WORDS MATTER -Robert F. Kennedy speaks to a nation-

[mikekohr]

Riots broke out in every major city after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, save one, Indianapolis, Indiana. For it was there that Robert F. Kennedy climbed atop the tailgate of a pickup truck on a darkened neighborhood street and delivered a speech that will last for the ages. Here are but parts of that speech that we might reflect upon today.

“In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. “We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.

Aeschylus once wrote:
Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but love, wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country.

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love, a prayer for understanding and compassion.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

Two months after speaking these words, Robert F. Kennedy lay bleeding on a hotel floor in California. Juan Romero, a busboy, knelt next to the stricken Senator and pressing rosary beads into Kennedy's hands heard him say "Is everybody all right?" Forty two and a half years later, it seems the answer to that question is, “Not yet.”

[dionysus]

1. Bobby was the best. imagine what this country would be like today if he had his chance....

[mikekohr]

3. Yes he was, and how poor we are that we can only imagine

here is a You Tube link to the full speech, one of the greatest ever given, by any man, of any time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTByGBUKYHs

[peacebird]

2. he was one of the best.... we need his kind to step forward again

[Patchuli]

4. The Ghastly Old Party

cannot handle men of peace whom people love. We've seen that proven over and over again...