Before The Dawn…
…many of us expected to feel depths of dispair when Sen. Kennedy made his inevitable crossing over. I’m gently relieved how much a resolve and fairly consistent energy has marked the day after… Andy and the DC peeps made memorial appropriate to the occasion in the form of a ‘card’ for the extended Kennedy family. This ‘family’ feels about as inclusive as those of us who ever got into a Grateful Dead show for free. I identify myself as ‘progressive’, rather than the 20th century moniker: ‘liberal’-for several reasons I’ll go into another time. Kennedy, then, gave me a voice as more of a champion of my causes-not so much of my class. My inability to relate to his background does stop at the point where financing one’s way through the Great Depression comes into play…but back on track..
Ted Kennedy simply motivated me not to quit at several key points where I was willing to either A) Throw in the towel on politics…or B) Give up on Democracy as an effective agent for progress. His speeches did more than get me “fired up and ready to go”. Kennedy spoke with a perspective gained through intense emotional grief and resolve to choose hope- much before that concept gained panache’.
Purple Horde Press 