The news of Senator Edward Kennedy passing away today after a long bout with brain cancer has produced a great deal of commentary in the blogsphere. Many are tearfully remembering his championing of statist welfare programs and other expansions of Federal power during his four-decade tenure in the Senate while many are bringing up the Chappaquiddick incident that claimed the life of Mary Jo Kopechne and other scandals surrounding the Massachusetts Senator. Many people say that one should never speak ill of the dead, but the truth is people have been speaking ill of the dead since humans developed spoken language. When someone of influence or fame dies, people are asked to refrain from criticism out of respect for the dead. This strikes me as being a bit silly. If you didn’t respect the person while they were alive, how does death suddenly entitle that person to respect?
The real reason a person is not supposed to speak ill of the dead is out of consideration to that person’s loved ones and not out of respect for the deceased. The loved ones of the deceased don’t want to hear detailed accounts of their family member’s shortcomings and character flaws. I doubt anyone will be bringing up Ted Kennedy’s long list of scandals and embarrassments when speaking with his surviving family members. So today I will refrain from writing a detailed indictment of Senator Kennedy’s legacy and postpone such an endeavor for another time. This is not out of respect for the dead, but out of consideration to those who would mourn him. I have no quarrel with Kennedy’s surviving family members and it’s too soon to politicize the man’s death. This not only goes for the conservative bloggers with a hard on for exposing the real Ted Kennedy, but this also goes for the Democrats who wish to railroad their heath care bill through congress in Kennedy’s name. Even though Kennedy was a political animal through and through, now is not the time for politics. Lets at least wait until after he’s in the ground before we deconstruct the details of his career and his legacy.