By Lubna Abdel-Aziz It was no surprise that United States Senator Edward Moore Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer August 25th. What was a surprise is that he battled his malignant tumour long enough to see the first black President in the White House. An active champion of the civil rights movement, Kennedy was indefatigable in fighting for his many causes, answering every cry for help. Accurately dubbed the Liberal Lion of the Senate, Kennedy was a devout Roman Catholic, a man of religious spirit and strong conviction. His faith helped him stand on firm ground, served as his sound armour, the sharp weapon that fought back every adversity, and every calamity, and they were many. The youngest child of nine, 4 boys and five girls, his burden was the heaviest. Of the eight deceased only one survives 81 year old Jean Kennedy Smith. He buried them all and survived to care for all their children and grandchildren. A fixture on the Senate floor for close to half a century, Kennedy stood bold and erect, dispensing charm and humour in marked degree. His voice was blaring and brassy, his laugh rowdy and resonant. He was beloved by all who knew him whether they shared his political convictions or not. Unlike his older brothers, he lived long enough to effectively change the history of his family, his Senate, his state and his country. The "baby Kennedy" who often sustained the brunt of his older siblings' mockery and tomfoolery, participated in 1000 pieces of legislation, and he himself, with his staff, penned more than 300 bills that were enacted into law. Though weak and frail during his last few weeks, he never lost his passion for defending the defenseless. His voice still boomed and bellowed on behalf of those who were not heard. He helped make America a better country. The Kennedy story is the exemplar of the ideal American experience. Though there is something mournful about the tale of the Kennedys, it is a fascinating tale to tell. A long time ago, over 150 years or so, in the land of Eire, or Ireland the Emerald Isle, most of the people were poor, living on small farms and produced little income. They depended mostly on potatoes for food. When the potato crop failed in 1845 till 1847 because of a plant disease, it killed 3/4 million citizens. Fear of starvation caused a mass emigration, driving 1.5 million to sail to the New World. In a small impoverished town in southern Ireland called Dunganstown, a young Patrick Kennedy joined thousands of others who embarked on the Dumbrody, one of the many "famine ships" that sailed away from certain starvation and death, to the land of plenty. They landed in Boston Harbour and began a life of toil and labour to build a new home in this Nation of Immigrants. This was to be their Camelot. One hundred years later, his great grandson became the first Roman Catholic president of the US. "They left on a famine ship and returned as Presidents." The Kennedys were among many Boston Irish who became active in the Democratic Party. They felt excluded by the upper class Yankees, and the Democratic Party was the party of the farmers and labourers, as well as the immigrant minorities, the Roman Catholics, the blacks, the Jews, the Asians, the Latinos, etc. The family patron Joseph Patrick Kennedy became a leader of the Irish Roman Catholic community and a prominent political activist. His success as a business man added to his lustre and through the years his influence and his fortune grew larger and larger. He was appointed US Ambassador to Great Britain by Franklin D Roosevelt. He married Rose Fitzgerald, whose grandparents had also escaped the Irish famine. Together they had nine children all groomed to a life in politics. Joseph himself had dreamed of the White House, but when his political career was thwarted, he concentrated on grooming his oldest son Joseph Jr. for President. When Joseph Jr. was killed in WWII, it was left to John to fulfill the dream. John Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States. After his assassination, his brother Robert carried the torch, and was well on his way to victory after winning the California primary when he too was gunned down needlessly. The country was stunned. The Kennedys mourned yet another untimely death. Of all the brothers, only one remained, to continue the dream of Camelot. Edward Moore Kennedy entered the Senate in 1962 and there he remained for 47 years. He was elected and re-elected by the State of Massachusetts for eight consecutive terms. Engaging and diplomatic, he found ways of compromising with Republican Senators across the aisle, and easily won over those with disparate views. He was the driving force behind US laws on immigration, AIDS care, cancer research, civil rights, mental health benefits, children's health insurance, education, minimum wage, and on and on. The most famous, most effective, most outspoken, most hard- working, Ted Kennedy was also the most beloved of all Congress. Fiercely ambitious, he was widely assumed to be the natural heir to his brothers. He possessed all the credentials, success, money, fame, and charisma. So why did he never become President? The simple answer is that it was not written. Ted Kennedy tried and tried, but each time fate would be his obstacle. The Democrats always looked to the last Kennedy to lead from the White House, but he could only do it from his Senate seat, which proved to be even more consequential. Through the years, the Senate became a fully satisfying career. He used his legislative, political, and social skills to pass law after law to benefit the needy, the persecuted, the downtrodden. The "baby" grew to become the patriarch of the Kennedy clan, It was his task to comfort and console the extended family, the one the family turned to in good times and bad. His was a funeral of magnificence and splendour, fit for a President or a King. He was neither. He was bigger. Colleagues from both parties praised their "liberal ion" as a "a man of class, loyalty, sympathy and humour," with a deep love of God and country. They recalled his infectious laugh "that could wake the dead and cheer up the most beleaguered soul." He dreamed great dreams and fulfilled most of them, not for himself, but for his fellow man. Voices may be silenced, but not deeds. They give light to the dim, and colour to the drab, they cheer the gloomy and give hope to the hopeless. Such were the deeds of the Senator from Massachusetts. There was once a place called Camelot. It was the place occupied by Teddy Kennedy. "I pray thee, then, Write me as one who loves his fellow men."... And showed the names whom love of God had blessed, And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest! -- From Abou Ben Adhem by James Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
