Again on Ted Kennedy

"I recognize my own shortcomings -- the faults in the conduct of my private life. I realize that I alone am responsible for them, and I am the one who must confront them. I believe that each of us as individuals must not only struggle to make a better world, but to make ourselves better, too."

-- Sen. Edward Kennedy, in a speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Oct. 25, 1991

Found the quote at The Dude Abides and thought it would be the start for a few expanded thoughts on the passing of an icon, legend, and larger-than-life presence for 47 years.

1) The biggest complaints I heard in the past week about the reporting and coverage of Ted Kennedy's death was that no one was mentioning his shortcomings. It was almost as if doing so would have knocked Kennedy down a peg or two in the place he is taking in American political history. No more than Thomas Jefferson having a child by his slave can take away from his very considerable contribution or Lincoln's depression or FDR and Eisenhower (and others) having mistresses. Ted lived bigger-than-life for many reasons. He made mistakes which he somewhat readily admitted, but only as any of our clay-feeted politicians. His son, Patrick, mentioned his own struggles at the memorial on Saturday. These are the known situations. Larger-than-life people; great people; often have great flaws. How they live with them and overcome them says more about the person than we care to admit.

None of us can or will ever know what went on in the depths of Ted Kennedy's heart and soul. We will not know the pain that may have been part of his driving force, the remorse that ate at him but which he used as fuel for his desire for service. In that he is no better or worse than any of us who are driven by our own demons and angels.

The Dude Abides blog had this quote to sum this up:

In an Associated Press report from Dublin earlier this week, an Irish everyman -- Joe Drennan, a 68-year-old contractor from County Cork who was among those waiting in a line outside the U.S. Embassy to leave his condolences for the Kennedy family -- summed up Sen. Kennedy's legacy beautifully.

"He had his peccadilloes, like all of us . . . but boy, did he overcome them," Drennan said. "He overcame the biggest obstacle in his life -- and that was himself."

2) As odd as it may seem, it was only this past week that I realized that Ted was not the also-ran with his brothers. Death at an early age in the manner that Jack and Bobby died give them an immediate memory and presence. It is their shortened potential that makes us stop and ponder who they were and what they did. In my mind, Bobby will always be the big question of what could have been in so many different areas of American life.

But Ted who was always the "baby brother" managed to do what the others were able to do- make an indelible change by his own work. JFK and RFK continue to inspire and motivate some of us now aging boomers and '60s liberals. That's due to memory. Ted has inspired Gen X and Gen Y and Millennials. Ted has worked for equal rights and civil rights. Women, gays, minorities, the poor- the nation- have benefited. Among his good friends were poor people and Republicans. He modeled passion and care and ways of having fun. He modeled the willingness to stand up and do what one feels is needed- essential.

There were many stories of his care that came out in the past week, like his calling all families of 9/11 victims and keeping in touch with them. He made a life out of keeping in touch with people which was a deep and abiding part of who he was.

3) Listening to some of the commentary on Saturday morning public radio, they spent a good amount of time talking about Ted's faith and the wrestling he did with his understanding of how that plays out in life. One referred to his work as a way of living out the Kingdom of God as envisioned in Matthew.

Matthew 25:34-40 -- "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (NIV)

They talked about how his views on issues at times clashed with official church positions. He never wavered from what he felt was right. He lived and breathed his faith as well as any of us, but did not allow other people's interpretations to sidetrack him when he was convinced. That, too, is something to hold up. He may not have been your typical "religious" person (whatever that may be. But he was as unashamed of his faith as he was of his political views.

It was good to hear such a balanced and knowledgeable conversation of faith and public life on the radio. No hysterics, no scare tactics from any side of the issue. It was a good example of how Ted himself would have handled it.

4) Overall, I felt like the past week was more a celebration of who we are as Americans than just about Ted Kennedy. His life and death, his place in our national life for so long, led us to that point. Just as Ronald Reagan's death a few years ago opened us to some of that same dialogue, any such national event will call into our awareness who we are as citizens of this amazing democracy. To watch both sides of the political aisle stand and praise Kennedy was to watch our American life in action. Let us hope that that era of American life never comes to an end.