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Thoughts on "RFK: A Memoir" - 29 February 2004 . 05:21
From "RFK: A Memoir," by Jack Newfield: "Now I realize what makes our generation unique, what defines us apart from those who came before the hopeful winter of 1961, and those who came after the muderous spring of 1968. We are the first generation that learned from experience, in our innocent twenties, that things were not really getting better, that we shall not overcome. We felt, by the time we had reached thirty, that we had already glimpsed the most compassionate leaders our nation could produce, and they had all been assassinated. And from this time forward, things would get worse: our best political leaders were part of memory now, not hope." Reading this book, learning about the education of RFK not only as a politician but as a human, as an American, was absolutely riveting. A time when our nation was coming of age and our people were demanding drastic reform of the political system, a time when the power base shifted from the American ruling class to the passionate grassroots citizenry. A time that nurtured inspirational leaders and gave voice to those who previously had none. Reading of RFK's assassination at the end, I felt myself mourn. Not having experienced this era of American history myself, I can't tell you I mourn the same as those who lived it. But I wonder what died with RFK. What died with JFK, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Meadger Evers. Will we ever see great men such as these in our own time? Will we ever know the power we hold to change our world? Will we ever be so inspired to invoke such change? Can our generation yield such visionaries or are we destined to endure only mediocrity in the American establishment? Who will lead us?
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