At 8/26/09 09:08 PM, Korriken wrote:
it may just be the cynical prick inside me coming out, but I just can't imagine career politicians caring much about the little guy, especially ones born into wealth, living in luxury, never having to labor in a factory, or flip a burger for a buck and groomed from birth to be a politician. They can't know what the average person has to endure, much like a person who has never been homeless before doesn't know what its like to be homeless.
True, perhaps; but one can still envision the situation. And while that is nowhere near experiencing it for yourself, it can still give you an impression of what that life would be like. Also, I don't know much about Hyannis Port, but I got the impression it was a small place when the Kennedys grew up there, and they weren't necessarily "removed" from the hardhsips of the common man. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
Even barring that, Ted had problems of his own - and I'm not talking about Chappaquiddick. He bore witness to a lot of health complications in his family both physical and mental, including his own. Being from an affluent family, the Kennedys were well covered; but I think Ted looked at the things that happened to his family, tried to envision those hardships without that money, and didn't like what he saw. He was a major advocate for universal health care, because, I think, he understood that the worst can happen when you least expect it, and you can't afford to be unprepared. He also spoke on behalf of the disabled, and was a proponent of equal opportunity; such social reforms may have happened without his involvement, but as I understand it, he played a vital role in seeing them through to their enactment.
So I don't think it's entirely fair to depict him as just a "career politician" from a wealthy family, true though it may be. I think Ted recognized the struggles of America's less fortunate, and I think he did all in his power to ensure society was as fair and just to them as possible.
But all that's just my opinion.
