jake77
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The Kennedy's were not the champions of liberty and civil rights that the media has made them out to be in recent times. No, they were Democrats during the days when the Democratic Party was the racist party (after all, the party always comes first). JFK voted against Eisenhower's equal rights legislative measures, and took numerous stances against Civil Rights early on in his political career. As President, he and Bobby advised Martin Luther King against delivering his "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington during a private meeting. Fortunately, that didn't stop him from delivering that famous speech which changed the course of American history.
There are numerous accounts of the Kennedy brothers (Hewey, Lewey and Dewey) making racist remarks at one point or another. But I understand that those were the times they lived in, and a lot of normal people had radically different social norms regarding what was acceptable. Although we've largely transcended the racial barrier, even I realize that the laws preventing Gay Marriage today are still based on the same bigotry, religious fanaticism, and conditioned hate that fueled racism in the U.S. for hundreds of years. The Kennedy's were not the people's champs back then. They only hopped on the Civil Rights bandwagon after they began to see a shift in the nations general attitude, a rise in the minority voting populations. Politically they knew that by playing themselves off as champions for Civil Rights, they would lose the south but secure a strong voting base with the minorities and the north. It was a bold political move, which caused a complete reversal of ideologies between the two political parties (The Democrats had been the bigots of the south, while the Republicans had been the more liberal party controlling the north). To this day since, the Democrats have continued to secure the minority voter as well as Republicans have been able to control the Christian Fundamentalist.
Now I will give Ted some credit for legislative measures he made in these last 20 years, which have defied modern norms by pushed for the equal rights of the modern day minorities (gays, individuals with AIDS, etc.) Of course, the Kennedy's were among the great actors and orators in American political history (take JFK's complete reversal on Civil Rights as a prime example). It'll probably never be known for certain if their stances and speeches on Civil Rights were true or politically-motivated.
However, the reality is that the Kennedy's and the Bush's are the absolute embodiment of what a modern-day American dynasty is. They're just as ruthless and power-driven as the greedy monarchies of ancient times were. The same fundamental principles apply today as they did in Medieval Europe: You have an immensely rich and powerful family, and that's never gonna change as long as they see to it. Through their close-door political connections, they can manipulate the system, cover up family screw ups, and get away with things most people couldn't even dream of getting away with. They have the power to appoint one of their own to a position of prominence as though it were their birth right. And they do this regardless of whether or not their son is even remotely capable of doing the job well (like W).
I can empathize with Kennedy's family for their loss, but I am still bothered by how the puppet-media is being used to make Ted Kennedy out to be this great and jolly guy, who devoted his entire life to the service of the American people and the Civil Rights movement. He did some positive changes as a politician, but he also made some very big mistakes (like killing a woman, leaving the crime scene, and then getting acquitted of serving jail time). Self-inducing grandeur is just plain snobbish, and few people are ever worthy of the praise they receive on television. His family is rich and connected, so they can afford to manipulate the media into saying, "Hey! This person was a great, important and benevolent individual! Acknowledge it!" Meanwhile, normal people like us struggle to find work and provide for their family.
It all comes down to this unwritten code when a famous or high-profile politician dies. Be it a staunch conservative or a loony liberal, the other party backs off and allows the deceased politician's party to elevate that persons image in the American psyche to demigod status, so then they can have an unrealistically positive portrayal in the pages of history. That party then returns the favor in kind, and so on and so forth. That's why you didn't hear liberal politicians making outrageous comments about Reagan when he died, and that's exactly why the Republicans have been biting their lip over Ted's death.
 Posted 888 dy ago
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