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Below is a list of a few leaders who have made a difference along with quotes that they made which had a dramatic affect.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi)

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

John F. Kennedy

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

Post from: EveryJoe

Leaders who made a difference

Some may suggest that the size of the family is a cause.  Joe and Rose Kennedy had 9 children and 29 grandchildren – unfortunate things are bound to happen to some of them.  And the family is so prevalent in the media – any time anything happens to one of them we’re bound to hear about it.  Also, the members of the Kennedy family tend to be risk takers, in their personal, professional lives.  In work and in play they put themselves in situations that many would not.    

No doubt, all of those things are true, but one can’t ignore the fact that many of the family members have met with untimely deaths and hardships.  Here is a quick rundown of the most “tragic”:

In 1944 Teddy’s older brother, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a Navy pilot, was killed in England during a training mission. 

In 1948 his sister, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash in France. 

On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. 

In 1964 Ted Kennedy himself survived a deadly plane crash, sustaining serious injuries.

In June, 1968 Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Los Angles, CA.

In 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne, a passenger in a car driven by Ted Kennedy, died when the car crashed off of a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. Ms. Kopechne had been a campaign worker for Robert Kennedy. Senator Kennedy plead guilty to “leaving the scene of an accident.” He was sentenced to 2 years jail time (suspended) and he lost his driver’s license for a year. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Senator Kennedy himself questioned if there wasn’t a curse on the Kennedy family.

In 1984, David Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, overdosed on drugs and died.

On December 31, 1998, Michael Kennedy, also son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, died following a skiing accident.

In July, 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr. (along with his wife, Carolyn, and her sister) was killed when a plane he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard.

Are they just a large family, in the spotlight, so their ”laundry” (dirty or otherwise) is just more documented? Or is there something else?

As a quick comparison, my mother is the 7th of 10 children, and I am one of 28 grandchildren; the eldest of Mom’s siblings was born in 1932, the same year as (and, actually, less than a month before) Ted Kennedy (the youngest of the Kennedy children).  While they have all had some hardship and sadness in their lives, they are all, thankfully still living, as are (again, thankfully) their children.  There has been some illness, and danger but they’ve all made it through.  Our family is not in the “spotlight” but they have neither led sheltered lives: many have joined the military and civil service; one was seriously injured while serving in Vietnam, but returned and has lived a very good life; 2 have their pilot licenses; all have traveled, but 1 in particular has traveled all over the world and the US; they ski; they drive cars; and, (while not to the extent exhibited by the Kennedy family) have participated in politics.

I’m not really sure what my conclusion is – much of the turmoil that has happened to the Kennedy family was either their own doing or because they put themselves in harm’s way – but one thing is true about the Kennedys – they attack their problems the same way they do everything else – with determination – they have met with tragedy and trouble numerous times – in their personal, public and political lives – and they have persevered.

Post from: EveryJoe

Is There a Kennedy Curse?

Ted’s paternal grandfather, Patrick J. (P.J.) Kennedy, served multiple terms in the Massachusetts’ State Congress but was better known as a “back room” influence in Boston (MA) politics.

His maternal grandfather, John Fitzgerald (Honey Fitz), was a very popular mayor of Boston and US Congressman for Massachusetts’ 9th district (the seat that Jack Kennedy and Joseph Kennedy, II, would later hold).

Ted’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, while primarily a businessman, was quite involved in the Democratic Party and an early ally of President Franklin Roosevelt. Kennedy was appointed the US Ambassador to Great Britain, on the eve of World War II. His pessimistic and unbecoming behavior while in the post ruined any hope he had held for his own political career. He then turned his attention to the political future(s) of his sons.

John F. Kennedy, Ted’s older brother, was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1946. In 1952 JFK won a very close and somewhat surprising race for the US Senate. In 1958, Kennedy ran for re-election, and while still in law school in Virginia, Ted ran this second campaign.

Of course, in 1960, John F. Kennedy ran for and won the office of President of the United States. Ted was in charge of campaigning in the western states.

And Ted’s (also older) brother, Robert F. Kennedy, served as Attorney General during JFK’s administration.

All this happened before Ted became a US Senator – that is, until he was old enough to become a US Senator.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Teddy and his political family