Mary Lyon, From The Left -- World News Trust
--
Jackie Kennedy planted that seed, sadly, after the fact, when talking
with writer Theodore H. White -- in a quest to characterize her late
husband's White House years -- casting them in some larger, grander,
more transcendent image that would influence our thinking of the
all-too-brief Kennedy Administration. Soon enough, the ink dried and
the concrete hardened on that tribute and we'd all come to think of
that era as Camelot. It was a magnificent state of affairs that existed
in this country for that "one brief shining moment." Thankfully we
still have a link to it.
Unfortunately, we're now reminded that this link is a fragile one. The
news of Senator Ted Kennedy's illness is troubling and unsettling. He's
everybody's "Uncle Ted" by now, whether you agree with him or not. And
you don't have to be a member of the extended Kennedy clan to think
that of him.
We're lucky, as Democrats, that we've had him as a leading light of our
party for so long. We're lucky as Americans. He's our link to a past
when everything seemed renewed, refreshed, and all things seemed
possible. Granted, those memories are now tinted by time's passage, and
some of us who are old enough to recall that era personally may also be
old enough to be frayed a little around the edges. Yes, we're
remembering just the good things. Yes, we choose to accentuate the
positive. I'd note with gratitude that some of the stuff conservatives
like to honk about, regarding the bumps on the road Kennedy has
traveled, has courteously been downplayed.
Frankly, I hope they still have Ted Kennedy to kick around for a long
time. It troubled me to hear of the seizure, the brain tumor, the
continued hospitalization. We just got over something similar with Tim
Johnson of South Dakota. We need our "Last Liberal Lion." We need what
he says, what he does, what he stands for, what he represents. We're
not through with you yet, either, Mr. Senator. Not by a long shot.
Ted Kennedy has kept the torch burning for decades now, and sometimes
it has seemed as though he was the only one standing by it and refusing
to abandon it. That's why we need him. Because the liberal ideals that
he works so hard to strengthen and enlarge are more urgently needed now
than ever before. Amidst all the media attention on his career, his
health, and his many friends and well-wishers, we're seeing a flashback
of what a Ted Kennedy means to America. We view him in file footage
from mere days ago, in a Senate hearing room, advocating for
improvement and expansion of health care coverage to those who have
none. We've seen him constantly pushing on behalf of those whose lives
have been lived far outside the luxury and privilege into which he was
born. We've watched him give his legendary familial blessing to Barack
Obama, in effect, designating the Illinois presidential hopeful as a
direct heir.
These are good and valuable reminders, especially coming at this moment
in presidential election year politics. Remember this guy? Remember
what and who we were and what we hoped to become, back then during his
family's heyday? It was a time when we as Americans were encouraged to
step up, when the intellect was king and dumbing-down was unthinkable.
We were instilled with a mission of collective achievement, shared work
and shared sacrifice -- in which everyone played a part, made a
contribution, and enjoyed an investment. And we ALL stood to benefit --
not just a select few with obscenely-blessed stock portfolios, oil or
military contracting connections or CEO benefit packages. Ted Kennedy
reminds me of that -- the greatness of working for the good of all, not
just of cronies. It was a time of "WE" more than a time of "ME." It was
about what WE could do for OUR country, not what it might do for us.
We've drifted woefully far from that time and that philosophy. Perhaps
the focus on Ted Kennedy at the moment might remind us of that era, and
how it symbolized what our better selves were capable of. We looked
outward without menacing anyone. We didn't have hate and divisiveness
showering down upon us from every radio station and an entire cable
network around the clock, week after week. We had political partisans
who thought nothing of running out together for drinks or dinner after
a day's worth of contentious argument, rather than huddling in separate
camps plotting to swiftboat each other to scorched-earth destruction.
We had one big looming enemy -- with whom we risked discussions even in
the face of the gravest mutual nuclear weapon-infused threats.
But with the coverage of Kennedy's illness, the most remarkable thing
is happening. I'm seeing the people of the pundit world, and among the
opposition, not wallowing in mud, or mud-slinging for a change.
Everyone seems to be behaving in a more civil fashion. The name
"Kennedy" -- the "brand," if you will (since that's the language of the
present) -- means something better, more elevated, bigger than all of us.
Better FOR all of us. And it's a MOST welcome reminder now. It's about
OUR better selves, our inner Camelot.
Perhaps with Kennedy's health crisis as the backdrop, we can adjust our
perspective and refine our focus. We have something greater to
remember, and to try to resurrect. Ted Kennedy helped unite our country
once before, after we'd lost his brother Bobby, some five years after
their brother John was taken from us. He was The Last Kennedy Brother,
and he was still here. And at least we had him. We still do have him,
hopefully for some time to come. He embodies what it means to be a
Democrat, and a proud and unapologetic liberal at a time when we need
reminding about the virtue and value of the liberal viewpoint. He's
uniting people again through the news cycles, some of them the most
adversarial imaginable. Even they wish him well. That speaks well for
them -- and for all of us.
***
Mary Lyon
is a veteran broadcaster and five-time Golden Mike Award winner, who
has anchored, reported, and written for the Associated Press Radio
Network, NBC Radio "The Source," and many Los Angeles-area stations
including KRTH-FM/AM, KLOS-FM, KFWB-AM, and KTLA-TV, and occasional
media analyst for ABC Radio News. She began her career as a liberal
activist with the Student Coalition for Humphrey/Muskie in 1968, and
helped spearhead a regional campaign, The Power 18," to win the right
to vote for 18-year-olds. She remains an advocate for liberal causes,
responsibility and accountability in media, environmental education and
support of the arts for children, and green living. In addition to
World News Trust, Mary writes for Huffington Post, OpEdNews, Democrats.us, WeDemocrats.org's "We! The People" webzine. Mary is also a parenting
expert, having written and llustrated the book "The Frazzled Working
Woman's Practical Guide to Motherhood.