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Kathleen Parker is one of America's most popular opinion columnists, addressing the country's mental health through her views on current national ...
Read more about Kathleen Parker.
Kathleen Parker is one of America's most popular opinion columnists, addressing the country's mental health through her views on current national ...
Read more about Kathleen Parker.
In Death Do Us Part Company
Kathleen Parker
WASHINGTON -- Reaction to Sen. Ted Kennedy's death suggests that there
really are two Americas.
One side sees in Kennedy a liberal lion who fought for the greater good, the other sees a sinner lionized by the morally blind.
How can one man be viewed so differently? Is there no objective truth, or is all truth filtered through one's own projection of reality? Such, perhaps, is the dilemma in a secularized world bereft of common reference points. You got your gig; I got mine.
Even before Kennedy's motorcade had come to a stop in front of the JFK Library Thursday, conservatives were busy circulating an old GQ profile written by Michael Kelly, the beloved columnist and Atlantic editor who died in Iraq. Kelly painted a complicated portrait of a flawed man, but what stood out most were Kennedy's less-attractive behaviors, especially toward women.
While the left remembers Kennedy for his fight for the common man, the right remembers him as responsible for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne 40 years ago. Nothing about Kennedy's decades of public service could erase the shadow of that early morning when Kennedy drove his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick and abandoned the scene, leaving his passenger to drown.
Thus, the tone on the right side of the blogosphere is rather Old Testament, with many expressing delight in the thought that the senator's final judgment will not be light. Elsewhere, Kennedy fans have exploited the propitious timing of his exit. MoveOn.org urged health care reformers to "re-commit ourselves to achieving the thing that mattered most" to Kennedy. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the senior Senate Democrat, has called for passage of reform in honor of Kennedy "as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals."
Timing is everything in death as in life, apparently. Indeed, if Pat Robertson and other religious icons of the right were instead liberal, they might be tempted to say that God wants health care reform.
Just as August's less-than-august health care melees were morphing from shoutfests to fisticuffs, someone changed the channel. Nothing like the gimlet gaze of death to drop the volume and still the masses. Hysteria quickly turns to ruminations on mortality, and perspective is restored. Might we now infer that God is a pro-universal health care liberal?
The answer depends on whether one is the sort to interpret tragedies, deaths and disasters as divine intervention -- and whether one's God is compassionate or judgmental. And, of course, it depends on one's politics. God, you may have heard, is a conservative, though his Son had some decidedly liberal tendencies.
For reasons that shall be explained in the hereafter, conservatives are more likely to see the hand of God in matters both mundane and sublime. If one were of such mind, is it not possible to believe that Kennedy's exit was timed to prod America to Do The Right Thing and pass health care reform? Conspiracy theories have been built on much less, and belief in miracles precludes belief in coincidence. Or, does God only act in conservative interests?
A Pat Robertson-type, who (in this fantasy) considers universal health care an act of Christian duty, arguably might view a final curtain on Camelot as a divinely inspired, albeit sad-for-the-family, intervention. Not only could Kennedy's death be viewed as a clarion call for a providential idea, but on a more practical level, the media would forget all about town halls rather than miss the final episode of America's dynasty.
There's always the possibility that conservatives are right and God was removing the single icon whose presence lent energy to legislation that would vastly increase government power in the private sector. Or -- and this gets my vote -- God is too busy building a better human in a saner galaxy to concern himself with us. Couldn't blame him.
One can't help wondering, nonetheless, how those same Old Testament celebrants would have treated Kennedy had he, as recompense for his sins, embarked on a crusade against abortion and same-sex marriage instead of universal health care. My modest guess is that they would have found a way to forgive him and insisted that a man's worst moment is not the sum of his life.
Kennedy's life was indeed a mixed sack of good works and sometimes-deplorable behavior. A charitable person would hope that he found peace at the end of his life. An observant person might note, without pleasure, that even in death, it's all politics.
========
Kathleen Parker's e-mail address is kathleenparker(at)washpost.com
Copyright 2009 Washington Post Writers Group
This news arrived on: 08/30/2009
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Posted Comments:
08-31-2009 19:30
HHJ wrote:
Senator Kennedy was a model for hyprocracy. His greatest passion as most politicans was re-election. His championing of the little guy held a good tune at election time but how about the little, little gal and guy called a baby tells a different moral story. The way we relate to God has a great influence of how we relate to one another and is inseperable. Kill a baby and hug a tree.
08-31-2009 19:07
wrote:
I so agree with C.S. and Parker and BJ and in saying so it is my belief that the Higher Power has dealt with All Three of the Kennedys being Jack,Bob,Ted.
08-31-2009 15:20
Catharyne Stauffer wrote:
To JCE very thought provoking statements .
I am not sure if Ted Kennedy felt deep remorse and guilt over his past sins .
Often when a person sins they seek forgiveness, but while doing this they sometimes have not reconciled with themselves, and thus have not forgiven themselves .
I think in many ways Ted Kennedy was a man that was very conflicted especially how he viewed women .
I also believe that it was the driving force in the many good things he had accomplished .
I think he sought redemption through those acts .
Guilt can be a powerful motivator, and possibly some of his unswerving dedication was born from this.
As a Christian it is not for me to judge the sum total of this man . It is my duty to pray for him.
To Dick, I realize you do not believe in God and that is your choice .There are some cultures who believe in Karma which you might find more to your liking .
The negative energies of ill deeds and the positive energies of good actions. Sometimes it takes the completion of many good deeds to bring balance from the act of a single negative one .
Did Ted Kennedy reach that balance before crossing the veil ? If he didn't, that culture believes a person will pay for that imbalance until it is even again .
I am not sure if Ted Kennedy felt deep remorse and guilt over his past sins .
Often when a person sins they seek forgiveness, but while doing this they sometimes have not reconciled with themselves, and thus have not forgiven themselves .
I think in many ways Ted Kennedy was a man that was very conflicted especially how he viewed women .
I also believe that it was the driving force in the many good things he had accomplished .
I think he sought redemption through those acts .
Guilt can be a powerful motivator, and possibly some of his unswerving dedication was born from this.
As a Christian it is not for me to judge the sum total of this man . It is my duty to pray for him.
To Dick, I realize you do not believe in God and that is your choice .There are some cultures who believe in Karma which you might find more to your liking .
The negative energies of ill deeds and the positive energies of good actions. Sometimes it takes the completion of many good deeds to bring balance from the act of a single negative one .
Did Ted Kennedy reach that balance before crossing the veil ? If he didn't, that culture believes a person will pay for that imbalance until it is even again .
08-31-2009 13:37
bj wrote:
chappaquiddick
I remember the accident very well. I remember thinking that his decision making ability was deeply flawed. Still do. I also learned, long before OJ, that if you have money and the "right friends" you will not pay for your actions. I remember when he showed up at the court to stand up for the nephew who was accused of rape. Yep, you need money and the right friends and you can do no wrong. He was largely responsible for my lifelong affiliation with the Republican Party.
08-31-2009 13:37
Dick from Chaska wrote:
Parker, Bush lied to congress and cooked the books. He ignored the Inspection Teams who said there were no WMD's. He did not personally murder anyone but he is guilty. I just read a book setting forth the criteria, under which Bush should be tried for murder written by the guy who prosecuted Manson. He makes a pretty good case. I am sorry you lost your brother in Vietanm. I lost many close Marine friends there during my 19 months in country as a Major. That was another unjust war we waged. Our nation has committed many sins against Blacks, Native American, Japanese Americans etc. and we all should work hard to make sure our nation's sins quit occuring.
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