I have a large, flawed family. We are Catholic, raucous, outspoken, and fiercely protective of our own. We have not, thank God, suffered the tragedies visited upon one of our country's most prominent families. We are blessed to still have all but one of the members of my father's generation. I can't fathom losing any of them. I think that's why I was so saddened by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy's passing.
Teddy Kennedy passed away early Wednesday morning. He is being remembered as a consummate lawmaker and scion of the most storied family in America. Teddy Kennedy lived his entire life in the unforgiving glare of the public spotlight, a spotlight that burned him on more than one occasion. Even if you don't agree with his politics, you have to agree that the man got things done in his professional life. Even with the Kennedy aura, it's hard to believe that people would re-elect him so many times had he not been productive in his 40 plus years in the Senate. Of course, a discussion of Kennedy's life would not be complete without mentioning Chappaquiddick.
The story's been told a million times -- Kennedy was drunk, drove off a bridge, and left a young girl to die in his car. The incident torpedoed his presidential aspirations and the stain of that night never really washed away. Kennedy, too late to save Mary Jo Kopechne, owned up to what he had done to the voters of Massachusetts, to the nation in a televised confession of his part in the incident, and ultimately to his family behind closed doors. In the ensuing years, Kennedy become an elder statesman, a politician who had friends on both sides of the aisle. His brother's children seemed to dote on their uncle and often credited him for keeping the family whole in the wake of the horrific assassinations of their fathers. He became a man redeemed.
So What's Love Got To Do With Teddy Kennedy?
Redemption is a hard concept for Americans. We have a very Puritanical view of sin and sinners, not that there's anything wrong with that. Rules and mores are the glue that bind a society together. You have to know where the boundaries are or you end up spending an awful lot of time galavanting all over everyone else's toes. But when we do walk on the tops of someone else's shoes and then try to make everything as right as we can, our transgressions inevitably follow us, even to the grave. How many times have you heard someone say, "He could cure cancer, but no one will ever forget the time he (fill in the sin here)." It seems even a heartfelt mea culpa and a hair shirt isn't enough to wipe a sinner's slate clean. But shouldn't it be?
Shouldn't we be able to look past a cheating spouse and see the person we once trusted? Shouldn't we find it in our hearts to trust that person again? Shouldn't we forgive a thief who stole from us? Be able to truly offer forgiveness to the person who took our loved one's life? Wouldn't we pray for the same consideration from a person whom we wronged?
I don't know if the Kopechne's ever forgave Kennedy for what he did to their daughter. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't. But I do hope that all the good that Kennedy managed in his later years will balance the scales when he meets his Supreme Judge. We all should because we'll all be in his shoes one day.
Rest in peace Senator.
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Patricia Martinez is the co-host of the Mike in the Morning Show on 93.1 KISS FM. If you are looking for some love advice from Patricia, or want to raise an issue, please send an email to info@epmediagroup.com with "Love" in the subject line. Click here for the WLGTDw/it archives.
