I have always admired Robert Kennedy and the more the years go by the more my admiration increases.
Bobby was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The third son of Joe and Rose Kennedy. Joe had amassed a fortune on the stock market and had been US Ambassador to England for a period of time before WWII. Joe had always held visions of his eldest son, Joe Jnr. becoming President of America. Joe was killed during WWII and the mantle was passed on to the second son, John, known as JFK.
Bobby earned his stripes being Attorney General to his brother John when John became President. Early on he got stuck into “the mob” and I bet they never forgave him for it.
I vividly remember the assassination of President John Kennedy. It still rattles around in my soul as it must for many others and it is ironic that this year Bob Dylan released his masterpiece “Murder most Foul” which links President Kennedy’s death to the Shakespearean tragedy “Hamlet”.
After Jack’s death Bobby went into a deep depression and was actually brought out of it by working with the dispossessed black people in the New York ghettos. In a way only the dispossessed can, they gave him his life back. There is a particular touching moment on YouTube where the mega-rich Kennedy refers to the poor, outsider blacks as “these are my people”.
In this age of coronavirus, Trump and the riots in America, one can see shades of 1968. How different was Bobby to the poser in the White House now? I am attaching a touching moment on YouTube where Bobby Kennedy, beginning a speech in Indianapolis learns of the murder of Martin Luther King.
After a moment of confusion, he informs the crowd. Immediately, the crowd wants to do retribution. Bobby on the spot, speaking from the back of a truck, talks to them. He tells them that he knows exactly what it is like to have someone you love murdered by a white man. His off the cuff speech brings peace and he alone is considered responsible for stopping the incredible damage that could have erupted that night. In his speech he talks about love.
It is so different to Trump and his ilk today.
In 1968 Bobby announced his candidature for the President of the United States. He was soon on track to win the nomination. Unfortunately, he was also murdered in Los Angeles on this day, 5th June 1968. I think that event, like the death of his brother John, almost broke America and it seems to me so much of the ills we endure date from these times.
One can only dream of how the United States would have been if Bobby Kennedy had lived. Even after all this time, I still consider him to be the best President the United States never had. That dream of his, of people coming together no matter what their race or background, is part of what drives me to fight for a better world
On this day of his passing I will light a candle in his memory and pray for America. I do pray my prayers are heard.
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Great blog. Words to remind us of our world’s historical moments in the recent past.
Very moving video Bill, demonstrating great spiritual heart, and so appropriate for what the world is going through now. I like his reference to the Greeks and their wisdom around human nature.
Thank you Bill for reminding me of both JFK and especially Bobby Kennedy. I to remember where I was when JFK was murdered and also remembered Bobby Kennedy for his compassion for the Black people of America. I also remember the shock that I and many others felt at another murder and the grief that was left after another Kennedy misfortune.
These are the thoughts and words of such a man, murdered, the world was robbed by his death and we are trying to live to his life as he would want.
Thank you Bill for reminding us of all the good people in our world.
another insightful blog Bill which makes one stop and reflect on what could have been. Thanks
Excellent message. Thank you, Bill.
I remember the day RFK was killed. I was 7 years old, watching the news on TV (black and white, of course) and the newsreader, Roger Climpson, read an update on the shooting, which had been covered earlier in the newscast. In a very solemn voice, Climpson read, “Senator Kennedy is dead.” It made a tremendous impression on me. I didn’t know who Senator Kennedy was, but I thought it was terribly sad that someone had shot and killed him. Just a week ago I watched a documentary about RFK on Netflix. He was no saint, but all in all he was a good man with high ideals who learned and matured as he got older. The very opposite of the buffoon who now occupies, and disgraces, the White House.
Thank you Rev Bill for recalling Bobby F Kennedy. I was 7 when he was murdered, and I recall my Father spitting at the TV, when the assassin was shown.
Years ago when i visited Washington, I was compelled to visit his grave & that of JFK, both at Arlington Cemetery.
There is an inscription from an ancient Greek drammatist Aeschylus, which Bobby recited to the crowd, the night of Martin Luther King Juniors assassination, “In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
I will never forget where I was when JFK was assassinated. I heard the news early Saturday morning on that terrible day. I woke my mother up to tell her. She burst into tears. As terrible as it was, we still had Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. There was still hope. Then Robert Kennedy told us that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.
Robert Kennedy started to campaign for the presidency and there was little doubt that he would have won. He certainly would have been the best president we never had. ‘. . . has anybody here seen my friend Bobby, do you know just where he’s gone. I thought I saw him going out over the hill with Abraham, Martin and John.’
Dear Bill, have just read the previous comments and they have said it all. I also was fairly young in those days but remember that I was also saddened of the News of the death of Robert Kennedy. I beleave he was a good man. Time passes and some good and some bad but at the end of the day we will rejoice and thank God for what we have.
Hi Bill. Coincidentally, not remembering that this was the anniversary of RFK’s death, I had just bought an old paperback, published in 1993 called the assassination of Robert F Kennedy-The Conspiracy and Coverup by Turner & Christian. This is a fascinating read with all the hallmarks of the cover up of JFK’s death. I recommend it to anyone interested in the murders of the Kennedy brothers.