I woke up this morning to the inevitable, but still shocking, news that the greatest Senator of our time, Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, had passed away overnight from a brain tumor.
My emotions about this are very strong, and it is obvious that this is a great loss for the nation, as well as the Kennedy family.
More will be said about this tragic event later today when I have time to reflect on what this man’s public career has meant to all of us, and what effect it might have on the future.
I also sat for a moment and realized that we had lost a very respected leader. A man that will be celebrated by men and women from both sides of the aisle.
What’s more, my thoughts became darker as I realized that we don’t have many “great” leaders anymore. How sad is it that the best the Republicans could offer the presidency last year was an old neo-con and a woman from Alaska that doesn’t hold the credentials to babysit as far as I’m concerned.
Within this thinking I (you reading) must take some blame. We have steadily become dumbed-down – always looking to entertain ourselves – while education (and the education of our children), grasping a global understanding, and understanding our history (both past and present) have been set aside.
I recently watched re-run of a Jay Leno comedy skit in which he goes out into the street and asks basic (typically history) type questions to the general public. The answers were embarrassing but gave my a glimpse of what our populus has become….lazy, uneducated, and oblivious to many things (like the loss of civil liberties over the last few years, etc.).
Without men like Kennedy I am hard pressed to point the finger at anyone coming down the pike that I would lay my absolute trust in to lead this country/ or impact it like senators and congressman can.
While Kennedy’s death is a tremendous immediate loss I think his passing sheds a strong light on the lack of leadership we have/ will have in this country in the future.
Sarah Palin, are you kidding me? As far as I’m concerned….if you gave her a lamp-post and a well traveled corner to stand on she might be worth the time. Otherwise….please make her go away!