Death of Statesman

It was my original intent pay my respects for Mr. Kennedy (via blog) on the day it was announced he passed away, but as virtually anyone can attest, sometimes the words are simply not there (even when you feel like a douche that they're not). By this point, there's very little that I can add to the cascade of postmortem adoration that Mr. Kennedy has been receiving this week. So, chances are, none of this will sound very unique.

Among many, many, things, I found Mr. Kennedy to be respectful for the means by which he conducted himself in Congress. Its not news that the bureaucracy within the Federal Government has gotten out of control, and anyone who observes or participates in politics (or virtually any other government run organization) can attest to the mind-numbing amount of time and productivity that is wasted over the simplest of things. The fact that Mr. Kennedy was able to hang in there for almost five decades certainly speaks to his endurance.

But what made Mr. Kennedy a true Statesmen was not merely his mental fortitude, but his persistence and his willingness to work for results. Let's be honest here, not everyone in congress does their job (indeed, it could be presumed that some are probably being payed not to), in fact, a lot of congressmen and congresswomen seem to be there just to cause gridlock and tension and/or make us give up hope in them (and, therein our governmental functions). In this, if there is but one thing that you must respect this man for, it must be his commitment to the American People. Not just the people of Massachusetts, or just Democrats: Everyone. If that doesn't make him a true American Statesman, I don't see how such a title could be attainable.

Whether you agreed with his politics or not, there is good reason to respect his tenacity. Anyone who's payed attention to the dynamics of an organization knows in that order for things to get done, you need what is called a doer. You need someone who can visualize the end result, and maintain the necessary ambition and confidence to see it through. You need someone who knows the process and can make it work, even when the opposing force is doing all that it can to either distract the people or halt the process in its entirely. You need someone with the fiery passion to take on dissenters, and guileful charisma to build bridges between opposing interests.

You need someone like Mr. Kennedy.

We salute you, oh Lion of the Senate.