The Last Knight of Camelot

It is the end of an era, there is an immense sense of sorrow, an emptiness, a void where once there were men and woman who were made bigger than life through their dreams and ambitions not just for themselves but for the world. The icons of our times, the princes and princesses we created, have fallen one by one.

The style and grace of Jackie, Princess Grace and Princess Diana will always be remembered. Jackie’s knight was vanquished but his dream was not. Princess Grace lived the fairy tale until the end and Princess Diana found her prince had turned into a frog.

The Princes of Camelot, although bigger than life in our memories, have once again been vanquished by human frailty. The eulogy for Bobby Kennedy as given by Teddy personifies perhaps more than anything else why these men, these American sons, these Princes of Camelot, inspired love and respect and why they were worth loving, worth respecting. Those who publicly aspire to change hearts and minds, those who forge ahead against the odds and who not only demand a better world but who personally strive to create one in which dreams become reality alter not only themselves but the course of history.

The world is a poorer place without the dreamers. It is important to have ideals, to make moral choices, to strive for a better world for our children. It is important to have leaders with the courage, strength and resolve to make dreams into reality. Leaders, who, despite setbacks, roadblocks and personal stumbling keep on. Who, despite detractors, threats and those whose only interest is in tearing things down, seek to build things up.

The worth of a human being is not measured solely in their accomplishments but even more so in if and how they pick them self up after their failures. It is in where they chose to go from there. Every one of us caries scars, some on the outside and some within. Scars can harden and turn to bitterness or bring strength and resolve to do better.

Unlike John, Bobby and Martin Luther King Jr., Teddy Kennedy lived to see the dream come to pass. Camelot may have receded into the mists of history but the torch has been passed and it’s up to us to see that it continues to shine brightly, lighting the way for those who come after. If history does nothing more than inspire youth to do better it serves a purpose and it serves it well. Like the Camelot of old filed with daring deeds and dragons, marred by human failings, glorified by imposable quests, the Camelot of the Kennedy era has become more than it was and less depending on the aspect stressed but both Camelots remain, at least in our hearts and minds something to strive for, to emulate and to inspire.

Like a video game in which the players have jumped steps to advance as far and as fast as possible to achieve their goal, once reached it is time to go back and consolidate the win, to solidify the base on which it was constructed into a concrete foundation so strong, so imperviable that the win is real, the goal is actualized not just for us but for those who come after. The original dreamers may have died but their dream has not and will not. The dream lives on, multiplied exponentially, inadvertently or intentionally by us through our children and their children and their children’s children. Fairytales and myths serve a purpose, changing those who grew up with them and their world forever.

The last Knight of Camelot has left the building. Rest in peace Teddy.