The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy (2 page)

—Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 1980

It is true, as has been said on this floor, that prejudice exists in the minds and hearts of men. It cannot be eradicated by law. But I firmly believe a sense of fairness and good will also exists in the minds and hearts of men side by side with the prejudice; a sense of fairness and good will which shows itself so often in acts of charity and kindness toward others. This noble characteristic wants to come out. It wants to, and often does, win out against the prejudice. Law, expressing as it does the moral conscience of the community, can help it come out in every person, so in the end the prejudice will be dissolved.

—from Kennedy's first speech on
the Senate floor, April, 9, 1964

Our progressive vision is not just for Democrats or Republicans, for red states or blue states. It's a way forward for the nation as a whole—to a new prosperity and greater opportunity for all—a vision not just of the country we can become, but of the country we must become—an America that embraces the values and aspirations of our people now, and for coming generations.

—Address at the National Press Club,
Washington, DC,
January 12, 2005

We must insist that our children and our grandchildren shall inherit a land which they can truly call America the beautiful.

—Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 1980

It is our moral duty … to ensure our security but also to reflect our humanity. That is our calling. We should keep out those who would harm us, but welcome those who will contribute to America. We must protect our communities and our nation with laws that are just and fair. But we must also provide a path for honest, hardworking people to emerge from the shadows and earn the privilege of American citizenship.

—National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast,
June 8, 2006

Since I was a boy, I have known the joy of sailing the waters off Cape Cod. And for all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.

—Speech at Harvard, December 2008

A new American majority is ready to respond to our call for a revitalized American dream—grounded firmly in our Constitution and in the endless adventure of lifting this nation to ever new heights of discovery, prosperity, progress, and service to all people and to all humanity.

—Address to the National Press Club,
Washington, DC,
January 12, 2005

Traveling across the length and breadth of America, taking the measure of our people, you cannot help but come away with a sense that we can do the job—that our problems are only human, and the solutions will be human, too; that America is a land whose people have the capacity to solve its problems many times over, if only we let them try.

—Speech to the National Jaycees Convention,
Portland, OR, June 15, 1971

More than four decades ago, near this place [the Lincoln Memorial], Martin Luther King called on the nation to let freedom ring. Freedom did ring—and freedom can ring again. It is time for Americans to lift their voices now—in pride for our immigrant past and in pride for our immigrant future.

—“I Stand With You” Speech
at Immigration Rally,
April 10, 2006

Don't sacrifice your political convictions for the convenience of the hour.

—As quoted by William Safire in his 1990 book
,
Words of Wisdom: More Good Advice

There are some who seek to wreck the peace process. They are blinded by fear of a future they cannot imagine—a future in which respect for differences is a healing and unifying force. They are driven by an anger that holds no respect for life—even for the lives of children. But a new spirit of hope is gaining momentum. It can banish the fear that blinds. It can conquer the anger that fuels the merchants of violence. We are building an irresistible force that can make the immovable object move.

—University of Ulster, Derry, Northern Ireland,
January 9, 1988

I love the flag no less because I believe that America has lost its way in Vietnam. I love the flag no less because I want America to move ahead and right the wrongs we see in our society at home. Those of us who push America on do so out of love and hope for the America that can be.

—Fourth of July address, Wakefield, MA, 1970

[We] are … good neighbors. The settlers traveled to the West in wagon trains because they knew that the survival of their families depended on strong communities working together for the common good. They lived by the Golden Rule not only as a moral mandate, but as a necessity. That is our American heritage. Neighbor helping neighbor. All of us contributing to our communities and to our nation to make them stronger.

—Speech, March 14, 2005

No nation is guaranteed a position of lasting prosperity and security. We have to work for it. We have to fight for it. We have to sacrifice for it. We have a choice. We can continue to be buffeted by the harsh winds of a shrinking world. Or we can think anew, and guide the currents of globalization with a new progressive vision that strengthens America and equips our citizens to move confidently to the future.

—Address at the National Press Club,
Washington, DC, January 12, 2005

The Bible gives us an excellent ancient example of power, justice and love coming together in the course of human events. That example is God's work on behalf of the Israelites while they were in bondage, during 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and in the midst of their many battles for independence. This same God inspired Dr. [Martin Luther] King to boldly proclaim the vision of a new America, undivided by race, religion, or gender—an America where the ingenuity, creativity and industry of African-Americans is welcomed—an America built on the principles of one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

—Remarks on Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday,
Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ,
January 14, 2001

This November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.

