Wednesday, June 6, 2018
What Might Have Been
Fifty years ago today shortly after midnight, Robert F. Kennedy (1925 - 1968) was assassinated after winning the California Democratic primary moments earlier. For Kennedy, the 1968 Democratic nomination was still possible, after President Lyndon Johnson's decision not to run again was made in March, and after his defeat of Sen. Eugene McCarthy in California. Only Vice President Hubert Humphrey had accumulated more delegates (561) than Kennedy (393) at the time of the assassination, with primaries or caucuses in New York, Texas and numerous other states yet to be held.
Over the intervening 50 years, the "what ifs" continue to haunt the public imagination: the war in Vietnam would have certainly ended sooner, the racial divides after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination may have healed more quickly, and the destructive effects of Watergate on public trust in institutions would have been avoided. Or perhaps events would have conspired to frustrate his goals. Rather than sample the thousands of articles, essays, etc. on what Kennedy represented, an article written on the 20th anniversary of his assassination by Richard Harwood is a good start.
As with his martyred brother John, we'll never know how our lives and the lives of millions around the world might be different today, but we can imagine that they'd be better.
BONUS: Dear friend and reader P.E.C. pointed us to an interview on NPR that adds perspectives on Kennedy's life, including thoughts from Larry Tye, author of "Bobby Kennedy: The Making of A Liberal Icon."
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4 comments:
I think of all the Kennedys, Bobby was the most interesting. From what I've read, he seemed the polar opposite of his brother, Jack. The President was the jovial, nice guy in public, but was fairly conservative and tenacious in private. Bobby was the opposite, a dog with a bone in public, yet funny and kind in private. Am I reading them right?
diva -- You're reading them right. Bobby was deeply effected by brother John's murder, and became more sensitive and compassionate as a result. He was unafraid to wear it on his sleeve and fight for the forgotten. He saw his public duty partly as a tribute to his brother, even while following his own path.
I saw lots of coverage of the funereal train trip across the country for Bobby. People by the hundreds gathered in cities and towns to pay their respects. I was only ten when he was murdered, but I know that my grandparents and parents were deeply saddened by his death.
donnah -- Many middle and blue collar people saw him as their advocate. The train carrying his body back to Arlington National Cemetery for burial drew many thousands along the railroad tracks in small towns and villages across the heartland to pay their respects and express their sadness.
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