Bobby Kennedy, Liberal v. Progressive

PBS has a series called "American Experience", and had an episode about the Kennedy Family.

When the history of the family got to Bobby Kennedy's run for the Presidency, Doris Kearns made a very interesting comment. ( I assume most of you know that Bobby was deeply passionite about civil rights, migrant workers, poverty, ect...). Kearns said that Bobby saw the World in terms of Heavan or Hell, that you were either on the side of God or the Devil.

Now here was an ardent Liberal who was deeply religous. What is interesting today is how many Liberals are deeply religous (I mean objective religon, not the cherry picking variety)? I think the best definition for a Progressive is; a Liberal without religion.

of churches being aligned with social justice issues. I suspect that the split between progressives and the churches happened over the sexual revolution more than anything. Through the civil rights movement, pretty much every social movement had the churches in leadership positions. But after Roe v Wade, say, you have a series of movements that are not really amenable to traditional Christian notions of charity or justice.

Joseph Bottum, editor of First Things, made the point on a television round table after the death of JP2 that the Church is to the left of America on every issue except those few issues associated with genitals. So there's your divide.

Sexuality. The one thing that has the greatest impact on the World (because of reproduction or lack thereof) seems to be the one thing that Progressives want to leave uncontrolled. "If it feels good, do it." making us nothing more than monkies.

As I imagine a lot of Catholics do. My husband keeps insisting that eventually, being pro-life will eventually be recognized as the true liberal position, as it actually takes science into account when defining personhood and is, ultimately, about fairness and justice. I think that's wild-eyed liberal-hope talking, but you never know.

Perhaps a bit too hopeful, but I could never square the argument that we can dispose of a life because it's especially needy and helpless with my sense of liberalism as being nominally about lifting up the needy and the helpless.

where Liberalism would be without the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Bobby was an ally of Joseph McCarthy in the 1950's, so he very capable of radical shifts

...and became President.

I never realized the impact Bobby's assasintation had on African-American's.

Immeadiately following King's killing, Bobby was to speak to a group of African Americans. His advisers urged him to cancell. Not only did he speak, the crowd heard of King's death from Bobby. His words to crowd reminded me of Licoln, reaching out to remind the crowd of what unites them to there fellow countrymen.

In interviews with African American leaders, they professed a profound dispondency that there last hope for African Americans died with Bobby Kennedey.