The Political Capital of the Kennedys is Spent
A bevy of Kennedys voice their support for Biden, but does it matter?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for president as an independent. Whatever your opinion is of the man, some would call him a “conspiracy theorist,” and an “anti-vaxxer,” he is motivated by his beliefs.
He not only has the last name Kennedy but also is the Jr. to his father Robert Kennedy, the popular statesman whose legacy would be sealed in the history books through a tragic assassination.
Blue Blood Is Not Thicker Than Water
RFK Jr. could simply run for higher office on his name alone. As long as he kept his opinions safely within the acceptable framework of the mainstream Democratic party platform, he could secure success. But, he has decided to take a different path, one that places him outside the allegiance of his own family. A recent endorsement video shows several Kennedy family members including some of RFK Jr.’s siblings throwing their support behind Joe Biden for president.
RFK Jr. has handled the news of his family’s betrayal with grace and gravitas, applauding their enthusiasm and involvement. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and nothing is binding in a family that says, “We all have to think the same about everything,” but the concerted effort by the family to show its support of Biden reeks of insincere realpolitik. They are being brought in as a way to suck the air out of RFK Jr.’s campaign because his presence as a runner could peel enough votes away from Biden to give an election victory to Trump.
The uninspiring, true tale behind all of this comes down to defeating Trump. The average American caught in the crossfire of the exchange is manipulated and leveraged like a child in a custody battle between two selfish parents. The thing that gets lost in the mix is genuine public service and a sense of noblesse oblige from our elites. The workaday concerns of everyday people have been mostly disregarded by the political leadership in the U.S., which is why the aristocratic status of families like the Kennedys has been forgotten.
American Aristocracy: 20th Century Relic
The insular, blue-blooded Kennedy family does not have the social influence it believes itself to carry. The last notable statesman of any import with that name was Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy who died in 2009.
Too much time has passed since there was a charismatic, confident high-profile person of the JFK, RFK ilk from this family capable of capturing the American heart. We(you and me) have witnessed repeated failures to lead from our “betters,” and this incompetence from on high has led to a gradual diminution in the importance of aristocratic virtue. We used to admire the rich, well-educated, and well-connected, believing they were made up of something special. We also used to believe that their position in society, while privileged, came with duties to embody and uphold the ethics and values of the citizenry.
They were to lead by example and provide a reference to the things that unify our country. Abstract values like honor, discipline, charity, and patriotism should be given a figurehead through the actions and motivations of the aristocratic elite.
Instead, with each new generation, a dilution has occurred, and the wealthy have further removed themselves from the plight of the common man. The well-positioned in our society have carried on, engaging in nepotism, political graft, and a closed-circle lifestyle that has kept them away from an authentic calling to serve the less privileged. They have forsaken their commission in this life.
The Kennedys Don’t Matter Anymore
The Kennedy family endorsement of Joe Biden this year is a tone-deaf maneuver by out-of-touch people. Its only effect is granting a bit of nostalgia to senior voters fond of reminiscing about an old-school populist Democratic party that used to champion the cause of the disenfranchised. That party was patriotic and charitable, it also produced leaders of substance and rhetoric who could inspire us all with a vision for a better America.
Leadership Matters
We have not seen or felt anything close to principled leadership in the 21st Century from politics or business. RFK Jr., faults aside, is sticking his neck out for what he believes in and shaking up the business-as-usual crowd. You can hate him(and Trump), but you have to understand that the stodginess of the upper echelon in politics has created a leadership vacuum that is being filled by disrupters.
Think of it as a vaccine, a small dose of the virus meant to stimulate the immune system into healing the body and building resistance to disease. Two rich, elite men(RFK Jr., and Trump) may not be explicitly here to restore faith in an American aristocracy that serves the will of the people. Their actions might generate a course correction that brings in a revival of the kind of leadership that gives people hope and a shared vision of the future.
Maybe, I’m too pie-in-the-sky, but one thing is for sure, seeing the endorsement video taking the predictable path leaves me longing for some great man or woman to step up.
