Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Pe ultimul drum: Ted Kennedy

Cum ultimul meu post l-a avut printre mentionati pe Edward M. Kennedy, mi s-a parut de buna cuviinta sa mentionez faptul ca cel cunoscut mai degraba simplu, drept Ted Kennedy, a trecut in eternitate marti, 25 august 2009, la varsta de 77 de ani.

Cel mai tanar dintre cei 4 frati ai familiei Kennedy si singurul in viata pana recent, Edward Kennedy este prezentat in comunicatul ce anunta moartea sa, drept "centrul de neinlocuit al familiei noastre si lumina vesela a vietii noastre". De inteles, Ted fiind puratorul stindardului dinastiei Kennedy in ultimele 4 decade, sarcina trecuta rand pe rand pe umerii fiecarui barbat Kennedy, mostenita in mod neasteptat si nedorit prin decesul din cauze ne-naturale si in ordinea varstei, a lui Joseph, John, Robert, ultimul in 1968.

Mostenirea colosala a neimplinirii lasata pe umerii sai de catre presedintele John si de candidatul la prezidentiale Robert, ambii asasinati si privati de sansa de a duce la bun sfarsit sarcinile asumate, a marcat existenta tanarului pe atunci Teddy. Cand toata lumea astepta de la el un mandat la Casa Alba care nu avea sa vina niciodata, un cumul de factori, culminand cu un incident in noapte, cand masina condusa de senator a aterizat intr-un rau in Massachusetts si o tanara s-a inecat pe bancheta din spate, a avut ca rezultat ruinarea visului sau de a razbuna nedreptatea sortii crude a fratilor sai. A avut insa succes in politica, fiind al treilea-cel mai longeviv senator american din toate timpurile, si fiind un pol de putere in sanul aripii liberale a Partidului Democrat. Ca si Robert, s-a implicat puternic in sprijinirea cauzei celor saraci, sprijinind legislativ domenii ca asigurarile de sanatate pentru copiii defavorizati, sau diferite masuri sociale in favoarea persoanele cu dizabilitati sau fara mijloace materiale. Visul lui Bobby Kennedy de a avea o societate americana reformata a avut suport puternic din partea loctiitorului sau in cauze sociale.

Nu pot spune despre mine ca am fost un mare sustinator al lui Edward Kennedy, din moment ce nu am fost mereu la curent cu viata si activitatile sale. Insa momentul acela din 1968, in care Catedrala St. Patrick a rezonat sub impactul vorbelor sale, ce s-au constituit in cel mai emotionant discurs de elogiu pe care l-am auzit vreodata, mi l-a intiparit definitiv in suflet pe cel ce, sper, va avea parte de un elogiu macar apropiat de cele pe care le-a rostit dupa fiecare moment tragic care a lovit familia Kennedy in ultimii 40 de ani.


Despre Robert F. Kennedy:

"We loved him as a brother, and as a father, and as a son. From his parents, and from his older brothers and sisters -- Joe and Kathleen and Jack -- he received an inspiration which he passed on to all of us. He gave us strength in time of trouble, wisdom in time of uncertainty, and sharing in time of happiness. He will always be by our side."

"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."

"Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world."

Despre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis:

"She was always there for our family in her special way. She was a blessing to us and to the nation -- and a lesson to the world on how to do things right, how to be a mother, how to appreciate history, how to be courageous. No one else looked like her, spoke like her, wrote like her, or was so original in the way she did things. No one we knew ever had a better sense of self."

"President Kennedy took such delight in her brilliance and her spirit. At a White House dinner, he once leaned over and told the wife of the French Ambassador, “Jackie speaks fluent French. But I only understand one out of every five words she says -- and that word is "DeGaulle.”"

"...during those four endless days in 1963, she held us together as a family and a country. In large part because of her, we could grieve and then go on. She lifted us up, and in the doubt and darkness, she gave her fellow citizens back their pride as Americans. She was then 34 years old."

"She graced our history. And for those of us who knew and loved her -- she graced our lives."

Despre John F. Kennedy Jr.:

"He and his bride have gone to be with his mother and father, where there will never be an end to love. He was lost on that troubled night, but we will always wake for him, so that his time, which was not doubled, but cut in half, will live forever in our memory, and in our beguiled and broken hearts."

"We dared to think, in that other Irish phrase, that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair, with his beloved Carolyn by his side. But like his father, he had every gift but length of years."