The Lion the Witch and the... well, just the Lion

The passing of Tedward Kennedy has brought to light his many achievements, causes, faults, triumphs and of course the string of Kennedy tragedies over the years. As the Onion put it: 'Kennedy Curse' Claims Life Of 77-Year-Old Tumor-Riddled Binge-Drinker

Tacky, but you laughed, you know you did.

The phenomenon that most strikes me as all this unfolds is a religious one - Roman Catholics love Roman Catholics. They can't get enough of them. From the interviews with many of the mourners, there is a great cross section of people that were touched by his good deeds, but it seems like many of the folks in queue are drawn to mourn his loss because he was such a high profile Catholic. Not "leading" in fundamental doctrine, as his pro-choice record would suggest, but he was a major figure for a long time. The hard-line Catholics probably have a love-hate relationship with him. In fact, if you check out most "official" Catholic statements on him, they mourn his death but are sure to include their distaste for his stand on abortion. OK with nearly everything else, but they can't help but bring it up, for what it's worth. All that aside, the Catholic sense of community is fascinating. I would think the Jewish community might have a similar bond. Then you have American protestants... wandering all over the place, disjointed, perhaps too broad in spectrum and denominational perspective to unite in a coherent way.

It was a big deal that JFK was the first Roman Catholic elected president because it proved religion (or at least, that religion) was no longer so strong a barrier. I've never sensed any major anti-Catholic sentiment from American Protestants in my lifetime (in Ireland on the other hand, yeah, maybe an issue), but I'm often sheltered and naive and do my best to avoid people who think that way. I wonder what effect his being elected had in curbing the anti-Roman Catholic sentiment (which I think was as much anti-Irish immigrant sentiment) that was pretty strong for the previous hundred or so years. I've got no clue. I hope it's that easy and direct. Hopefully Obama being President can have the same profound and lasting effect. I don't think it happens at the flick of a switch, but maybe the train is rolling in that direction.

Mixed Metaphor Receives Mixed Reviews.

"The 'flick of a switch' and 'train is rolling' sentence left me cold. It was like the 50's era Soviet Union where... really, it just left me cold." - Keith Olbermann

"I found it quite tantalizing and apropos, it left me wanting more."
- Nancy Kerrigan

"I liked the part about Catholics." - Chris Matthews