On February 28, The Daily Show aired a mini-mockumentary on the life of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While the piece was intended as satire, its lack of humor betrayed a clear attempt to deride Kennedy by misrepresenting his life, his views, and his public service. Here’s the reality …
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was born in 1954 and entered a world of postwar optimism where anything seemed possible. The political associations of the 1960s shook this optimistic spirit and deprived the young Bobby of his uncle when he was only nine years old. When Bobby was 14, his father was assassinated hours after winning the 1968 California Democratic Presidential Primary. These losses left profound political scars on a nation and a gaping void in the life of a teenager entering an era of uncertainty.
After earning law degrees, Kennedy took it upon himself to right the many wrongs that shaped a youth defined by the haunting paradox of privilege and tragedy.
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During the 1970s, Kennedy became addicted to drugs, something The Daily Show mercilessly mocked, evoking a style of comedy that the late George Carlin criticized for what became known as “punching down.” In reality, Kennedy has always been open about his recovery. Just as some pandemics result in dehumanizing lockdowns, the silent drug epidemic has resulted in dehumanizing lockups. Kennedy remains committed to humane solutions to all such crises so that others can share his experience of personal resilience and the grace of second chances.
While The Daily Show paints Kennedy’s strong environmental record as anomalous to an otherwise unremarkable career as an activist, the truth is that in his professional life Kennedy worked directly with communities whose daily lives were negatively impacted by pollution, discrimination, and economic injustice. Kennedy offered his legal expertise to communities fighting against corporate polluters. His work with Riverkeeper transformed major waterways, including the Hudson River, from open sewers to beautiful arteries of the American landscape. Kennedy also worked with the NAACP to bring justice to African American communities while also litigating on behalf of indigenous peoples.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Never one to shy away from unexpected challenges, Kennedy was struck when many young mothers approached him about their children suffering from unexpected medical conditions following immunization. Although the mockumentary ridiculed the concerns of young mothers regarding the health of their babies, Kennedy approached them with a compassionate open mind and open ears. He vowed to use his forensic legal skills to unearth the truth of the matter.
In 2016, Kennedy launched the World Mercury Project, which grew by 2018 to become Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit coalition of doctors, science experts, and researchers devoted to campaigning for safe medications for children. While the pharmaceutical industry is armed with some of the most expensive lawyers in the world, Kennedy continues to donate his time to helping those without a voice achieve honest information from corporate America and justice in courts.
Kennedy seeks to heal the wounds and divides that have haunted the country since the 1960s. He has an open mind at a time when politicians, media personalities, and even some comedians have theirs bolted shut.
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