Political Legacy

A fellow liberal knitter is wondering if she's a ghoul for celebrating a death.

I don't think so.

The Bill Cobey quote comparing Jesse Helms' death on the 4th of July with that of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the ultimate patriots, is a travesty. Thank God the founders gave us a document that would endure in spite of the efforts of people like Senator Helms.

The whole thing makes me wonder about political legacy, and legacy in general. I just watched In the Shadow of the Moon yesterday, which is a moving documentary on the race to the moon in the 1960s. What a legacy those men left. It also reminded me of many things related to my childhood: the Cold War, the Space Race, VietNam, Civil Rights, you name it. (We then went to pick up a friend of Girl-child and with his retro 'fro and mirrored aviator sun glasses, I swear I felt like Link of the Mod Squad had just gotten into my car.)

What a different world it was then. So much upheaval. So much hope.

And then I think of the legacy of the Current Occupant; we can only hope that history will be written by people other than his friends and family.

Which brings me to think of my mother and her rapid decline ... and off I go for another day of tending to her care (or maintenance, as it is rapidly becoming), and there is another legacy...