Ok...I am going to irritate some people with this entry. I know some of my friends are going to be dismayed by my wading into a subject I could easily leave alone...but, this is what the blog-isphere is for...getting things out there so they stop swirling around in my brain. So, stop reading now if you don't want to know my opinion about a certain political bit of news this week. I promise to return to anecdotes about our life in Australia in my next entry.
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Many of my friends and family are aware of my conservative political views. BigDogDaddy gets particular enjoyment out of seeing me get wound up when I am asked my opinion about an issue that involves personal liberty and freedom. With his half-smile and raised eyebrow, he silently communicates..."Hey, you did ask her..." when those debating me look over to him. Well, I politely sat as a very sweet friend of mine, over lunch, waxed poetically about Ted Kennedy. I sipped my Coke Zero.... Then, she said, innocently, "As an American, I know you must agree." "Are you asking me what I thought of him? Because you won't like my answer." "Oh, absolutely!" she said. I mean who would criticize a Kennedy...
"My feelings about Ted Kennedy," I said, "come down to two words." "Which two?", she asked. "Twenty-four hours", I said. "This man, who had seen great tragedy and suffered great loss made a huge mistake by driving too fast and the wrong way down an unpaved road. We all make mistakes...even tragic ones. However, after his car plunged into a tidal basin off the island of Chappaquiddick, Kennedy swam to the shore and then, instead of calling for help from the nearby houses or phoning the police, sought help from his friends and his lawyer and hid in his hotel room all night."
"You and I are both mothers," I said. "Imagine not knowing where your daughter is for TWENTY-FOUR HOURS! Really, try to imagine that. It took Kennedy twenty-four hours to report the accident. Mary Jo Kopechne had to be FOUND in his car before he went to the authorities. I have told my children thousands of times that being a person of character means you do the right thing when no one is around. Kennedy's complete lack of character, in my mind, made him unworthy to serve the state of Massachussetts. Kennedy, through the benefit of his father Joe's whiskey deal he secured while serving as US Ambassador to the UK, would never have to work to provide food and shelter for his family. Why didn't he retire from public life and dedicate his life to serving our country by doing philanthropic work. He could have spent his time speaking out on the difficult battle many Americans wage against alcoholism. He could have lobbied Congress for stiffer sentences for drunk driving. He could have used his wealth to create foundations for the causes he believed in. True, the good people of Massachussets re-elected him after the incident, but a true man of character would never have offered himself up for another term."
I went on to tell her about my car accident in college. "As a passenger, the girl I was driving with made a sharp right turn into a shopping complex from the middle lane of a six-lane highway. My side of the car was creamed. As I went to the hospital, my father was answering the phone call of the girl's father, a bigwig from Connecticut. He told my dad that he had "been in touch" with his lawyer in case my family decided to sue. No, he didn't ask how I was, no, he didn't take any responsibility for his daughter's wacked out driving...he only thought of himself. A dear, beloved man I know, on the other hand, did get charged and convicted of a serious driving offence. He could have easily driven out of that state and avoid driving in that state forever...they probably wouldn't have found him, or he could serve out the punishment given to him. He was "scared and overwhelmed" just as Kennedy said he was after the incident. Well, this dear, beloved man showed up at his appointed time months later at the correctional institution to take responsibility for his actions. He told me he couldn't live with himself if he ran away what he had done. He showed his character. We all make mistakes, we all will get forgiveness when we ask, but we also have a responsibility to each other, ourselves and the God who made us to "make good" those things we have done wrong. Kennedy was never charged for his mistake. Many would say his battles for the "common man" overshadow his faults. I say, the common man would have served jail time for what he did."
"Twenty-four hours. You don't know where your daughter is for twenty-four hours. Someone does know. Someone knows she is lying upside down on the roof of a car at the bottom of a tidal river. The coroner thinks she found an air pocket that could have kept her alive for as long as three hours. Then, that someone goes on to say "Vote for me. I will be your leader and champion!" I have never wished the man harm and his ultimate judgement is not up to me, but I will not be joining you, my dear friend, in the laud and admiration of this man. Not today, not tomorrow. I will sit quietly and drink my Coke Zero and pray that those men and women who say "Vote for me. I will be your leader and champion!" have the character that we, Americans, deserve."
The 2014 Cybil Awards Are Here!
10 years ago
