Where is this generation's Bobby Kennedy?
I just finished watching
Bobby, and I'm shocked at how similar the country was then as it is now. And with all of the knowledge of what happened then and everything since, nobody has stepped up to make a real difference. Sure we've had some good presidents, but we're back where we were in 1968... in the middle of a war nobody wanted to be involved in, police blockades at voting booths in "less desireable" areas of cities, and predictions of gas mask requirements within decades due to growing emissions.
When Kennedy declared his candidacy he said, "I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done, and I feel that I'm obliged to do all I can." That's really all we are asking for; someone brave enough to step up and say "screw you" to their peers, colleagues, and big money in order to fight for change.
At only 43-years old, Kennedy stood for racial and economic justice, non-aggression in foreign policy, decentralization of power and social improvement. He engaged with young voters, not just to win votes but because he felt they were the future. A future based on partnership and equality. A novel idea wasn't it?
So who is going to step up? Which one of these guys is willing to make waves and bite their thumb at the rest of them? Let's meet the contenders...
DEMOCRATS:
Joe Biden "What I'm most proud of in my entire career was writing the Violence Against Women's Act because it is evidence we can change people's lives, but the change is always one person at a time."
Hilary Clinton “Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process.”
Chris Dodd “Every American deserves to live in freedom, to have his or her privacy respected and a chance to go as far as their ability and effort will take them - regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or economic circumstances.”
John Edwards “I was wrong to vote for this war. Unfortunately, I'll have to live with that forever. And the lesson I learned from it is to put more faith in my own judgment.”
Mike Gravel “If you're tired of the backbiting and the score-keeping and the special-interest-driven politics of Washington, if you want somebody who can bring the country together around a common purpose and rally us around a common destiny, then I'm your guy.”
Dennis Kucinich “We have weapons of mass destruction we have to address here at home. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction.”
Barack Obama “We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible.”
Bill Richardson “Raising a family is difficult enough. But it's even more difficult for single parents struggling to make ends meet. They don't need more obstacles. They need more opportunities.”
REPUBLICANS:
Sam Brownback “As we consider the fast pace of scientific and technological progress in our modern world, we must not lose our moral compass and give way to 'free market eugenics'.”
Rudy Giuliani “Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it.”
Mike Huckabee “There is a crisis in America. That crisis is divorce. It is easier to get out of a marriage than (to get out of a) contract to buy a used car.”
Duncan Hunter “We seem to be our own worst enemies. We should require critical U.S. infrastructure to remain in U.S. hands.”
John McCain “I believe in evolution. But I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also.”
Ron Paul “I am absolutely opposed to a national ID card. This is a total contradiction of what a free society is all about. The purpose of government is to protect the secrecy and the privacy of all individuals, not the secrecy of government. We don't need a national ID card.”
Mitt Romney “People from both political parties have long recognized that welfare without work creates negative incentives that lead to permanent poverty. It robs people of self-esteem.”
Tom Tancredo “I am intent on making this immigration issue part of the national debate during that Presidential election... and I will do that any way I can.”
Fred Thompson “When we draw lines in the sand with regard to certain basic things that are vital to our interest and to the interest of democracy and our friends around the world, we have to be willing to back that up.”
There are just too damn many to keep track...
Where do they stand on the
issues?
What
experience do they have?
Where is there
money coming from?
Where are they right now?
What's going on with the
primaries?
What is their
voting history?
There is a lot of information out there. I urge you to read it and decide for yourself. Don't let the media, friends, family, church, co-workers, or anyone else decide for you. It's your life, not theirs.
I'll leave you with my favorite Robert Kennedy quote:
"Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." -- Robert F. Kennedy, University of Cape Town, South Africa, N.U.S.A.S. "Day of Affirmation" Speech, June 6, 1966
Calling all pictures! I'm not quite sure how it happened but I only ended up with a toddler-sized handleful of pictures from the party. So I'm making a plea to anyone who took pictures to send them my way. I'll upload them to the album and then we can all get to them. 'Cause Stephan needs his 15 minutes of fame for his kick-ass robot costume. Seriously that thing was incredible!
We're already planning to go back by next week.
