By Jd Brown
We buried the “Great One” Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery yesterday. Kenyans this is your lost too!. The Kennedy family was instrumental in helping Kenya students with ” airlift fares ” to come to US for their education in 1960s, sending Peace corp to Kenya in post independence days and the recent historical election of ” one of your own” President Barack H. Obama.
Kennedy was more than “the lion” of the US Senate where he served more that 47 years…he was the” champion of the underdog”. US public laws are named after elected officials who author them and get them passed into law. For 47 years in the Senate Kennedy helped, championed and passed: Civil right laws, Disability act law, Minimum wage laws, Immigration laws and numerous health care bills.
To my friend who hale from east coast of Kenya here are your answer on how “Wasungus” handle funerals for their accomplished politicians like Sen. Kennedy. Kennedy’s funeral was celebratory of his achievements when he was on this earth than mourning his death. Public viewing was open to all. There were NO politics by politicians. Ex-Presidents and current President came and got the same attention like other guests in attendance. Kennedy’s friends spanned beyond his Democratic party base. Republicans who have for many decades fought him over major legislations in the Senate came to pay him homage.Effective political leadership call for going beyond ones political base without compromising principals for what you stand for and no one lived this philosophy better than Sen. Kennedy. These are my observations and what Sen. Kennedy’s legacy will mean to me in many years to come.
In all, Sen. Kennedy was ” work horse” not like many politicians who are ” either jack asses or “show horses”. He was a man of action and results. Where many politicians are only concern with their status in society and the posts they hold in public offices, Kennedy opted to fight for the “little guy”!.
Among the many legacies Kennedy left behind none will be bigger than the election of President Obama. Without his unconditional endorsement in primary elections and ” passing of the Torch” to him and the call for new generation to lead and get involve , Mr. McCain and Sarah Palin would be in office today!. Listen to his mortal word: ..with passing the torch … new generation of leaders must get to work..hope will rise again..dream will live on”. Words spoken during at democratic convention in Denver for Obama change election in Denver.
Mr. Obama would be still serving in the US senate as we speak without the Kennedys support!. He saw something ” the IT” in Obamas’ leadership ability that reminded him of his slain brothers in US political struggle. Again, for people who don’t know how difficult it is to overcome race and party politics in the US, this endorsement was not an easy task. For over 200 years plus of US democracy nobody predicted or knew that some one of Kennedy’s stature could endorse minority person to be the next president of the US and the leader of the world in their life time!!!!!. And most of all, to endorse Sen. Obama over stalwart democratic party insider/mover like the wife of former President Clinton of all people was “game changer” in US presidential politics . THE LION MAY REST..BUT HIS DREAMS WILL CONTINUE BECAUSE THEY ARE LEFT IN GOOD HANDS!!!
For my E. Coast Kenya friend,these are the things Kennedy did to ” the world’s “underdogs” and to your far distance country man to become the first African American president in the US. Now he is leading the land where his ancestors were brought to work in cotton fields and lives in house his slave ancestors built for their masters..what irony!!!!
I hope you and and your friends will share my one man’s observation on Sen. Kennedy’s contributions to better this world!!. The” underdogs” of the world have lost and will miss their champ!.. but all is not lost, the sun will rise in the east and set in the west tomorrow!. News leaders will rise to lead one more time..and the “dream will endure”
Now I have answered your questions my friend, you and your friends should now answer me the following questions: How do you remember your fallen leaders in funerals?, Are your funerals off limits to politics or the other way around?, If President Obama was running for Presidency in Kenya could have been elected president or he could have just been another tribal politician?
Read The Lion is at rest.
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from: Jd Brown
Date:Aug 30, 8:56 PM — [ ] —
subject:Fairwell, Mr. Kennedy
WE DO NOT BLAME THE DEAD
In heaven the Kennedies might have to answer on how they used General Joseph Mobutu Sese Seko to brutalize democracy and in thus doing derailed democracy in that country and Africa for nearly one half of a century. The dictator Mobutu was good for them because they were using him as a baffer between them and the iron curtain.
Mobutu Sese Seko used to brush shoulders with president John Fitzgerald Kennedy as the most anti-communist president in Africa at one time and this they used to do after the African patriot progreessive prime minister Patrice Lumumba had been slaughtered at their beck and call.
The late Senator Edward Moore Kennedy does not seem to have cared when the minerals of the largest African country are being raped, Lumumba was being killed, pro-Africal liberal democrat presidents were being assassinated.
He seems to me not to have opposed Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the African genocider-butcher in his path to exterminate the Uganda and Sudanese Nilotes with biological weapons (a president who satanically consistently orders his HIV soldiers to rape and spread the virus among the Nilotes whom he has surounded in military concentraton camps since he took over power in Uganda in order to dextermnate them completely). This is the 20th-21st greatest crime that goes on up to his time and yet it is difficult to believe that the late Senator never caught wind of it.
I should not blame a dead man but keeping quite about what was indeed evil could easily encourage worse carnage among human politico-economic predators who might pertake to replace the senator.
DR ODIDA OKUTHE.
The writer seems not be fair in his judgement about kennedys.
This family had and still have people who are for good to all humanbeings respective of ones background.Too achieve total
freedom for everybody in the world was never achieved even by
christ.Infact,patrice lumumba had his weaknesses which contributed to his death though his death robbed black africans
a great freedom fighter.If he was a live,congo wealth would be
used for general development of congo as opposed too greed
which mabutu displayed.
Therefore,we should not blame kennedys’ family on the cold war
which started long before the emergence of the family in the usa
politics.The members of the family have been at the forefront
of fighting against the wrongs done the vunerable group allover
the world.This family helped african students to come the usa for studies and later started peace corps to help developing world with skilled labor. We should stop blaming our shortcomings
on the usa which has helped many third world’s nationals more than any country in the world.We should learn to appreciate instead of criticising everything by manufacturing false where there is none.
KENNEDY FAMILY WILL BE REMEMBERED BY MANY GENERATION
IN THE WORLD AS A RICH FAMILY WHICH STOOD FOR THE POOR
AND OTHER VUNERABLE GROUPS AT THE TIME OF NEED.FILMS
AND BOOKS SHOULD BE PRODUCED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Mr. Okello..my utmost sentiments exactly about the Kennedy family!. I did not know how to take Mr. Okuthe’s ” Cold war spin” in this one. Be well.. keep posting.