragraphs can surely stand as his epitaph:
And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and that have special meaning for me now:
“I am a part of all that I have met
To [Tho] much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are —
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”…
For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
With him gone, the Senate looks even more like a collection of political pygmies. Warts and all, he towered above them. As the Bard said: He was a man, take him for all in all, [we] shall not look upon his like again.
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