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Show File 13 When he did run, Bobby ran hard BY BRUCE PINGREE An important Democratic party meeting is about to take place in Salt Lake City. Since this paper will not be published on the anniversary anni-versary of the death' of Robert Kennedy, I think it most appropriate appropri-ate to write about him now. Robert Kennedy was one of the great men of 20th century American Ameri-can polities, and though it may sound trite, unashamedly we can say that we miss him. . To me, as to millions of other young Americans Amer-icans and men and women around the world, he was something of a hero. Robert Kennedy was a man who combined a tough-minded pragmatism .with a genuine love for people of this nation. Robert Kennedy was one of the finest Attorney Generals this na tion has ever had. After the tragic death of John Kennedy, and after months of personal anguish and uncertainty, he embarked upon the successful campaign for New York senator, The climb he made of Mount John Kennedy in Canada Can-ada symbolized the struggle he conquered to carry on after his fallen brother. We can be sure that he did not decide to run for the presidency overnight, but only after much thought. When he did run, Bobby ran hard. To so many of us, Robert Kennedy Ken-nedy was a man who had a vision of the future. Like the great Martin Mar-tin Luther King, he had a dream. To me, he also was a man who had the courage to face the fact that dreams take time before they become be-come reality. Kennedy was one of the few men who could unite a significant part of the American public towards viable national goals. In this time of increasing political polarization and violence, perhaps he could serve as a symbol of rationality. Bobby Kennedy was willing to look at both sides. He was Willing to take the best that was in each sector sec-tor and fragment of our society. 1968 Campaigns The 1968 Campaigns of Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy presented some of the most dedicated dedi-cated men and women in a great demonstration of contemporary American liberalism. The endings to that expression were tragic, but the vision still remains. I hope those Democrats who are meeting in this City, and progressive Americans Amer-icans in the entire country, can capture again that vision. I was living only a few miles from Robert Kennedy's birthplace on that fateful summer day when a Violent young man shot him down during the celebration of Kennedy's victory in the California Califor-nia primary. After Tragedy The pall that passed over the people of Massachusetts that day was remarkable. On that sunny day so many of us watched the television only moments after the tragedy. Nobody knows what thoughts passed through the wounded mind of Robert Kennedy that day of June 5, 1968. The plague is loosed over dusty fields all withered, Its bloody banner rampant above the blackening specter. 'Cross the burned-out meadow, The shattered, broken rose, The dying ravished rivers. The tumult of the noisome mists drowns the work of reason, blights the future hope. Four horsemen mount the deathly fringes, the solemn borders, The tattered shreds of mind. On June sixth, 1969, Robert Kennedy died. |