I come to find myself today a kindred spirit with Bobby Kennedy.
Now, I know he is a man long dead, but his voice still brings truth today. It seems lately I keep finding myself in the 60's.
As much as I think I could have lived well in the 60's , with outlandish hair and hooped skirts, I silently wonder if I would have had the courage to fight for what I should have. Hairspray is so fabulous. I recommend it to all. Not only will the music keep your feet going but it brings to life a decade of American history that, I think, too often we keep in the dark.
I recently visited the sixth floor museum in Dallas. I was awestruck at the death of JFK. I took my time to read all the blurbs and to peacefully examine every picture. I couldn't help but wonder if we have any leaders in our country today that are loved as much as he was. As fascinating as it is to wonder about conspiracy, the fact remains today that John Kennedy was shot by one man and one man only.
I watched the movie Bobby and I didn't really understand it until it reached its end. All of the everyday 60s occurences woven together by one simple man's life and death. I found myself in tears during the last scenes not really sure as to why water was streaming down my cheek. I think it might have been the fact that the words Bobby Kennedy were speaking were words that are still truths today.
Lately I have found my thoughts and some discussion with friends centering around the politics of our nation, and not only that, but the real need and desperation for change in our country.
We have to face truths.
Not only truths of poverty and violence, but truths about the history and foundation of our very country.
I found myself wondering and pondering over how different our world would be if JFK had lived out his first term. What if Martin Luther King Jr. had never found the confidence to speak up and then also if he had been privileged to live to see his dreams come true. What if Bobby Kennedy had lived to become president of the United States?
I come back to what it is. 2007 and yet we cannot keep ourselves from repeating our own history nor can we face our own truths.
1 comment:
You realize of course your Mom and Dad are literally children of the 60s! We lived through the Cuban missle crisis, the space race and the first man setting foot on the moon. We knew the vietnam War, flower children and the Jesus movement. We saw the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther king, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy and knew all too well what the song "Abraham, Martin, and John" was all about. We saw the political dreams of "Camelot" and "The Great Society" come and pass and listened and watched in the great struggle for civil rights in this country. The sad part is that most of it slipped past all around us because we were too young to really understand. It was a time of great social trumoil in America, a time that may have changed us forever...well, maybe not forever, but for a long time to come.
Love,
Dad
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