55 Years Ago - A Vision Darkened, A Dream Faded, & A Man Died

"Some men see things as they are

and say why.

I dream things that never were

and say why not."

Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY)

The above were words that Robert F. Kennedy would share at the end of his speeches during his campaign for the Presidency in 1968. The words helped let the press corp know that he was winding down his speech at one location and that it was time to move on to the next campaign stop. The words took on new meaning when Senator Edward Kennedy used them to close his eulogy for his slain brother on the 8th of June 1968 in New York.

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated 55 years ago. He had just won the California Democratic Primary for President and was celebrating the victory at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when he was shot three times...that was June 5th, 1968. He died the next day on June 6th. His funeral was June 8th.?

PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO LISTEN TO THIS GREAT EULOGY DELIVERED ON JUNE 8TH, 1968 ABOUT THE LIFE OF ROBERT KENNEDY.?(Simply click on the link or photo below).

????????????https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NUF835cLgg

???????????????(my favorite part begins at 2:47 mark)

I have reflected back on Ted Kennedy's eulogy for his brother many times, in fact, I had part of the eulogy hanging on my office wall for over 20 years, written on a full-size tie-dyed sheet, so that I would remember a few of the things he stood for and tried to accomplish. I hoped that in my own way, I would try to live up to his VISION and his DREAM for a better America, a better World, a better PEOPLE each and every day.?

"Like it or not, we live in times of danger and uncertainty. That is the way he lived. That is what he leaves us. My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."??

Do you consider yourself a GOOD and DECENT person? Do you see WRONG and try to RIGHT it? Do you see SUFFERING and try to HEAL it? Do you see WAR and try to STOP it? Do others see you as such a person?

On a daily basis...in our jobs, in our communities, in our homes, and in our schools...we should strive to be SIMPLY GOOD AND DECENT PEOPLE. Ones who do not hurt others purposefully, ones who stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, ones who are willing to speak up when they SEE A WRONG. Are we the ones who are willing to cry when others cry in front of us, hug when others need a hug, care when others need us to...do we do all we can to help HEAL a heart or soul that is SUFFERING? Do we try to STOP a WAR before it starts? Whether it be a war of words, a war between neighbors, a war among the nations.?

This week, this month, this year...let's TRY and do the RIGHT THINGS because 55 YEARS AGO...A VISION DARKENED, A DREAM FADED, and a GOOD and DECENT MAN DIED.?

This post is shared each year in June in memory of RFK.