The Kennedy family are the undisputed royalty of not only American society, but American political life. They have had more tragedy than you can poke a stick at, but they still fight on. What can one do but fight on? Today saw Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy address the Democratic National Convention in Colorado, and he proved yet again that, despite recent brain surgery, no-one packs a verbal punch and can work a room quite like Ted.
Senator Kennedy’s brain tumor is invasive, and will most likely kill him. But he proved tonight that he is not going down without a fight. He is also not going down without making sure he sees President Barack Obama behind those White House doors.
His speech was short, but powerful; simple but direct. So many have expressed concern that Barack Obama will not be President because he is black, and America is not ready for a black President. Senator Kennedy referred back to his own brother, President John F Kennedy, as an example of what can be achieved when the odds are against you. Man landing on the moon was a pipedream for many, but Kennedy believed it could happen. Now there is an American flag on the surface of the moon, proving that what we thought was impossible can be very possible indeed.
Same too, with Barack Obama. Yes, he is black. Yes, it is a huge risk that the Democratic party are taking. And yes, that risk was proven true when a man was apprehended by police today with weapons on him and in his truck, apparently on his way to assassinate Barack Obama. Could Obama be assassinated? Of course he can. But I personally don’t see colour as a basis for a greater threat of assassination. Reagan wasn’t black, neither was Kennedy or Lincoln. Leaders, such as Indira Ghandi and Benazir Bhuto were murdered by their own people because someone took offence at what they stood for, not the colour of their skin. Assassinations happen when someone or a group of ’someones’ feel threatened by what may come through the result of this particular person achieving their goals.
Will whites feel more disempowered after Obama is elected? No. The whites in South Africa weren’t when Nelson Mandela became President. In fact, in South Africa, very little has changed for the blacks. They are no better off now than when they lived under apartheid.
Ted Kennedy is a tenacious old attack dog, and Obama has a slightly younger attack dog as his right hand man. It was interesting seeing Senator Joe Biden in the audience, almost in awe of Kennedy. You could see in his face that he wasn’t looking the way he was supposed to look, or clapping when he had to clap, or doing anything that he was ‘expected’ to do. He was believing every word that came out of Kennedy’s mouth, and so he should. This is a time to take a risk. As the old Aussie ethic goes, “Go hard, or go home.” Kennedy wants us to go hard. A black man in the White House is a risk, but if we don’t take our chances on this young black lawyer from Illinois, who firmly believes we can, our world could well be destined for the scrap heap. George W Bush and Dick Cheney have destroyed the United States, and I know American friends of mine that either call themselves Canadian, or just avoid being around people, as they know the shit they will get. Kennedy knows what people are feeling. He tapped into what has been the mantra of the Kennedy clan; hope.
As he proved what a tough old workhorse he is, with an intravenous drip needle strapped to his hand, he took Barack Obama’s slogan forward, into reality. He turned promise into fact. He turned theory into practice. He turned liquid into solid.
He turned ‘Yes, we can’ into ‘Yes, we will!’
Enjoy your day.
