There’s plenty of Ted Kennedy hagiography going on today, but this one just got my goat:
“The Kennedys were the first royal family that we had,” said Kenneth Nielsen, 64, a retired college math teacher from Greencastle, Pa., who was sightseeing on Capitol Hill. “That mystique was carried over . . . They were destined.”
No Mr. Nielsen, a thousand million times no.
America does not have “royal families.” In fact, you may recall that we fought aware to get away from a nation that was ruled by such a family and whose political system was very much built on the idea of destiny and entitlement.
Sadly, we’ve come along way form those days, and the late Senator Kennedy is a prime example of that fact. He came into the Senate to replace his brother after just barely meeting the Constitutional requirements for the office. He had no political experience prior to that, and little experience at anything to be completely honest about it. If his last name wasn’t Kennedy, he would not have been a serious contender for the seat and he would have died in anonymity last night.
There’s something really unhealthy about the idea of Americans worshiping a family like this — almost as unhealthy as the insane fascination with Princess Diana and the over-the-top outpouring of grief when she died. Let’s stop and start acting like the Americans we’re supposed to be.
