Edward M. Kennedy; Six Degrees of Separation and Closing Thoughts

This photo shows my Dad with the late Senator Kennedy, probably during the 1980 Presidential campaign when my father was part of the New Jersey delegation to the Democratic National Convention in New York City.


The photo above has rested in my parents TV room for the last 29 years. There is a second photo of Teddy Kennedy and my father someplace, with the two standing side by side...but it seems the house may have eaten it.

Its been fairly obvious that I have done some mourning for the loss of this giant among statesmen. And I don't expect everyone to react to Senator Kennedy's passing in the same way that I did. But one thing I do find disturbing is the presence of "the haters"- those who look at the human failings Kennedy had, and cannot find it in their hearts to forgive him, and to move on.

Scripture tells us that Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of the early Christians. He was in instrumental in the arrest, trial, and execution of St. Stephen. Stephen was stoned to death by an angry mob. It is said that Saul "made havoc", and dragged many men and women off to prison. Saul was on the road to Damascus, allegedly to round up more Christians for more executions. Then he saw a bright light that blinded him.

Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said "Who are you Lord?" And the Lord said"I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."

(The Acts of The Apostles,9:4-5)

The accident at Chappaquiddick that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne might have been the blinding light, Ted Kennedy's road to Damascus. In a span of less than six years he had watched two of his older brothers murdered. I'm sure not a day went by from 1963 to 1969 where Kennedy didn't think that one day an attempt on his life would take place. Many in the nation thought that would happen. I was among those who believed that Ted Kennedy, too, would be murdered.

But after Chappaquiddick something happened to Kennedy...it was as if the next 40 years were set to atone for that day. He stopped being the "Kennedy Cub", and began his ascent to becoming "the lion of the Senate".

Its just a thought I had about Kennedy among many these past few days. I could be right, I could be wrong.

Back to Saul of Tarsus for a second. After his blinding on the road to Damascus, he became a convert to Christianity. After he recovered his sight, he became known as Paul, and became the greatest evangelist of all time. Paul the Evangelist was a Jew who lived in a Greek city, Tarsus, and was a Roman citizen. You could say he was "multicultural". And he determined that a person didn't have to be a Jew to become a Christian- that premise opened up Christianity to the Hellenic and Roman worlds, as well as to Egyptians, Persians, and others. Had this not become doctrine Christianity might have remained a small Jewish sect. But this first Christian liberal changed the rules, and changed the world.

Its amazing what good Christian liberals can do when they set their mind and determination to something.

And Ted Kennedy, too, was a Christian liberal, who held on to his faith even though some saw his beliefs in conflict with the teachings of his church. But examine his body of work; the Americans With Disabilities Act, Project Head Start, the Military Child Care Act, the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act, the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990, the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997, creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the Children's Health Act of 2000, the Project BioShield Act of 2003, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2005, the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.

Or his sponsorship of the Family Medical Leave Act,the Pension Protection act of 2006, or his securing relief for the struggling fisherman of Massachusetts, the Civil Rights Commission Act of 1978 to protect the disabled,The Civil Rights Act For Institutionalized Persons to protect abuse to mentally disabled people, laws to give the physically disabled access to voting booths and public buildings.....and there is so much more.

So to the haters of Ted Kennedy, and to those pinheads who cheer his death....Ted Kennedy did more positive things to improve your life, and for that of your aged, young, or disabled loved ones than you could ever repay in a dozen lifetimes.

And to those who hear the words "liberal" or "Democrat" and think the words "Godless"...I didn't see any Godless liberals in Mission Church in Roxbury yesterday.

And neither did my former bishop, now the Bishop Emeritus of Washington, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, who officiated the burial service in Arlington. To add another wrinkle into this "Six Degrees of Separation" theme, my grandmother spent her last days in the McCarrick nursing facility, named in honor of Cardinal McCarrick's mother.

All the cliches are true. History does repeat and rewrite itself with different players. We are all six handshakes away from any other person on the planet.

And like Teddy Jr. said of his father...he showed us how to like Republicans; they love America as much as we do.

Just watching the spontaneous displays of affection for Kennedy from staffers on the Capitol steps, and from tourists and residents in Washington yesterday was indeed a small miracle, and a sight I will never forget. And in a strange way it was appropriate for the final minutes of the burial service to be held in the dark, unable to be shown to the outside world. Let those last precious minutes with all Ted's loved ones be with him one last time, in darkness, contemplation, and warmth, and in love.

Good bye sir....and God bless.