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GOD BLESS TED KENNEDY
on May 20, 2008 9:35:00 | 3042 times read
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By Cal Thomas
Tribune Media Services
These days, people on "one side" of the political spectrum are not
supposed to cooperate, much less have a personal relationship with
anyone on the "other side." Siding with "the enemy" can get you branded
a compromiser, a sellout, or fool. While it is true that on too many
occasions liberals have picked the ideological pockets of conservatives
whose favor they curried, that is no excuse for hating people because of
their political beliefs.
In the case of my 25-year relationship with Sen. Edward Kennedy, our
ideological pockets have remained secure, but our friendship has been
something I have treasured.
It began in 1983 when I received a call from a Washington Post reporter.
I was working for the Moral Majority at the time and a computer had spit
out a membership card, inadvertently sending it to Sen. Kennedy with his
name on it. The reporter asked if I wanted the card back. "No," I said.
"We don't believe anyone is beyond redemption. In fact, I hope Sen.
Kennedy comes and speaks at Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty
University)," the school founded by the late Jerry Falwell.
A few days later, I received a call from Kennedy's chief of staff. "The
senator accepts your invitation." I was stunned and so was Falwell, but
Kennedy came and was well received. He spoke on faith, truth and
tolerance and his remarks are as relevant today as when he uttered them.
(See and read them at
www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedytruth&tolerance.htm).
While some might disagree on the way he applies such notions to the
liberal policies in which he believes; few would contest most of the
principles he articulated that night.
Kennedy said: "I am an American and a Catholic; I love my country and
treasure my faith. But I do not assume that my conception of patriotism
or policy is invariably correct, or that my convictions about religion
should command any greater respect than any other faith in this
pluralistic society."
What student or advocate of the First Amendment would disagree with
that? Is that not what the Founders had in mind when they prohibited a
federally established religion while simultaneously guaranteeing its
free exercise? Kennedy continued, "When people agree on public policy,
they ought to be able to work together, even while they worship in
diverse ways. For truly, we are all yoked together as Americans, and the
yoke is the happy one of individual freedom and mutual respect."
Again, not bad. He added: "Separation of church and state cannot mean an
absolute separation between moral principles and political power. The
challenge today is to recall the origin of the principle, to define its
purpose, and refine its application to the politics of the present."
The issues outlined in Kennedy's speech are still pertinent today,
except that in 2008 the Democratic presidential candidates are talking
more about faith and public policy than the Republican candidate.
Getting to know Sen. Kennedy that night and being with him on many
subsequent occasions, helped me understand him on a level far different
from TV images and direct mail appeals, which ask for $25 dollars to
keep him from doing things that will "ruin" America (the Left sent out
similar appeals for money to save America from my side).
I came to see Sen. Kennedy not as a symbol, but as a fellow human being
who does not get up in the morning seeking ways to harm the country. I
know of things he has done for the poor and homeless on his own time and
in his own way without a press release or a desire for public approval.
I know of other hurts and concerns about which I would never speak.
In our poisoned political atmosphere, there are few friendships like
this, at least few anyone can speak of publicly for fear of political
ruin. It ought to be a privilege (it is certainly a command) for my
conservative Christian friends to pray for Sen. Kennedy that he might be
healed and restored to health. It is certainly mine and I don't care who
on "my side" knows it.
(Direct all MAIL for Cal Thomas to: Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore
Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, N.Y. 14207. Readers may also e-mail Cal Thomas
at tmseditors@tribune.com.
(c) 2008 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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Comments (1 posted)
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Posted by Gary Ault, May 28, 2008 11:38:20When I treat people as people and not enemies I might begin to understand them more. The willingness to be open to communication even with people I may disagree with completely just may be a first step toward the solution of problems. Thanks, Call, for the courage to write about Ted Kennedy as a person worthy of our prayers--even if some people might disgaree with you or reject you because of it.
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