Shortly after midnight on June 5th, 1968, the man who many believed would have became the Democratic nominee for the 1968 presidential election, and quite possibly the 37th President of the United States, was shot down in cold blood while walking through a kitchen. This same man, made the profound claim in the 1960's that it was entirely possible for a black man to become the President of the United States with the short span of 40 years.
While the prospect of Robert Kennedy's claim is astounding, I do not write this diary to reflect on what Senator Kennedy said about future presidents. I write this diary as a reminder of what Kennedy said on a much grimmer aspect. With the recent assassination of the Dr. George Tiller by a "Pro-Life" terrorist, and the ever growing hate speech that is occurring on the other side of the aisle, the speech Robert F. Kennedy made in the aftermath of Dr. Marin Luther King is as relevant today as it was back in early April of 1968.
With the growing cultural divide, I believe these divisions will grow larger and larger as time goes on, and next time it may not be a local doctor gunned down during a church service in Kansas, but it could be somebody with a much more public life, who is the face of yet another controversial issue. Perhaps it will be a gay rights activist who only wants to live life as an equal, perhaps it will be a secular activist who believes that religion has its place in society, but not within government or perhaps it will be someone much higher on the totem pole...
Audio of speech:
That speech Senator Kennedy made two short months before his untimely death spoke of the mindless menace of violence. Today those words ring as true as they ever have. As Kennedy said, violence breeds violence, and I would hope that these recent events that have occurred continue to be the exception, and not the rule when it comes to dealing with those with other views.
I do not know entirely why I write this diary, but I guess it is perhaps to spread what Senator Kennedy said prior to his untimely death, but to also have my fellow kossacks know that while it is fun to poke fun at the opposition, I would hope that the discussion never devolves to the level that some other sites...