On June 6, 1968 I was completing my Junior year at Sammamish High School in Bellevue. The year was pivotal during the turbulent ‘60s. Martin Luther King had been murdered in April, the War in Vietnam was at its height, the Summer of Love had been the previous summer and it was a presidential election year. In the wake of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the death of MLK and the widening of the war, the murder of Robert F. Kennedy in CA seemed to be the death of hope.
The heir presumptive to the Kennedy family political legacy, RFK seemed to be the hope of so many Americans of returning to Camelot with the addition of civil rights and peace—a new and better nation. There was a belief that he might be the savior of a country in serious trouble. The events of 1968 seemed to turn the universe topsy turvy.
On January 31st the Viet Cong had launched the Tet Offensive marking the beginning of the end of the American involvement in Viet Nam. Many Americans blamed President Lyndon Johnson for the ever increasing American deaths in Viet Nam which American families witnessed each night on the evening news. Would JFK have allowed our country to become so enmeshed in the quagmire of Vietnam? On March 31st Johnson surprised the nation by announcing his decision not to run for reelection. A few days later came the assassination of MLK. Who could lead us out of this chaos? Many hopes were pinned on Robert Kennedy leading the nation into a time of equality and peace.
History can be cruel. A twenty-four-year-old Palestinian named Sirhan Sirhan had other ideas. His ideas are unclear except that they included murder and there is some speculation that although he was tried and convicted of killing RFK and is serving a life sentence in CA, he was not responsible for the shots that killed Kennedy. Sirhan claims to have no memory of the shooting. No matter who killed RFK it was the death of an American prince and hope for a speedy end to the war. Following the assassination of RFK the Secret Service protection was extended to presidential candidates.
The riots of the Democratic Convention in Chicago would be that August as the nation became gripped by violence and struggle and Richard Nixon would be elected with promises of ending the war that would not bear fruit for six more bloody years.
One can speculate on what might have happened had all three of these men lived. In the case of Robert Kennedy I believe that he died much too soon. If he had lived would he have won the Democratic nomination? The General Election? What would the United States have looked like under a Robert Kennedy administration? Forty years later we can only speculate and grieve a great politician taken much too soon.
9 comments:
I had both goose-bumps and tears as I read your post Stephanie...some great writing, by the way!
Ah, the "what ifs" about life, the universe and everything. For one sparkling moment, this past February, it looked like hope and promise all over again...then everyone began to dig their trenches and go back to politics as usual.
Bobby Kennedy was a remarkable man (though, take it from a Brit...avoid the royalty bit!) and I would've loved to see where it could've all gone. I've kept a good eye on his pretty incredible son, who works hard for the country too.
The Kennedys are woven into the fabric of this country, whether you agree(d)with their politics or not...even though their patriarch, the Big J, was quite the rapscallion. Say what you like about Ted, he's given his life to work for this country in the shadow of his brothers. I wish him well as he is in surgery today.
It's good to remember, especially on sad anniversaries of assassinations, that nothing can kill the voice of reason and hope...as long as we continue to carry it in our hearts.
Despite the American desire to break off from the English monarchy, I think we have maintained a facination with the rich & famous and invested them with the trappings of royalty and for us, the Kennedys are royalty. I believe that Bobby had the potential to be the greatest of them which makes his death even more tragic.
Until this year, I have not been optomistic regarding the future of this country in the way I had been prior to RFK's assisnation.
And even though I am sick to death of the current election, I still have hope that we may see a better day, year, era after November.
I was going to list my top ten presidents...
Jimmy Carter came to mind and then I stopped...
Robert Kennedy had excited me and I still mourn his loss
I was brought up to believe Abraham Lincoln was a great president... the only reason I regard him well was because, at his funeral, many, many Black people mourned his passing... so I have to think that I really do not know enough about him...
Without Franklin D Roosevelt's courageous taking charge of the economy most of us would not be here to be writing or reading blogs... that is for sure
and I guess I am finished with lifting up any of these folks...
I do mourn Robert Kennedy's loss...
Whether for humanitarian or political reasons, Lincoln brought the nation through a Civil War that ended slavery and there's no denying that FDR brought us out of the Great Depression and through WWII. Jimmy Carter was probably our most moral president which may be why he was not reelected. He continues to be a force for good. Roosevelt had three terms to put his mark on the nation. So near to the 40th anniversary of Robert Kennedy's death I cannot help but wonder how he might have changed the course of our history.
Sigh.
I was born right after RFK died. My mom said, I was the hope that helped during these heartbreaking times. That gives me great pride.
At least, I could do something, even though I can't remember.
Awww Kim...your mama was right! I can imagine having a baby to concentrate on and feel hope for would've been a balm that year. It was a tough one to comprehend.
I saw Bobby's daughter being interviewed on the Today Show yesterday. She spoke of a letter her father wrote to her, after she visited with him at the Justice Department. In it he wrote that it was a most important day because his daughter came to visit...and that two more negroes had been registered to vote in Mississippi that day. She keeps it on her wall.
NPR will be featuring a Bobby speech tonight at 8 PM on KUOW, 94.9 FM. I heard a snippet and his words about what was happening here and fighting on the other side of the world sounded as if he were speaking of now.
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