Visions of New York

Commemorating Ted Kennedy

The magazine cover's image stood out from the riffraff of publications surrounding it. I stooped to inspect the stark black and white photo staring back at me. There stood Ted Kennedy next to his two older brothers, frozen in time and in the history of America's greats. The caption gave away the contents: 1932-2009. One of the most influential people to ever have graced the halls of the Senate had passed away from a brain tumor. Having been preoccupied with the move to New York and the commencement of my graduate degree, I had managed to remain ignorant to America's recent loss. The news suddenly explained the flags at half mast, swaying in the New Jersey summer breeze. Newsweek's Commemorative Issue was a gateway into the life of a political figure I had only heard of in controversial light on evening news circuits. The sorrow of the devastating loss of two older brothers, both of whom died at the hands of assassins within the span of 5 years, hit home as I imagined myself coping with the potential loss of my own two brothers. Years of addiction plagued the career of the last of the Kennedy brothers. Womanizing and booze tended to overshadow the brilliant career of one of our greatest statesmen. Ted Kennedy, despite his struggle with addiction, became one of the most influential senators of our time, playing his part in civil rights legislation, defending healthcare for the impoverished, and finally in recent years, helping pass the No Child Left Behind Bill. He stood for those who too often lack a voice in the political arena: the destitute and underprivileged. His life devotion was that universal health care would eventually become reality. Let us hope that his untiring efforts will not be in vain. The late Ted Kennedy was the embodiment of the human spirit; that every individual must face down the demons of their past and live to create a brighter future for the next generation. Like Kennedy, we struggle through the addiction and depression that plague this present world. However, our legacy, and that of Ted Kennedy, doesn't have to be pinned down to the wrongdoings that each one of us will, or have, inevitably committed. In the face of His Creator, Senator Kennedy will be remembered for his unabashed defense of the downtrodden and not for his untimely mistakes. As I looked at the grainy black and white photographs of a family under the curse of history, and read the compiled articles, I felt a lump in my throat quickly forming. Let us judge a person not by their vices but by their successes. The "Lion of the Senate" will be sorely missed.