The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy

by Bill Adler

  THE

  WIT AND WISDOM

  OF

  TED KENNEDY

  THE

  WIT AND WISDOM

  OF

  TED KENNEDY

  A Treasury of Reflections, Statements of Belief,

  and Calls to Action

  EDITED BY BILL ADLER & BILL ADLER, JR.

  For my father (and co-editor), who created the

  Wit and Wisdom book idea, and who showed me

  how much fun the publishing world is.

  —Bill Adler, Jr.

  CONTENTS

  Introduction

  Words of Inspiration

  On Defining Moments in Our History

  On the Constitution and Equal Justice Under Law

  On Leadership and Courage

  On the Kennedy Family and Its Legacy

  A Voice for Children

  Issues of Global Impact: The Environment, War, National Security, and Public Safety

  Democracy and Human Rights

  Economic Justice and the American Worker

  Health Care: Senator Kennedy’s Last Great Challenge

  In Lighter Moments

  Personal Reflections

  Acknowledgments

  INTRODUCTION

  Individual faults and frailties are no excuse to give in—and no exemption from the common obligation to give of ourselves.

  —Ted Kennedy

  Senator Edward Kennedy was one of the most influential and important leaders of our generation, and will be remembered as one of the most significant politicians in the history of the United States.

  Ted Kennedy was the son of Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, brother of Attorney General Robert Kennedy and brother of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy: It can be said that in his lifetime Ted Kennedy accomplished more than any of them to better America. Kennedy was elected to the United States Senate nine times and when he died he was the third longest serving Senator in United States history. When elected to the United States Senate in 1962, he was just 30 years old—the minimum age to serve.

  Ted Kennedy was a champion of civil rights, health care, the war on AIDS, gun control, education, drug benefits for seniors, and myriad other issues that affect Americans every day. Kennedy stood his ground on these issues, unwavering in his convictions, despite the political vicissitudes of the years. Though known as a stalwart of the Democratic party, he was always able to work with his Republican colleagues as well as Republican presidents to achieve his dreams. Paying fond tribute to him at his funeral mass were two of his oldest friends in the Senate, Republicans John McCain and Orrin Hatch.

  In 1964, I (Bill Adler, Sr.) edited The Kennedy Wit, a tribute to President John F. Kennedy published soon after his assassination. That book was an international bestseller because the slain president occupied a special and unique place in the hearts of Americans. Robert Kennedy’s death followed less than five years later. Ted Kennedy became the Kennedy brother to whom we looked for hope and inspiration. Over his long time of service in the Senate, he developed into a leader of vision and unwavering perseverance. He, like his brothers John and Robert, looked ahead and all saw how we could make America a better place.

  When I compiled The Kennedy Wit I was 32 years old. I’m 80 now. A lot has changed over the decades, and much of the change that has bettered our nation can be attributed to the hard work and vision of Ted Kennedy. I’m grateful for that.

  President Barack Obama said this of Ted Kennedy at his memorial service on August 29, 2009:

  “Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy; a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate—a man whose name graces nearly one thousand laws, and who penned more than three hundred himself.

  “We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, a veritable force of nature, in support of health care or workers’ rights or civil rights. And yet, while his causes became deeply personal, his disagreements never did. While he was seen by his fiercest critics as a partisan lightning rod, that is not the prism through which Ted Kennedy saw the world, nor was it the prism through which his colleagues saw him. He was a product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect—a time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots.”

  Senator Kennedy’s life was deepened by tragedy and strengthened by a joyous love of humanity. And it was perhaps this sad and wonderful combination of influences that made him care more for ordinary Americans than most other politicians. After he lost his bid for the presidency he devoted his life to becoming a great Senator.

  Through Ted Kennedy’s wit and wisdom we can understand and appreciate this great man. And perhaps become better Americans ourselves.

  THE

  WIT AND WISDOM

  OF

  TED KENNEDY

  WORDS OF INSPIRATION

  THE KENNEDY NAME HAS LONG BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH soaring words and inspirational utterances. When we think of President John F. Kennedy, we can hear his ringing call to serve: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” When we think of Bobby Kennedy, we may remember him best by his bold vision for a better future: “Some men see things as they are, and say ‘Why?’—I dream of things that never were, and say, ‘Why not?’”

  These two lives were cut tragically short, but even so, they left words that will continue to inspire Americans for generations to come. We are more fortunate when it comes to the life of their youngest brother, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who was granted 77 years to make a difference with his life. The third-longest serving senator in U.S. history has had 46 years to address us in speeches, statements, and other prepared remarks, as well as informal comments and recorded conversations. When in front of a large crowd he was often a rousing orator, a stemwinder, but not all the quotations in this chapter were delivered in a booming voice from a podium; there are some that come across equally well—perhaps better—when the reader is alone in a quiet room.

  It was always a pleasure to search for and find these nuggets. We listened to many hours of videotapes of speeches, read through essays, and combed through public statements, and so often found ourselves stopping to appreciate some felicitous phrase, some lilting combination of words that reminded us that he was more than a moving speaker: He was truly a fine wordsmith. Of course, we know that Senator Kennedy also employed some supremely talented speechwriters, but in the end—as some of those speechwriters have noted in interviews about the experience of working with him—the choice of words was always his.

  When it came to the music of the English language to move us to the heights, Senator Kennedy had perfect pitch.

  The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.

  —Democratic National Convention,

  August 12, 1980

  Let each of us, to the best of our ability, in our own day and generation, perform something worthy to be remembered. … Let us give something back to America, in return for all it has given us.

  —Speech, March 1, 1976

  I have seen throughout my life how we as a people can rise to a challenge, embrace change and renew our destiny.

  —Speech at Harvard, December 2008

  If I can leave a single message with the younger generation, it is to lash yourself to the mast, like Ulysses, if you want to escape the siren calls of complacency and indifference.

  —Speech, June 4, 1978

  Yes, we are all
Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. And we can do it again.

  —Democratic National Convention,

  August 12, 2008

  The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue.

  —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

  EARLY ON IN OUR TASK OF CATALOGUING SENATOR 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, choos
ing 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.