Forty years ago on June 5, 1968, I cast my first presidential vote for this man. That night I sobbed for what might have been. Forty years later, maybe we still can hope.
It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the task.
Robert Kennedy
November 20, 1925 - June 6, 1968
7 comments:
Jamie,
As if it were just yesterday, I too
remember 40 years ago--only I was
here in CT waiting to cast a vote
for Bobby Kennedy---sadly never to have had that opportunity. I am
envious & proud that you did cast your vote for Bobby Kennedy--probably my only hero, even til today.
Back then, it was from the heights of excitement & sheer joy to the depths of despair in a matter of a few hours.
As I mentioned at c-list the NYT
today--the opinion page has some
stories from RFK's children in
remembrance of him.
Bobby Kennedy seemed to offer such hope. I was only a kid at the time, in the UK, but I've learnt a lot about the period since then.
I, too, had cast my primary vote for RFK as I lived in SF at the time. I was studying for a final the next day, watched the victory speech, and turned off the tv when he said, "and now it's on to Chicago." It was the next morning when I first heard the news. Some how or other I made my way to campus and took my one and only final before graduating a week later. The war, protests, MLK's assassination, crazy campus politics, presidents resigning, all made for a fury of anger in June 1968.
Oh Jamie, I'm with you remembering and hoping. :D
I wasn't quite ten when Bobby met a very untimely and senseless death but I still remember that when the news came on the TV I was in the living room with my Mom while she was ironing. To this day, when I see a picture of Bobby Kennedy, I smell fresh starch - strange, eh?
I remember June 6, 1968, much too well. I was watching him on TV when he was shot.
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.
I wonder, whether as President or as a leader in the Senate, could he have helped heal a divided nation? His quotes are so much about peace and tolerance, and unifying the country.
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