Caroline Raclin Kennedy and Family Mourn the Loss of Senator Ted Kennedy at His Funeral
A rather grandiose mass is lined up for the dead senator, including several performances by famous artists such as Placido Domingo and Yo-Yo-Ma. His family members, which include his wife Kiki Reggie Kennedy, Caroline Raclin Kennedy, step-son Curran Raclin, were named honorary pall-bearers for his mass.
Not surprisingly, President Barack Obama delivered a tearful eulogy at Senator Ted Kennedy's mass.
According to Dallas News, Kennedy is remembered for being "steadfast and pragmatic." That's probably true, although he was steadfast and pragmatic in all the wrong places. In fact, we have President George W. Bush and Senator Ted Kennedy to thank in large part for the No Child Left Behind Act.
Ted Kennedy is also remembered for loving his senate seat. This "remembrance" is almost redundant to his terms, as he was senator for almost 47 years - the entire lifetime of many U.S. individuals.
Another myth of Ted Kennedy was that he championed the poor. His empathy for poor individuals is hypocritical when he simply inherited his legacy from a father who made his fortune bootlegging during the Prohibition. Given this early fortune and his 47-year Senate seat, it is obvious the man never had to do a hard day's work in his life. In fact, some of the only hard work he had to accomplish was covering up stories about scandals, most notably one that happened on a bridge on Chappaquiddick island several years ago.
Additionally, his funeral is closed-off to the public and most of the press. It begins in Boston and will eventually migrate to Arlington National Cemetery where he will be buried.
In my opinion, I don't see how ultra-liberal Senator Ted Kennedy can be missed that much. He certainly did not contribute much of value to the country, and although several millions of people are presumably mourning his death, we must look past the rose-colored glasses that most see his legacy in and realize how he really changed this country - and not for the better.
Sources:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-kennedy_27nat.ART1.State.Edition2.4bde36b.html
Published by Rochelle Connery
College graduate with Bachelor's degree in music. View profile
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3 Comments
Post a CommentIf the socialized health care reform gets named after Ted Kennedy it would be a shame. If I were his family I would threaten lawsuits for such actions. Patricia Sheasley Sicilia, so you believe in the "Robin Hood" approach? steal from the rich and give to the poor? Even if the rich happened to work for their money and the poor did not? That's not American. Sounds more like Cuba to me.
Also, while all the Kennedys were born into wealth and privilege, they were taught from an early age that with that comes responsibility, and very single one of them has gone into some kind of public or community service.
Well, others disagree that Medicare, meals on wheels, children's health care, COBRA, civil rights, womens' rights, and many other programs championed by him were not a legacy. I feel that everything he did was for the little guy, not helping line the pockets of corporate greed. As for the origin of his family's fortune, I don't see where it's much different from the Wall Street bandits we have today, or the robber barons like the Rockefellers and their ilk who were able to retain their ill-gotten monopoly-provided gains because there was no income tax back then. And No Child Left Behind was a good program, gone bad when the funding was cut off due to the Iraq war. No, Teddy was not a saint in his personal life, but in his job, he fought to make life better for the working man.