1968 poignant year

I went and saw the movie *Bobby* today. it is done in a very robert altman type style, lots of sub-plots involving various characters all surrounding the main character bobby kennedy. The movie was written by emilio estevez and i thought he did a surprisingly good job. Ashton kutcher has a small but very interesting role as does his wife demi moore. i really liked the movie and it just made me think back to what our country and the world was like in 1968.

I was only 7 in 1968, but i can recall so much of what was going on back then after seeing the movie and how it included events that were happening at the time. It was an election year and LBJ declared he would not seek reelection as president, largely due to his involving us even deeper in the VietNam war. Civil rights movement had made major strides in changing racist laws and practices throughout the country but then Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. Riots broke out in several major cities. I was living in New Jersey at the time and my dad was a cop in Irvington, a city right next to Newark, one of the major riot areas. Farm workers were protesting unfair treatment and wages, colleges and universities were filled with political protest and anti-america sentiment due to the war. The death of MLK Jr was a shockwave to all the hope and progress that had been seen to be happening across the country. Bobby Kennedy was seen by so many as the last shining hope for change to keep moving forward and to create a better world. Watching the movie, listening to speeches they put in of actual video showing the real bobby kennedy as he was campaigning you could just feel the excitement and support so many people felt for him. His speech at the Ambassador Hotel in california where he was solidifying his winning the democratic nomination for president was incredibly moving. Before you knew it.... BANG........ bobby is shot mortaqlly wounded all the excitement instantly turns to hysteria, disbelief and hopelessness. JFK, MLK Jr, and now Bobby........ the dream seen by so many seemed to have died.

I watched the movie and could envision myself as older in 1968 and feeling the passion and hope displayed by so many for kennedy. He spoke of ending violence, seeking peace, helping the poor and destitute. He spoke of the USA as being a nation that was sacrificial, caring,giving strong and seeking what was good right and true. i couldn't help but think back to our last election. Red states,blue states, country so polarized and divided, national unity that happened after 9/11 all but disintegrated.

i can't help but wonder how our world would be different had MLK Jr and Bobby Kennedy lived and carried out their dream and vision. So much of what they stood for seems to reverberate within the pages of the Bible. parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus saying if you give anyone a cup of cold water you have given it to Him, visiting prisons, helping poor and widows, the sick and needy. Those are NOT conservative/liberal issues they are SPIRITUAl LIFE issues!!!! Being a conservative republican, i have experienced a lot of distress these past six years. Seeing this movie, hearing Bobby kennedys speeches, seeing the discourse on so many blogs and the vitriol tossed to and fro about President Bush and his administration. i still hold to my stance, however i definitely have a newfound appreciation for what i see as the real core values of democrats. NOT approving abortion, homosexuality and drug usage. But, improving the environment, building community across all racial,ethnic and socioeconomic lines and seeking a means to peaceful attempts at ending conflicts as opposed to military and violent ones. I just think more and more Jesus shows us how He transcended ANY attempt to pigeonhole Him politically. I would love to see Him appear and bring Focus on the Family, Sojourners,NAE,UMC,Pope and a few others and just let them all know ... *guys, none of you have gotten it right, you all have a log in your eye trying to remove splinters from others. Love, not politics, is the way to reach people. may we all learn more and more exactly how to live out His command to love one another every single day!!!