—Speech at the Democratic National Convention,
August 25, 2008

ON DEFINING MOMENTS IN
OUR HISTORY

E
ARLY ON IN OUR TASK OF CATALOGUING
S
ENATOR
Kennedy's writings and speeches, we began to see a clear and consistent pattern emerge: each was imbued with a deep appreciation of history. For every event he has commemorated, for every policy advocated or opposed, he notes much more than its impact on our present lives but takes care to measure its place in the tapestry of our times, its ties to the past and its significance for our future.

We see this in his congratulatory remarks upon the election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama, as well as in his somber reflections on the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It's there, too, in his measured words of resistance to the Bush Administration's drumbeat toward war in Iraq.

Far more often than the standard politician, Senator Kennedy draws upon the wisdom of past leaders and the lessons of the historical record to present his understanding of a challenge or crisis in the here-and-now. We did a quick experiment to prove the point, choosing twenty speeches and policy statements at random, and found not a single one lacking a reference to the roots of the issue under consideration or a citation of the work of a historian of the subject, or the insight of a leader who had dealt with the issue before. In a few cases, the citation was to something said by his brother Jack or Bobby, for it is clear that Ted Kennedy's appreciation for the role of history is due in no small measure to having grown up in a family whose children were imbued from their earliest years with a sense of our history and their places in it.

With Barack Obama we will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay.

—Endorsement of Senator Barack Obama
for president, American University,
January 2008

Yesterday's [September 11] terrorist atrocities against innocent Americans were vicious and horrifying. They were acts of unspeakable cruelty unleashed against the American people in a shameful attempt to spread chaos throughout our nation and instill fear in the hearts of our citizens. But such acts will not succeed, and they never will succeed.

No American will ever forget watching a hijacked civilian aircraft crash into the towers of the World Trade Center, or seeing the plume of smoke rise from the Pentagon in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. No American will ever forget the sense of anger and vulnerability that swept our nation yesterday, when thousands of innocent lives were suddenly and senselessly ended by these vicious acts.

My heart goes out to the victims of this attack and their loved ones. The American people share our anger, our grief—and our resolve. We cannot bring back the lives of the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends—although we wish desperately that we could. We cannot yet fully answer the complex questions that haunt the country about this atrocity. As we search for and find the answers, we pray for the victims and their loved ones, and we hope that they will find a measure of peace and comfort from our prayers.

This is a massive tragedy for America, and we must make clear that our national resolve will not be weakened. Our country has been tested and tried in the past, and we have always emerged stronger and wiser. We will do so again now. America's commitment to the values of freedom and justice.

—Statement on the Terrorist Attacks
in New York and Washington, DC,
September 12, 2001

History will now say on this impeachment, as they said on the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, that it was the radical Republicans. … And that is going to be the judgment of history.

—Speech opposing the impeachment
of President Bill Clinton

We are now at a major cross-road in our history. The 9/11 atrocities have forced us all to think profoundly about what is great in America. All through our shock and grief, the people's courage never failed. 9/11 was one of the nation's saddest hours, but the response was one of our finest hours.

That hour must not be lost. It can mark the beginning of a new era of common purpose—a return to policies which truly reflect America's values, a return to the genuine pursuit of justice. The unselfishness we saw in 2001 must not give way to selfishness in 2003. The noble caring for one another that we celebrated then must not be succeeded now by a retreat from our ideals.

Yes, our country is strong. But it can be stronger—not just in the power we hold, but in the promise we fulfill of a nation that truly does make better the life of the world. If we rededicate ourselves to that great goal, our achievements will reverberate around the globe, and America will be admired anew for what it must be now, in this new time, more than ever—“the last, best hope of earth.”

—Statement on American values and
war with Iraq, March 13, 2003

I am announcing today my candidacy for the Senate of the United States. I make this decision in full knowledge of the obstacles I will face, the charges that will be made, and the heavy responsibilities of the office to which I aspire. … The Senate is surely one of the most important bodies in the Free World. Each year its decisions affect the hopes and lives of men and women in every part of the globe, in every state of the Union and in every town, city, and county in Massachusetts. In the months and years immediately ahead, the Senate will be deciding whether our younger citizens will receive the education they need—whether our older citizens will receive the medical care they need—whether our transportation system will flourish or falter—whether our cities will obtain new industries and whether our industries will obtain new contracts and new markets at home and abroad—whether our tax laws, our immigration laws, our anti-recession safeguards and our anti-crime laws are to be modernized and made more effective.

—Announcing his candidacy for
United States Senate,
March 14, 1962

This disaster reminds us that we are all part of the American family and we have a responsibility to help members of that family when they are in need.

—Speaking of Hurricane Katrina
at the presentation of the 2005
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award
to Stephen Bradberry of New Orleans,
November, 2005

Historians of the future will wonder about the years we have just passed through. They will ask how it could be, a century after the Civil War, that black and white had not learned to live together in the promise of this land.