Robert F. Kennedy Remembered


Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Robert F. Kennedy. I was just ten years old, a fourth grader. I don’t remember the day or the event or its aftermath. My parents weren’t Democrats – we supported Richard Nixon. It’s only in the years since that I’ve gotten a sense of who he was and what he stood for. What we saw in him was a man who evolved in his understandings and his commitments. He went from being his brother’s right-hand man to a leader in his own right.

Bobby Kennedy had just won the 1968 California Primary, an event that might have propelled him to the Democratic Nomination and onto the White House, when he was killed. His platform was perhaps different from the one that had taken his brother, John, to the White House. His was a bold and risky venture. In many ways it was a repudiation of a war, into which his own brother had plunged our nation. Somewhere along the way he had a conversion experience, for at one point he had been an aid to Joseph McCarthy’s effort to root out Communists during the 1950s. By the time he died, he was one of the most eloquent of the nation’s liberal cause. He became known for his commitment to ending the War in Vietnam, expanding Civil Rights, and rooting out the causes of poverty in our nation. He spoke with eloquence and compassion, and he moved many. He was also a husband and father of eleven children, so he wasn’t just a politician, he was a family man.

The Bobby Kennedy we remember today, was a human being, born November 20, 1925, the 7th child of Joe and Rose Kennedy. He was the third brother in line. Joe, Jr. died in World War II and John died of an assassin’s bullet himself. Bobby, of course, died from gun shot wounds inflicted by Sirhan B. Sirhan, in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, on June 6, 1968. He was 42. Had he lived, he would be 82 years old.

But Bobby Kennedy, like Martin Luther King Jr. and his own brother, died young – too young. As the song "Abraham, Martin, and John" put it: "Why must the good die young?" He wasn’t a perfect man, but he was willing to put his life on the line to change a nation. As we remember his life and his death, let his commit ourselves to his cause – that our world might be a better place for all.


As the song, Abraham Martin and John puts it:


Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.


Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.


Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.


Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...


Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.

Lyrics – Dick Holler, 1968

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear Pastor Cornwall:

Thank you for sharing your very eloquent essay on Bobby Kennedy with the "Netizen" Community. I had the blessing of working on Sen. Kennedy's 1968 Campaign and what a time it was! A real encounter with a live messianic figure, an exciting feeling that things would change for the better, that the beautiful vision of JFK would once again be resserected by his very passionate brother.

Sadly, the lord saw it fit to not bless us with Bobby Kennedy in 1968. I can't figure that one out any better than the holocuast situation; sometimes evil walks is my only understanding of Bobby's death.

There is however, a very fine man who walks with us today. A man who can help us find better ways of taking care of ourselves and our planets. A man capable of the same level of determined leadership as Bobby Kennedy. A man so full of passion and compassion it makes my heart cry, and my skin get goosy!

That man is none other than RFK, Jr. The son of Bobby Kennedy. A man who has had an extraordinary life; a man who has sinned with us and yet overcame tremendous challenges. He is the leading stewart for a green healthy planet. A man who studies the work of St. Francis and practices that work.

I am asking you to please give some consideration to helping encourage RFK, Jr. to run for President in 2012. You are an eloquent man and it was a pleasure to visit your web page & blog. I found you through I news feed I labled RFK, Jr.:).

You help the dream of restoring the spirt of RFK to office in many ways. By asking your congregation to write to him at Waterkeepers, to invite him to speak at your own church or in your community. Just let him know that his wonderful work for our planet and our lives is being noticed!

Regards,
Susanne

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